VW T5 Roof rails/bars – recommendations?

Need to put roof rails and bars on T5.
Does anyone have recommendations for which ones to go for.
It’s hard to see what the actual differences are between the various ones for sale on line. There is talk about some bars having plastic ends that attach to the rails – so not as strong??

Want to get something that is long lasting, looks decent, but as cost effectively as possible.

Cheers

Do you really need rails?

We had Thule roof bars on ours which kept the height under 2 meters (good for lower clearance parking) But if we had put rails on and bars they would have been a good 3 inches higher.

Ah good point – I hadn’t thought about that!

If your T5 does not have roof prep rails already fitted there are only 4 fixing captive nuts in the roof gullies – M6 I think. If it did or does have roof prep rails then 7 captive nuts are fitted & the rearmost is a self tapper. The roof prep rails have a slotted profile that allows cross bars to be fitted anywhere along them

4 fixings might be ok for roof bars – depending on how they are to be fitted & the desired load – of course the roof could be drilled for new fittings – if you can access it from the inside. It’s worth checking your roof channels to see what blanking plugs you have.

A T5 owner……….

Thanks for that it has 4 holes. Is that sufficient for rails and a roof box?

Starting to come to conclusion that the aftermarket roof rails aren’t very heavy duty – so concern about loaded roof box heading down motorway. Any thoughts?

Most seem to state ‘fashion accessory only’ or ‘just for psoing with your surf board’ with either no or low (~40kg) load rating. The highest rated rails I have found are these ones on ebay at 75kg.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200904413155

And you can get low profile cross bars for them that don’t raise the height much above the rails.

You can get more heavy duty cross bars that fix direct to the roof. A pair of cross bars attached to just 4 of the fixings (2 each side) can be rated at 100kg, which is more than any rails I have seen which attach to 6 fixings (3 on each rail). So it seems like the fixing points are the limiting factor, although 4 M6’s doesn’t seem a lot.

I’m leaning towards the ebay rails above, as I don’t really want cross bars ‘permanently’ attached. Will just attach the cross bars to the rails when I need then. I’ll probably also go for some thule type cross bars that clamp on above the rails to give me a bit more clearance for the curve of an upside down canoe.

Starting to come to conclusion that the aftermarket roof rails aren’t very heavy duty – so concern about loaded roof box heading down motorway. Any thoughts?

Do you mean the rails (front to back) or the bars (left to right)?

I think John’s saying 4 hole mountings are for foot packs and bars, but you would have more (or bigger?) mounting points for rails.
I have a Thule rack that attaches to rails with what looks like a very big rubber band, but that hasn’t shifted with a 420L box on.
Now I’ve changed cars I have a foot pack and ‘proper’ bars, and it doesn’t feel anymore secure. So if you’re happy with the rail fixing, I don’t think the box will be any concern.

Most seem to state ‘fashion accessory only’ or ‘just for psoing with your surf board’ with either no or low (~40kg) load rating. The highest rated rails I have found are these ones on ebay at 75kg.

If I remember right, the max load of the 420 box is 50Kg (and difficult to achieve with anything you’d want to be lifting onto a T5 roof) so any of them would be close enough. But that link looks pretty good to me.

Put Thule Aero Bars on our Caravelle with the roof bolts. It’s 2.05m to the top of the bars. So OK for most car parks. I have found myself checking heights at railway car parks and such as some seem to be 2.00m these days.

I also just attach the cross bars on my Thule direct into the holes in the gulley on the roof. I pack my ski box full of ski stuff for six people without a problem. It’s plenty secure enough.

Cheers for that. I was meaning the front to back rails – I hadn’t seen the ebay ones. Will prob go for these and Thule type bars

Just to add – although I only had the 4 standard holes I retro-fitted the VW T5 roof prep rails that have a slotted profile their length. VW do sell the fixings for the additional captive nuts (which access below roof is required) but I used Riv-nuts instead which are inserted from the outside. With rails in the gulleys (with 7 M6 screws & the rearmost self -tapper) this makes an extremely solid base for any roof rails – or VW roof bars might even it into the slotted profile.

I have my pop-top & a wind out awning fitted to mine.

Cheers for that. I was meaning the front to back rails 

I know but the point I was making is that if it’s only for carrying a roof box then roof bars running the length of the van are not necessary unless,like johnhighfield, you want to do other things with them.

Would prefer to get rails as I think it improves the look of the vehicle. That said the main aim is to put a roof box on.

I want rails as I think the roof is less likely to get marked/scratched/damaged putting cross bars on/off if they are not being directly attached to the roof, and I don’t want cross bars left on all the time for occasional use.

If it’s mainly cosmetic then go ahead but as has already been said you’ll be over the 2m height for most multi-storey car parks. I’m based in Germany and it would mean practically no parking in the city centres (under ground car parks are popular).