So i've recently got a vrs so happy with it

It just so happens I stumbled along a video of a tent box and loved the idea.

So i've been looking into it unfortunately it seems i won't be able to as i have a flat roof, no bars or obvious fixing points apart from this under the door which seams to be more a location point

Tentbox themselves say it's fine but ive also seen bad reviews about damage to the car be taken down and hidden.

Most major roof bar companies don't recommended it but many people do and it's fine 

Now as an engineer I would think this area would be reinforced to cope with the weight well enough.

There just seems to be many questions along the lines of legalities and what you would need to do

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated 

Official hatchback roof bar kit is 5E5071126 which lists a 75KG static load max - as do Thule for their roofbars.

That seems fine based on tentbox's recommendation so assuming it's fitted properly, I can't imagine a tentbox would cause any issues for two average sized adults. It might be worth checking everything it still tight before use...

Those holes are to locate the feet of the roof bars which have locating pegs on them, I doubt they're an indication of extra strengthening.

Bearing in mind that the average adult weighs 85kg (male) or 72kg (female) then even one person plus the bars and roof tent would exceed the maximum static load.

7 minutes ago, PetrolDave said:

Those holes are to locate the feet of the roof bars which have locating pegs on them, I doubt they're an indication of extra strengthening.

Bearing in mind that the average adult weighs 85kg (male) or 72kg (female) then even one person plus the bars and roof tent would exceed the maximum static load.

Hi, thanks for your reply, 75kg references dynamic load 75kg, static load tends to be 3-5x higher but mostly never confirmed for most cars

6 minutes ago, Hawko38 said:

Hi, thanks for your reply, 75kg references dynamic load 75kg, static load tends to be 3-5x higher but mostly never confirmed for most cars

That was roughly the reply I got when I asked a manufacturer in Germany last year about the max 75Kg weight.

5 minutes ago, Lee01 said:

That was roughly the reply I got when I asked a manufacturer in Germany last year about the max 75Kg weight.

Yeah its seams they dont confirm it bu, it does need to hold the weight of the car if flipped over....

Even 50 years ago when cars were flimsy they would be stacked 3 high in breakers yards, that gives you an idea of the static load that a flimsy vehicle roof can support, modern safety standards dictate far more strength than that.

Does anyone recall a VW advert from the late 80's might have been early 90's showing an RTA where a large saloon car ended up perched on the roof of a VW Polo which was undamaged? That would have been a very dynamic load as well 😀

It was on a West Sussex road near Small Dole, I remember because the Polo owner successfully sued VAG for using the image of his vehicle without permission.

You will have no problem with a roof tent, just watch out for helicopters landing on it 😀

How did VW get his Polo to a film shoot on a road near Small Dole and film this advert without his permission?
Don't they normally use fake registration plates in adverts?

Edited 12 March, 20251 yr by Lee01