[mianwo]

Sorry if going over old topic, i did a search and found a little bit about this but, 3 questions if anyone has answers.
1. Does having a roof box make a big difference to the mpg?

2. Any reason not to have a "soft" foldable box instead of hard box?

3. Any recommendations for cheap but easy to use - i presume that even if you have the roof rails fitted you still need to buy cross bars and box?

Doing a bit of family travelling in summer and thinking extra space wuold be good. Thanks for any answers in advance.

mike

 

[ariesx20]

1 - Yes, quite a lot - not even a streamlined one will help much there either (see down a
bit).

2 - Only cost and you will get a bit less stuff in there.

3 - Yes, you still need crossbars. If you are going to do it I would suggest looking at the

Thule range. They've some really good designs like the 'Spirit' range of streamlined

boxes. They have a neat Power-lock system I think it's called. Instead of the old

clampsand wing nuts, etc they have a claw arrangement that is wound down from

inside and it clamps around the bars very securely.



One issue you will come across,unless you go for a really chunky andboxy box that is quite short anddeep, is that more or less all the streamlined ones stick out above the windshield so you'll find that even they bring on a lot of drag and drag equals higher fuel comsumption because they form a sort of air dam to trap the airflow. I would imagine it would setup a real howl from the airflow too!



The last thing is that if you do go for a nice, matching (again see Thule) item, you will pay far more than you would have if you bitten the bullet and bought a small trailer which you would have been able to use for the garden waste too! Try lifting a wheelbarrow of brick waste up to the roof height of your Kuga!

Plus a small trailer behind the Kuga if painted properly will lookneat and your fuel consumption will hardly be affected at all. So much easier to load etc too and you can stick the bikes on top.



Regards

PJ

 

[michaelh4]

I have recentbrought a Thule Altlatis 780 which is massive! prob too big for what I need. But no room to store a trailer, so it had to be a roofbox. The bars and box cost £400, which i think is pretty good, compared with a towbar and trailer.Havent tried it on long journeys so cant say about mpg - will be using it in a few weeks for the family holiday, so will see what it does.

If you are buying roof bars and boxes, I can recommend http://www.roofrackshop.co.uk. Prices are ok butfree delivery even for roofboxes which are very bulky. I ordered on a monday nightand had recieved them on thursday morning, which is pretty good.

 

[Pilotlight]

Have a look here for some good deals


http://www.roofbox.co.uk/



I have the same concerns for space with the Kuga, which I will be picking up in the Hour!!!!!

we go camping in the summer months and the size of our tent is quite large. I'm getting a tow bar fitted that will take at least 2 bikes, so we should be ok. Should?!?



roofbox does impinge on mph, but don't keep it on all the time. the Kamei range get good reports.

 

[mianwo]

thanks for info
mike

 

[Slimus]

Thanxx for link Pilotlight I will be looking to buy some roof bars soon and maybe a box these seem quite reasonably priced.


Slimus.