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Roofbox on Manuel roof

B

BobbyP

Messages
3
Location
Sweden
Vehicle
T6 Beach 150
Hi.
I have a Beach 2019 with manual roof.
It says in the manual that there should be no load on the roof when it is opened.
Any experience with having a roof box on the manual roof anyway?
Or is there something to do to make it more durable?
/ Bobby
 
I don't have a roofbox , but one thing i know is that most of the "warnings" in the manual are just useless.
There are lots of Cali users having roofboxes , sure they are not emptying it to open they roof .
 
I have a top box on my Beach. I've been messing about with roofrack/topboxes for a while.
I eventually chose the Thule Polar 500 as it is narrow and light - bought off ebay for £50. The stated weight is 12Kg I think, but after I ditched the rail fittings for bolts it was a tad over 10 Kg. The weight of the roof rack is also 10Kg. This would give 30Kg payload which is plenty for my requirements.
With this set-up I could push the roof up with a bit of effort ! and it would stay up (just - I was on the limit). If I had any load in the box it would drop a bit (not ideal). Perhaps positioning the box further back would help a bit also.
So I would recommend carefully considering the weight of the bars and roof box.
If you are not considering raising the roof then the weight is not so much of an issue.
IMG_5194.JPG
 
I have a top box on my Beach. I've been messing about with roofrack/topboxes for a while.
I eventually chose the Thule Polar 500 as it is narrow and light - bought off ebay for £50. The stated weight is 12Kg I think, but after I ditched the rail fittings for bolts it was a tad over 10 Kg. The weight of the roof rack is also 10Kg. This would give 30Kg payload which is plenty for my requirements.
With this set-up I could push the roof up with a bit of effort ! and it would stay up (just - I was on the limit). If I had any load in the box it would drop a bit (not ideal). Perhaps positioning the box further back would help a bit also.
So I would recommend carefully considering the weight of the bars and roof box.
If you are not considering raising the roof then the weight is not so much of an issue.
View attachment 60439
F2BB4D7A-2C88-4660-852E-AE6CC739F82B.jpeg
 
One upside for an electrohydraulic roof: it can take up to 50kg.
The gas struts on the manual roof won't hold 50kg.
 
Hello i have a Big Thule box. I think i must take it a little bit back. Its little hard to take the roof up.
for the moment i have a stick inside to Hold the roof up the hole way.
but i wonder if the construction is strong Enough on beach without electrical popup
 
I have a top box on my Beach. I've been messing about with roofrack/topboxes for a while.
I eventually chose the Thule Polar 500 as it is narrow and light - bought off ebay for £50. The stated weight is 12Kg I think, but after I ditched the rail fittings for bolts it was a tad over 10 Kg. The weight of the roof rack is also 10Kg. This would give 30Kg payload which is plenty for my requirements.
With this set-up I could push the roof up with a bit of effort ! and it would stay up (just - I was on the limit). If I had any load in the box it would drop a bit (not ideal). Perhaps positioning the box further back would help a bit also.
So I would recommend carefully considering the weight of the bars and roof box.
If you are not considering raising the roof then the weight is not so much of an issue.
View attachment 60439
 
A minor point but I have similar roofbox and use it at 180 degrees with the ‘narrow’ pointy bit at the front. I can then open and close it by standing on side door doorstep. Is there a reason for having it your way? Just intrigued not having a go - honest ;)
 
hi, I thought I might get a comment......

Actually, I quite like it that way. It looked really streamlined on my T4 (before I sold it) :-( …….less so on the T6

I don't think you could reverse fit other roof boxes like this, but the Polar 500 looks good both ways IMO. It does say not to fit it this way on the box, I assumed that to be for aerodynamics. Although I'm not sure which way would be the most aerodynamic on the top of a long roofline.

I have put it that way because the roof rails pivot down the far side, so I need access to the LHS of the box, and when its down the side of the van, it doesn't get in the way of the sliding door.

John
 
Hello i have a Big Thule box. I think i must take it a little bit back. Its little hard to take the roof up.
for the moment i have a stick inside to Hold the roof up the hole way.
but i wonder if the construction is strong Enough on beach without electrical popup


I think you would be OK with a suitable prop. I did consider this but didn't need it when on my travels. If I was to use a prop, I would probably use two, one either side. I wouldn't want the roof to drop in the middle of the night.....
 
A minor point but I have similar roofbox and use it at 180 degrees with the ‘narrow’ pointy bit at the front. I can then open and close it by standing on side door doorstep. Is there a reason for having it your way? Just intrigued not having a go - honest ;)
I came across this link.....
https://electrek.co/2020/03/24/tesla-model-3-roof-rack-box-range-efficiency/
I now feel vindicated with my roofbox set-up ..... !!! As soon as I installed it on the roof it looked right. Its always something that bothered me was that roof boxes were designed to "look" aerodynamic.

John
 
hi, I thought I might get a comment......

Actually, I quite like it that way. It looked really streamlined on my T4 (before I sold it) :-( …….less so on the T6

I don't think you could reverse fit other roof boxes like this, but the Polar 500 looks good both ways IMO. It does say not to fit it this way on the box, I assumed that to be for aerodynamics. Although I'm not sure which way would be the most aerodynamic on the top of a long roofline.

I have put it that way because the roof rails pivot down the far side, so I need access to the LHS of the box, and when its down the side of the van, it doesn't get in the way of the sliding door.

John
I recall an article about roof box drag and 'reverse' fitting was more efficient.
Think of the 30's teardrop design cars and caravans.
Just seems logically wrong to the eye.
 

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