Roof bars and roof box on an AFT Bongo

[Reb]

I have Thule roof bars on my AFT and want to fit a roof box. The box I am thinking of is the KAMEI Husky
330 litres, 190 x 75 x 38cm. I need to check with the sellers but am pretty sure it will fit my roof bars which are in the original pre drilled fixing place i.e about 124 cm apart.

The box weighs 13 kg and the bars are 4kg. Does anyone have any experience of whether this combined weight of 17kg on the AFT is going to be OK? I do not intend to ever lift the roof unless the box is empty, but would like to leave it on.

Many thanks!

[David Edwards]

Sorry I cannot comment on afts as I have a tintop, however I got fed up with having to struggle heightwise to reach anything in the roofbox as it was just so tall, without a ladder it was hopeless,lol, I have now stuck my roof rack and top box on my trailer, so much easier, hope someone can give details needed soon.

[Reb]

I do have a ladder already, so am hoping this will help.

[Reb]

I have just found out that the roof box will not fit on bars as far apart as 124 cm. So it is a no go in any event.

[mikeonb4c]

Sorry I cannot comment on afts as I have a tintop, however I got fed up with having to struggle heightwise to reach anything in the roofbox as it was just so tall, without a ladder it was hopeless,lol, I have now stuck my roof rack and top box on my trailer, so much easier, hope someone can give details needed soon.

I did likewise. And it all sits in the dead air behind the Bongo so adds much less to the air resistance / crosswind handling / strain on the roof / accessibility problems than putting boxes on top of an AFT does.

[Josh N Sarah]

Got the stainless steel roof bars from Ava Leisure £110 but they fix straight in the holes on the aft and a Thule roof box 2nd hand for £40. The long pointy one.Think it's a Pacific. Had to drill holes to make it fit but was dead easy - a five minute job. Use folding 3 step ladder to access the box which lives behind rear seat. Pic in the s/s wheel trim thread on pimp my bongo.

[Reb]

Thanks for that - gives me hope!

If your roof bars fix into the holes on the aft, am I right in guessing that they are 124cm apart, as they are on my Bongo? Or is there some variation in Bongo's?

[timmyt]

Hi,
We have a thule aero bar and narrow type roof box set up.
You can/will need to drill new holes to allow for the extra width of bars,this is not a problem though.
Also the AFT will need considerable help when raising due to the extra weight,and obviously dont try it when it is loaded!
Othe rthan that it is really useful and we always put it on in the summer and off in the winter,we carry the awning,table,chairs etc in there.
Oh and then there is the access issue................................

[Josh N Sarah]

The roof box we have is a Thule Alpine 500, like this one:



Josh is outside busy measuring something on the roof ...............

From a quick measure with it all still on the roof our holes seem to be 120 cm apart lengthways and 110 width

Bars are these: http://mazdabongo.com/display.products.php?pId=478