Roof Box Buying Guide

Roof Boxes Buying Guide

The decision about which roof box to buy should mainly be influenced by what basic shape of box is appropriate for your requirements, which means most importantly “What width of box?” followed by “What length of box?”

It's usually quite easy to decide which shape of box to go for.

Rule 1: If you want to carry other things on the roof as well as the box, either now or later, choose a box which leaves space on the roof bars.

That's obvious.

Narrow or Medium-width boxes will suit people who want the flexibility to carry bikes, windsurfers, or kayaks.

Rule 2: If you need to carry long items over 2 metres, you'll need a long box, whatever the width.

Also obvious!

Even if you don't have particularly long things to carry, it's likely that a long box will suit you best if it's for use by a family of four or five people. Long medium-width and Long full-width boxes are by far and away our most popular 'family flexible' boxes. There will usually be space on the roof bars for at least one bike carrier, especially if you use T-track aluminium aerobars (which allow the full length of the bars to be used for load carrying), and you choose the type of roof bars which stick out beyond the roof bar 'feet'.

“Long boxes” will almost certainly be longer than your car roof and will stick out over the windscreen, but you won't notice the box when you're in the car.

There is no such thing as a particular box for a particular car, but it makes sense to be able to open your tailgate fully, making sure that any tailgate spoiler doesn't hit the back of the box, so there are some boxes which aren't suitable for particular cars. Sometimes the positioning of the roof bars on the car roof will require some boxes to be fitted in an unsatisfactory position; we'll tell you about these bad combinations whenever we have this information.

Price is important but bear in mind that a roof box should be expected to last for many family holidays and weekends away; it should give many years of solid and reliable service. We don't stock any of the really cheap boxes because there are real doubts about their safety and build quality.

Different shapes for different purposes

Some other 'Rules of thumb' where boxes are fitted to 118cm or 120cm aluminium T-slot roof bars: There will be space on a long medium-width box for 2 bike carriers, and space on a long full-width box for 1 bike carrier. Mid-length medium-width boxes are usually big enough for a family of 4, leaving room for up to 2 bike carriers. (Note that 3 bikes can usually be fitted on the back of the car, or 4 on a tow bar carrier.)

Narrow roof boxes (up to 60cm wide) People usually need to choose narrow boxes if they want to leave space on the roof of a standard width vehicle for a kayak, or for two or three bike carriers.

Medium-width roof boxes (up to 75cm wide) These boxes are significantly easier than full-width boxes for one reasonably strong person to lift and to move around safely, not only because they are usually much lighter, but also because you can get hold of them from both sides. Depending on what type of roof bars you are using, you should also be able to carry at least one bike on the roof, often two bikes.

These are our most popular family boxes, because of the flexibility they offer.

There's a filter on the medium-width roof box lists for mid-length boxes and for long boxes.

Full-width roof boxes (up to 95cm wide) Wide roof boxes impose limitations on what else you can carry on the roof. There will usually be roof bar space for one bike carrier, depending on the length of the roof bars and whether you use T-track aluminium bars.

Long full-width boxes are always very bulky and awkward for one person to move on their own, and they can be significantly more difficult to store.