Roof Boxes

[DominicPriestley]

Anyone have or had a roof box for the Rav? If so, any positive/negatives on a particular model?

[CharlieFarlie]

Never had one but have been in a 4.3 Rav with one on the roof and the noise was astonishing !!! Not something I could tolerate especially if going on a long trip !

[jedi134]

I have the Halfords exudus one, very quiet regards wind noise, I was very suprised, its held to the roof with lidl roof bars £30 bargin.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductMobileDisplay?catalogId=10151&storeId=10001&productId=709073&categoryId=165500&langId=-1

http://m.hotukdeals.com/deals/aluminium-roof-bars-24-99-lidl-689726?mforwarded=true

[jedi134]

Dp

[DominicPriestley]

Charlie,

I'd be interested to know if it was a full width or half width box. I have roof bars and a cycle carrier which creates alot of noise. I have heard though that fitting a second bike carrier wipes the noise away. I wonder if it's the same for roof boxes.

Jedi,

Many thanks. Is the noise acceptable on yours?

D

[CharlieFarlie]

Mate I don't know.. It was a Friends car down south.. All I can remember is it was a roof box thats about it....

[Hoovie]

I have a Thule Ocean 600 Roof Box (be classified as a half-width I guess) and have used it on a number of cars, including a RAV4.2 but not actually with the RAV4.3 and didn't really think it added much to the noise at all compared to off the car.

Oddly enough, I found the effect of the roof bars more significant then the Roof Box itself - The Square bars seem to cause a lot of buffeting that is not present when using the Aero style bars.

[jedi134]

I noticed it was noisier with just the bars too, the Box is very aero dymanic, There is some wind noise but when you close the sunroof blind you cant hear anything. I suspect if you have no sunroof it will be wisper quite. Mines full width too..

[firemac]

We've used one on our 5-dr 4.2 many times when off on hols in UK. I think it's a Mont Blanc but is branded Peugoet as I bought it from a Peugeot dealer when we lived in Paris & had a 406 estate (fortunately the Pug lions peeled off reasonably easily). It's good quality though & being silver, it matches the RAV nicely. It's not noisey at all although, to be fair, our VX is very quiet anyway.

I think it's great because it leaves the boot (relatively) clear for things like dogs, etc. It's full-size insofar as you couldn't fit anything else alongside it. Hasn't really had any impact on mpg but as ours is petrol & consumption is pretty appalling anyway, it probably wouldn't make a hell of a lot of difference in any event!!

[kipperwood]

Hi I have an exodus full size roof box and if you can follow my profile and previous content you may be able to see some pics I put on. You can feel the difference with acceleration and cruising speed etc and you cant open the sunroof while you are driving as the air is forced between the roof and underside of the roof box, straight into the car. They do make more noise but it is not as if you cant have a conversation or anything that bad. If you keep to the speed limit it is still a good drive and I have asked the question before if there is a maximum speed you are allowed to go with the box on (like towing is maximum 56 mph? I think) but no one seems to know. With having 2 children and the dog in the back, the roof box swallows loads of kit for holiday etc and saves me towing or buying a Landcrusier. I did purchase some genuine toyota front to back roof rails but used Halfords cross bars. This may be that link I was on about. http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=128254&hl=&fromsearch=1

[DominicPriestley]

Just the sort of info I'm looking for...

I'm leaning towards MontBlanc as a brand as Toyota use a MontBlanc bike carrier that slots into the roof bars. The MontBlanc boxes do aswell.

I'm after a box as this weekends trip to Wales meant the dog travelled in the boot along with a load of gear and I'd prefer not to do that again.

Hmmmm....

[webleymk3]

Charlie,

I'd be interested to know if it was a full width or half width box. I have roof bars and a cycle carrier which creates alot of noise. I have heard though that fitting a second bike carrier wipes the noise away. I wonder if it's the same for roof boxes.

Jedi,

Many thanks. Is the noise acceptable on yours?

D

I have Toyota roof bars and two bike racks (Thule 591) and they are noisy - particularly at speed. Not half as much as square bars. Now they give off some racket.

[jedi134]

These boxes cover the roof bars, so they should not come into play as regards wind noise, on the Exudus box they sort of mold around them.

Also depending how you fit the box makes all the difference, too far forward and your disrupting the natural air flow over the car, mine was fitted as far towards the rear as possible.......

[Zathras]

I've recently bought a folding Thule Softbox (Ranger 90) and its been used on trips twice so far this year.

Very pleased with it, the noise is very low and fits well to the non-oem rail/bars that I installed.

I was careful when purchasing the rail/bars in order to get some which were both flat and close to the roof itself, this probably has helped with the low noise factor.

http://www.direct4x4...roof-rails.aspx

We love the fact that the Softbox can be taken off then rolled up once we've unloaded at say a campsite, thrown in the back of the RAV or tent thus avoiding height issues while on day trips. Plus of course it fits through the loft hole in my house so it can be stored out of the way easily.

[jedi134]

Now a roll up one is a great idea, as normal ones take up so much space when not in use,

[Hoovie]

When stuck for storing the storage (!) a folding box can be handy.

I have my roofbox in the garage and keep it completely filled with stuff when not in use :D

An alternative to the roodboxes would be those 'Rear Trunk' things? I know Thule make them, but don't think I have ever seen one on a car actually (and the way the RAVs rear door is, probably be a very inflexible solution for it anyway!

[Davrav]

An alternative to the roodboxes would be those 'Rear Trunk' things? I know Thule make them, but don't think I have ever seen one on a car actually (and the way the RAVs rear door is, probably be a very inflexible solution for it anyway!

A Caboose..................

[Big Kev]

An alternative to the roodboxes would be those 'Rear Trunk' things? I know Thule make them, but don't think I have ever seen one on a car actually (and the way the RAVs rear door is, probably be a very inflexible solution for it anyway!

A Caboose..................

Bless ye.....try a Lemsip.

[Davrav]

An alternative to the roodboxes would be those 'Rear Trunk' things? I know Thule make them, but don't think I have ever seen one on a car actually (and the way the RAVs rear door is, probably be a very inflexible solution for it anyway!

A Caboose..................

Bless ye.....try a Lemsip.

Thanks, I prefer an analgesic but the Parrots eat 'em 'ol.................

[Big Kev]

An alternative to the roodboxes would be those 'Rear Trunk' things? I know Thule make them, but don't think I have ever seen one on a car actually (and the way the RAVs rear door is, probably be a very inflexible solution for it anyway!

A Caboose..................

Bless ye.....try a Lemsip.

Thanks, I prefer an analgesic but the Parrots eat 'em 'ol.................

Cut off their wings, mate....gives ye a hands free Parrot.....

[Gods_gift]

Anyone tried these roof rails? http://www.direct4x4.co.uk/p-1160-toyota-rav4-oem-style-aluminium-roof-rails.aspx

[Hoovie]

Anyone tried these roof rails? http://www.direct4x4.co.uk/p-1160-toyota-rav4-oem-style-aluminium-roof-rails.aspx

Not tried them but the comment "Very similar in looks to the original Toyota part but at a fraction of the price" is kind of true. They are about 95/100ths of the price. For the minimal extra,I would stick with the OEM Toyota ones.

[firemac]

Anyone tried these roof rails? http://www.direct4x4...roof-rails.aspx

Not tried them but the comment "Very similar in looks to the original Toyota part but at a fraction of the price" is kind of true. They are about 95/100ths of the price. For the minimal extra,I would stick with the OEM Toyota ones.

I know there's been discussion in the past about roof bars & the price therof but it's interesting that ours are now getting on to 10 years old (bought'em with the car) and apart from the Toyota logo on the plastic end covers having faded away, they are still like new. The mechanisms are sound as is the plastic coating on the square section bars themselves. They're on & off regularly & have seen lots of use, so I reckon they were a good buy.

Ditto the OEM aero bars that I bought for the LC4 & also fit the RAV - still in pristine shape. Mind you, at that time Toyota's OEM stuff was Mont Blanc so you'd expect it to last. Don't know if they still use them now.

[RedRoss]

I have a gloss black Thule Atlantis 600 which i use on both my Rav4 4.3 and Audi A4 Avant. It is the perfect size to fit plenty in and also fit a mountain bike at the side ( two bikes fit with a bit of a squeeze). It also has the added bonus of looking quite cool and with it being streamlined it makes very little noise. Highly recommended.