Good Morning All,

 

I have managed to source myself a set of genuine Skoda roofs bars for my 2010 Fabia Hatchback..... can anyone tell me what the max size of box i can go for which will not overhang the front and allow the tailgate to open unhindered ??? Thanks

any box which is the same length as the roof panel would be the biggest you should go for "imo"............even then it also depends on where the fixings are for the roof box.

Agree, i was looking for a member who may have looked at this problem before they purchased and have already got the biggest box already, i was looking at getting a Thule one as the build quality seems to be there, but the Ocean 80 looks a tad small.

320 litres.............I suppose it depends what you want to carry up there, remember the roof load is probably only 75KG's

I just checked the owner's manual. Max roof load including roof bars and roofbox is 75 kg. I've only ever used one on the Superb for carrying light but bulky items on holiday (buggy, travel cot, etc.). If you expect to use it regularly you may have bought the wrong car.

75kg is a lot, thats three bags of cement, plus the load limit will have a daft margin of error and will probably handle twice that.

It's not just whether the roof can support the load, it's also its effect on vehicle stability in cornering. I carried the maximum allowed a good few times on my B5 Passat and it was noticeable in corners. Not a limit I'd be inclined to exceed.

I don't think roof load would be an issue since the roof is strong enough to support the weight of the vehicle if rolled in an accident.

 

Typically a large suitcase full of clothes and holiday stuff weighs around 30kg, I cannot imagine that having three of these on the roof would pose any problems for vehicle handling since the car with passengers would weigh ~1500kg or more.

90Kg's that high up when cornering can make a huge difference to handling.

 

65 Kgs up top on my Land Rover used to be very noticable.

 

 

Edited 30 May, 20215 yr by UrbanPanzer

Did somebody call the safety police, because they're here speculating again!

3 minutes ago, sepulchrave said:

Did somebody call the safety police, because they're here speculating again!

And they got here over an hour ago. I've no idea what the maximum load for a Furbie 2 top box is, but pretty much every car I've ever looked at payload figures for did quote a roof rack/top box load figure.

Nobody asked for advice about heavy loads on the roof, it's merely size being asked about.

Just saying. 

yes but theres speculation that 90Kgs won't affect the vehicle handling................................although EVERY vehicle manufacturer seems to disagree as do the laws of physics.................I don't know who to believe!!!

Perhaps the OP could comment on likely weight of roof box contents, so we know if there's any relevance.

54 minutes ago, UrbanPanzer said:

yes but theres speculation that 90Kgs won't affect the vehicle handling................................although EVERY vehicle manufacturer seems to disagree as do the laws of physics.................I don't know who to believe!!!

 

Au contraire, clearly the car will be undriveable, I can only imagine how quickly it will get away from the driver, I can almost hear the screams as it careers off the road at the first sign of steering input.

 

I cannae change the laws of physics!

Yeti roof bars will take the weight of a Robin helicopter, if you dont freeze the video and look too closely that is!

As a static load, car roof / roof bars will support typically the mass of the vehicle. When/if a manufacturer quotes a roof load, they're quoting a dynamic load at which safe handling of the vehicle will be maintained.

 

If anyone wants to say that the quoted roof load for $vehicle is too low, please remember to supply worked calculations and not just a statement.

2 hours ago, KenONeill said:

If anyone wants to say that the quoted roof load for $vehicle is too low, please remember to supply worked calculations and not just a statement.

 

Now this will be interesting !!!

57 minutes ago, UrbanPanzer said:

 

Now this will be interesting !!!

I know.  and nachos time!

"Hey Pawel, the mouthbreathers in marketing want to know what the safe roof loading is for their roof bars"

 

"OK, I'll call Walther at compliance in Wolfsberg"

 

"Walther, what can I say for the safe roof loading on the new Fabia?"

 

"Pawel, we have test data from the 1970's showing 75kg is safe and the cars back then were made of tinfoil."

 

"But cars and bars are a lot stronger these days Walther"

 

"Who cares Pawel, if the car isn't big enough to carry the load internally then they should buy a bigger car."

 

"Thanks Walther, that's definitely something for marketing, just email me the test details."

I was thinking about buying a roof box so I was interested in the query by Hudson1. Goodness knows what Hudson1 made of it all but I found it probably the most unhelpful thread ever. If anyone can actually answer the question I would be grateful.  

4 hours ago, Phil866 said:

I was thinking about buying a roof box so I was interested in the query by Hudson1. Goodness knows what Hudson1 made of it all but I found it probably the most unhelpful thread ever. If anyone can actually answer the question I would be grateful.  

 

The answer is to open the tailgate and use a tape measure.

Absolutely, but I reckon if anyone had given that answer at the beginning they would have been jumped on as well.

51 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Absolutely, but I reckon if anyone had given that answer at the beginning they would have been jumped on as well.

Nope, it's a sensible answer, probably one the Halfords man would start off with. Like Hudson1 I was hoping for some roof box owners experience but I'm realising that no one that's replied actually owns one to give any advice or recommendations re make, size, capacity, how easy to remove for storage etc. I already knew about the safe load limits as it's on the bars and in the manual, but the conversation/discussion about how many 25kg bags of cement you can load in one before the car falls over, like Jeremy Clarkson in a Reliant Robin, was a bit weird. If I wanted to load up a 75+kg RSJ on the bars then well and good (although I suspect the bars would collapse first), but most average sized roof boxes have a maximum load limit of 50kgs in any event.  

2 hours ago, Phil866 said:

I already knew about the safe load limits

Well, bully for you!  Not everyone actually reads or follows instruction though.