Hi,

 

Does anyone have and also recommend the original Skoda roof bars 5E5071126 -> https://www.theskodashop.co.uk/products/skoda-octavia-iii-hatchback-2015-to-5e5071126

 

I'm asking because they seem reasonable well priced - about half what Thule counterparts cost.

 

Also, each foot uses the 2 mounting points on each door, whereas the Thule's mounting kit 145011 uses only 1 mounting point.

 

I don't know if that makes a great difference, but it makes me think that the original roof bars are better suited.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

Which Thule bars are you comparing? The Skoda bars look like they would sit quite high above the roof... 

 

In terms of being better suited, possibly? But the Thule bars aren't going to fall off! 

4 minutes ago, Swirly182 said:

Which Thule bars are you comparing? The Skoda bars look like they would sit quite high above the roof... 

 

In terms of being better suited, possibly? But the Thule bars aren't going to fall off! 

I made a quick comparison - the cheapest thule option, SquareBar Evo, is almost twice as much.

I know they won't fall off  But perhaps by using 2 mount holes instead of 1, they require less clamping force to achieve the same stability, potentially reducing marks, etc (I have previous bad experience using more generic roofbars on my old car)

8 hours ago, gnaklers said:

Hi,

 

Does anyone have and also recommend the original Skoda roof bars 5E5071126 -> https://www.theskodashop.co.uk/products/skoda-octavia-iii-hatchback-2015-to-5e5071126

 

I'm asking because they seem reasonable well priced - about half what Thule counterparts cost.

 

Also, each foot uses the 2 mounting points on each door, whereas the Thule's mounting kit 145011 uses only 1 mounting point.

 

I don't know if that makes a great difference, but it makes me think that the original roof bars are better suited.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

Have a search on eBay for a used set.

I picked up a near perfect set of Thule square bars with 7104 foot pack and accompanying locks and Allen key for £51...were advertised as 2014 Tiguan roof bars, bid in the last 10s and I won 😉 

 

Granted, they were for an estate but I'm sure there's something on there for hatches?

 

According to these, the cheapest Thule is £159.99, although you can get the same set new on eBay for £119.99

 

https://www.roofracks.co.uk/thule-fit-guide/1368

 

Edited 3 May, 20206 yr by courty

4 hours ago, courty said:

Have a search on eBay for a used set.

I picked up a near perfect set of Thule square bars with 7104 foot pack and accompanying locks and Allen key for £51...were advertised as 2014 Tiguan roof bars, bid in the last 10s and I won 😉 

 

Granted, they were for an estate but I'm sure there's something on there for hatches?

 

According to these, the cheapest Thule is £159.99, although you can get the same set new on eBay for £119.99

 

https://www.roofracks.co.uk/thule-fit-guide/1368

 

Thanks @courty, it's a good advise  Thule makes very good products and it's worth buying second hand. However I would still like to hear some opinions about the original Skoda roofbars...

I have wondered about those myself, they have no overhang and look a bit neater, plus the price is comparible.

I don't think it's half at least I'd hope nobody would pay £420 for a Thule set.  My Thule aero bars and feet etc cost me about £170 for my wife's car.

I made some roofars as a confinement project from scrap materials that I had laying around.

 

My objectives were:

 

Zero cost

 

To use the OE threaded inserts inside the roof bars of the Yeti

 

To not stick up above the roof rails but to be level with the top camber of them for loading flat sheet material etc.

 

I achieved all the objectives & the only unforseen problem is that I need to stand on the door sill to get to the fixings, the nexy job will be a step that hooks into the doorlock keep.

 

Also visible is my confinement slap-head and all the compound splashes on the roof from my air polisher, being vertically challenged I had not seen them till trial fitting the roof bars!

14 hours ago, Alex-W said:

I have wondered about those myself, they have no overhang and look a bit neater, plus the price is comparible.

I don't think it's half at least I'd hope nobody would pay £420 for a Thule set.  My Thule aero bars and feet etc cost me about £170 for my wife's car.

I can get the original roofbars (new) in my country for the equivalent of £115. I'm currently leaning towards these..

On 03/05/2020 at 20:24, gnaklers said:

Thanks @courty, it's a good advise  Thule makes very good products and it's worth buying second hand. However I would still like to hear some opinions about the original Skoda roofbars...

 

For what it's worth I found the official Skoda bars to be good if a bit bulky looking, not streamlined like some other options.

I only ever hired the roof bars along with the roof box for trips so never had to fit them myself or take them off so can't comment on how easy they are to attach, never used them without the roofbox on either .

16 hours ago, J.R. said:

I made some roofars as a confinement project from scrap materials that I had laying around.

 

My objectives were:

 

Zero cost

 

To use the OE threaded inserts inside the roof bars of the Yeti

 

To not stick up above the roof rails but to be level with the top camber of them for loading flat sheet material etc.

 

I achieved all the objectives & the only unforseen problem is that I need to stand on the door sill to get to the fixings, the nexy job will be a step that hooks into the doorlock keep.

 

 

The problem that I could see is you'll possibly break your roof rails.

 

A normal roof rack fits on top of the rails, so the weight is taken by a pad/clamp that rests on top of the rail, then spread over a reasonable area (say 80mm long), no real point loading.

The fixings will secure them on and as well as being clamped to the rails, they will take some force through braking and acceleration, but no weight from the load will be transmitted to the fasteners.

 

Your method puts all forces on the fasteners.  The entire weight of the load on the roof is trying to sheer the fasteners (which to be fair will be able to take it as even an M6 bolt can take several hundred kg) but the question will be what's the female thread you're screwing into held up by?  Is that load bearing?  

It'll then see the acceleration and deceleration forces in the other direction at the same time.

 

 

I'm not saying it's not strong enough to take it and tbh it looks neat.  However with no idea of the cross section of the rail, how strong the female threads are etc you're taking a risk there.  

 

My guess would be that the rail is just a tube and the female threads are rivnuts or clinch nuts or something.  In which case you'll effectively be trying to tear the skin of the tube rather than load the top, which will take less force to break it or deform.  You'd really need a pad welded on the other side to strengthen it, which would be a pain to manufacture and I suspect is the reason why roof racks usually sit on top.

Edited 5 May, 20206 yr by Alex-W

I am an engineer, understand and had had the same thoughts, however I am also a practical person and have given the good news to the fixings to proof load them.

 

They are rivnuts but large flanged rivnuts not Avdel flush nutserts. What I would really like to know is what purpose are they there for, I asked the question on here and was told that there are Skoda crossbars available that use the fixings.

 

The setup will easily take the nominal 75 kg load, I have designed it so that heavy loads will be supported by the centre of the roof rail, remember that the Top Gear team landed a helicopter on top of the Yeti roof rails plus the weight of the platform constructed for it!

 

My cross bars are actually weaker than the fixings and if overloaded would break first and drop onto the crown of the roof. The inner section is timber and I had to rebate the ends to lower the bars to be flush with the rails which weakened them, one side would shear beside the bracket in extremis, say I yumped the vehicle with an overloaded roof rack.

8 hours ago, lway said:

 

For what it's worth I found the official Skoda bars to be good if a bit bulky looking, not streamlined like some other options.

I only ever hired the roof bars along with the roof box for trips so never had to fit them myself or take them off so can't comment on how easy they are to attach, never used them without the roofbox on either .

Thank you - Finally some opinion on the actual roofbars  I agree they are not so "aerodynamic" as others, but is something I'm planning to seldom use. They seem to be very easily to install and uninstall though.

Sorry to have offended or upset you.

As I recently hired these again for a staycation trip, I'm adding some pics of the official Skoda Roof Bars (apologies for the dirt on them, this was after a 3 hour drive  ).

Can't speak to putting them on and off as the Skoda Garage I hired them from did the fitting and didn't give me the keys for the bars, just the box. They didn't have the official Skoda box this time so they gave me a SEAT one. 

 

 

 

 

The mkiii bars have two locating pins and they fix on by pulling a lever down Then the plastic caps fasten over the mechanism. 
on the foot there’s a plastic washer that fits over the pins stopping the clamp from bottoming against the body work, the foot locates on the high point of the roof. 
these details are not on the Mkii rack which has to be fixed by torquing up Allen bolts on each foot with only one pin for location. 
IMHO the mkiii is better designed and I’ve always thought they were made by Thule anyway.