Previous car was a Discovery and was always used to going in the over sized carriage but even with a roofbox will I be below or above the 1.85m, I think below?

Will depend on the bars and the box you use.

You would need to know the height of the superb then find the dimensions of the box you are using and add on the height of the bars.

It might just be under bit if it's a bigger box it might be ever so slightly over.

Phil

i would guess below iv'e banged my head getting in once or twice and i'm only 5 ft 7"

if it's just over, let some air out the tyres

They would just direct you to the single deck carriages - plenty high enough for your roofbox, and probably you standing on top of it. This is also where you go if you have a car with low ground clearance (no ramps).

Just let them know in advance. No additional charges payable for this.

Edited 12 February, 201313 yr by JakeBlade

I've been facing a similar issue. I have an estate. The height of the estate over roof rails is about 1510mm.

Low profile roof bars such as those from Atera take the height of the car to about 1550mm

Most current roofboxes are about 350mm high. This takes the height to 1900mm. However most roofboxes have a recess where the roof rails go and you can deduct the size of this recess from the overall height. You might just be OK.

I've bought secondhand Atera roof rails and a second hand Mercedes roof box that's only 310mm high. I'm just waiting for some dry weather to set it all up and measure it!

The saloon is 1465mm high, but I have no idea of the height of normal roof bars suitable for the saloon

Eurotunnel will take you into single deck carriages only if you cross 1.85m barrel barriers on the way to the shuttle. If you hear a mighty bang you will know the box was too high so I'd recommend working out or measuring the total height before buying the box, and aiming for 1.8m to leave some margin. That'll probably mean a very flat, pancake shaped box

Or you can try finding a towbar box. Height of the car remains unchanged, and it is not a trailer nor a bike rack, so other ferry operators have a hard time to charge more for it (noone did so far) . Packing towbar box is easier than a roof box, as you can still open the boot on the Superb/Octavia shaped car (Roomster does not allow it, but has easily folding seats for access to boot when box is on).

You can drive safely much faster with a decent towbar box than with the roof box/wing on top of the car, without risk of car flying off the road. My Mk1 Superb regularly super(b)cruises at 130mph+ across Germany. Fuel consumption is unaffected or lower, actually better with a box on Roomster / Golf shaped car at speed (box smoothes out a bit air turbulence behind the car). The only way handling is affected is if you have strong side wind, the box tries to turn the steering wheel a little, not enough to be concerned, and this is at 120mph+ anyway.

Years ago (2006/7ish) I bought an Autobox-carrier, the company I think was from SA, but after a brief spell in Europe they decided it was not worth it and shut European operation, especially after Thule started making (way too large IMHO) boxes that fit on Thule towbar bike racks.

Autobox-carrier looked quite good and was made in 3 sizes (smallest one being over 200l already), LED lights and all, but internal frame was not very durable, rusted through, and the welds were poor. The lock was a similar affair. Still, after a can of steel-loaded epoxy, a steel strip, a few bolts and a can of spray paint, mine is as sturdy as new, if not better. After repairs, I tested it to 100kg (a lot of water bottles) over speed bumps, in town and at speed, and it looks that it will provide a great service in the years to come.

Edited 13 February, 201313 yr by dieselV6

Sorry, but if you book online and tell them that you have a roof box/bikes then you will get booked into the single deck carriages. You also select this if you have low ground clearance on your car.

When you "check in" at the ticket booth at the terminal, you just need to remind them that you need to go into the single deck. Tell them that you have measured it, and it is 1m90. Then you just follow the signs for the high space carriages.

Yes, they will give you single deck as long as you mention roofbox, but it seems the OP wanted to have a car capable of fitting in the double deck carriages as well. If you take a ticket from the machine and on a particular day an automated lane selection operates, then you will get a twin deck shuttle as long as you managed to pass the 1.85m barrel barriers without a bang.

One point worth keeping in mind is that being capable of single deck only makes your delay potentially a lot larger whenever there is a technical problem in the Tunnel. On one trip out of UK last year, the "official" delay was 4+ hours, we had 2+ hours delay printed on the ticket (standard car, either singl/double deck shuttle would be fine), but when we arrived at the terminal we found that we waited less than 10 minutes. And most cars on the terminal were SUVs/coaches/bike racks etc. Turns out a lot of people "forget" to mention increased height when booking, probably because they think it would be more expensive (ferries do that).

I have been using Eurotunnel 10-30 times a year for past 12 years or so, travelled in both single and double deck carriages, but it is good to be able to use either.

Edit: I can see my typo now, first sentence of my earlier post should read "will only take you to double single deck carriages..."

Edited 13 February, 201313 yr by dieselV6