How much can you get in a roof box?

I need to take wifey, 2 kids and all the gubbins PLUS my bike and kit in a Ford Kuga on a four day weekend.

Realistically then, will buying a roof box alleviate much space – I’m after some real world experience please.?

If your my dad….EVERYTHING!!!!!

That bit in Leon where the cop goes….EVERYBODY!!!!…..?

Like that

[pedant]

EVERYONE!!!!

[/pedant]

Apologies…

Your wife will fit will fit in easily, with at least one of the kids.

Your wife will fit will fit in easily, with at least one of the kids.

The capacity on each kinda gives away how much they can carry…….

I’ve got a long thin one that allows room for bike racks on either side. I can fit 2 massive duffle bags of clothes, 4 sleeping bags, thermarests, groundsheets etc. Basically soft goods for 4 freeing up the boot/ car for everything else.

Edit – this allowed for 4 of us to camp at bike races and carry 2 adult bikes and 2 kids bikes all on/in a civic. You should be fine with 1 bike and presumably not camping at this time of year.

Roofboxes are indispensible! – had a long, thin one for years – an older version of this – http://www.karrite.com/360.asp.

On the roof of my VW Golf I can fit 3x mountain bikes (just!) as well as the thin roofbox

Inside I generally get:
6 foot foam surfboard
2x bodyboards
big holdall of shoes
big holdall of towels
Football
3x bike helmets
track pump
toolbox
fishing rods
deckchair
toilet rolls
other stuff….

Thanks Three fish….sorry Rob 😳

Got a huge 580L one. Will take a bike in a bike bag, a few sleeping bags and a pop up tent along with anything else to cram in the gaps.
We wouldn’t be able to do our summer camping hols without one.

We borrowed a huge one and it took all the luggage for four adults for a two week riding holiday. Four large sports bags plus four camelbacs.

Remember your roof bars will have a weight limit and its up high so don’t go too mad 🙂

as spooky said, your roof bars will have a SWL, but your roof will too…keep heavy things for the boot, lighter stuff (bike helmets, towels etc for the box.

ive got a 350L one i think (takes half of roof up), leaving 1/2 for bike rail things.

just back from center parcs for 5 days – took 2 bikes and clothes for me and the missus and 2 kids. we chuck clothes in binbags and cram them into the roofbox, dont bother with the wee lock too much i just strap them down with those tie/webbing type things you can get. got it all in a 5 door hatchback golf, inc a push chair, selection of balls etc.

same as irv in think above.

My sister and her friends used one they wondered why the cars ober taking them on the m20 had bras pants and t shirts on them. 😆

Get a grip – you don’t need to take that much junk with you*

* decided as I was fitting the roof box to a passat estate to go away for the weekend once with 2 tiny kids that it was a little bit ridiculous. If we couldn’t manage with a big estate car then we were taking too much.

Of course, I guess a Ford Kuga isn’t quite as capacious, but you get the idea 😉

Thanks all. I should point out that the bike is Italian Carbon so I’ve no desire to stick on the roof, and that’s causing the biggest issue as the frame in a bag will consume most of the boot due to the awkward sizing.

dknwhy’s solution seems a good one, but needs the most expensive and largest/heaviest box :-/

Surely if it’s

Italian Carbon

then it should be fairly light and aerodynamic and therefore cause less drag than a huge roof box 😆

I’ve found our roof box invaluable for summer and winter trips away. It’s a long thin one that allows for up to 3 bikes next to it. On summer hols , particularly to the beach, all sandy stuff can go up in the box keeping sand out of the car, and similarly on skiing hols the wet skis and boots go up there after a day on the slopes.

Over the years I’ve seen too many smashed to pieces on the sides of motorways and autoroutes. Stick with Thule or Karrite or Mont Blanc. You get what you pay for!

We used ours for a week-long camping (when I say ‘camping’, it really was moving house with a canvas roof) trip with two young kids and all the stuff required for a seaside holiday. Just about managed it – but it was rammed and so was the car (A6).

But… the pigeon that decided to take a rest between the roof box and car roof was a fiddle to prise back out 😯

I’ve got a 370l Volvo Weekender

It gets packed with 4 holdall style bags, all the coats and wellies a family of 4 could need, bike helmets and random other bits. Essential when the boot is full of pushchairs, highchairs and christmas presents to be exchanged on the annual roadtrip around the country.

Box cost £80 off ebay, and Ford/Thule roofbars cost another £60. Somewhat cheaper than buying a bigger car.