Hi

 

First time use of roof bars so I am needing some advice on fitting the roof bars onto the roof rails on my skoda estate.

 

My concern is around the front roof bar location for locking onto the roof rail

 

Due to spacing requirements between the roof bars I am needing to place the frontal roof bar on the "downward slope" of the roof rails.

 

Question is, is this safe and normal practice, I would have preferred to have located it further down the car on the rail, however, due to the stem on the rail I've needed to place the rear roof bar "in-front" of the stem and therefore the spacing needed the front bar to be on the downward slope.

 

Can anyone please advise?

 

Thanks

 

Mark

Would it not make more sense to but the rear bar behind the stem and then the front one can sit on the flat part?

Hi

 

I tried that, however, the boot clangs that back of the roof box and I want to avoid that, for one so that I don't mark the box or the boot and two so that I don't bang my head.

 

Thanks

 

Mark

Although driving slowly, I misread a low arch which a transit went through before me okay, but literally  just clipped my bike handlebar on my roof rail and ripped the driver's side rail off, but was glad that the old design is a three piece rail and it only ended up with a broken front bracket and bent rail where the join was (new design is a one piece and wouldn't do this), so if I'd placed it as you're hoping, it would have probably torn the bracket clean out the roof itself and caused a LOT of expensive damage instead of the £15 I paid for a new roof rail.

 

Personally, I'd load the boot THEN put the box on top and leave it at that instead of trying to manufacture a solution that might damage the shell of the car if something happened. That and I have no idea how well it would secure on a rounded bit of rail. At worst, I almost guarantee you'll break the cover when you tighten the bar up, which I also did when it was slightly too far forward once, and now I always put the bars just on the line of the join, middle side to avoid a repeat.

 

It's like they built a safety factor into the old design, which I'm very grateful for!

Put sticky back fabric on the corner of the box so the boot rests on something soft when it opens against it?

The fitting instructions for my Atera Signo roof bars warn against fitting the supporting legs on the front or rear sloping areas of roof rails.

I assume there is also no adjustment on the roofbox for the roof bar spacing either?

 

I'd be tempted to get some foam to attach to the back of the box or possibly a different box.