Roofboxes (and bars) - what have you got?

[kmpowell]

Once the attachment is complete, the box locks (using three locking points) and there is therefore no access to attachment points. I suppose that it's as secure as you can get with a plastic box.

Thanks. The Thule boxes clamp into place without locks, so I've read numerous reviews where thieves have got past the box lock (very easy apparently!), then simply untwisted the 4 anchor points and lifted the box away.

Had a Thule Spirit in Anthracite now for a few years no problems at all from it on what ever car its been on, done 2k this year on the B8 with no issues or sound issues at all,
Great looking too not like some boxes !!

That looks good. Sadly it seems as if Thule have discontinued that box.

Wasn't out to impress or deliver, just shared a relevant pic and some words, if not useful no worries. Good luck.

It's the words that would help. The pic is great, but without knowing what box it is etc, it's hard to tell if it will be any good or not.

An RS6 boot and the rear space are huge in comparison to an RS4
As cool as some roof boxes are, they're a pain in the arse to keep loading and then worrying if you've done it up correctly. Plus, this time of year, anything in it freezes
I use Thule wing bars for my bike rack, and the bars are pretty much silent

I had a C7 before the B8, and the boot is 10cm longer and 5cm wider. Sadly that's not enough space for what would be a 40% increase in my monthly payment. It's a roofbox, or a new Q7...

I think I'm sold on the Thule wingbars, they certianly seem the quietest.

I ran Whipsbar's on the B7. Were epic. Literally no noise at all. I can't comment on a box as I didn't run one, but these bars are worth a shot.

http://www.whispbar.co.uk/products/11/rail-bar

According to their website the WB's aren't compatible with the B8

[RossDagley]

According to their website the WB's aren't compatible with the B8

Well.. Balls

[sasha320]

The Packline roofbox is perfect for your stated requirement.

It will fit all the softbags and other bagged baby / small kids paraphernalia you could feasibly need (there is a 400 odd litre capacity), as long as your single / double pram is in the boot.

The combination of Thule Wingbars and the profile and low fitment of the roof box is less than 1.85m which is the typical height restriction out there for mutli storey car parks etc.

Noise levels at the NSL is minimal / non-existant.

When the roof box is positioned correctly on the B8 then it looks really integrated (in the pics mine is positioned too far forward).

The only compromise is that as the roofbars go through the roofbox itself to lower the profile, mounting and dismounting the roof box is not as quick as with the mainstream models.

Also the max height within the roofbox once you have accounted for bars passing through the roof box would be restrictive for quite a few chunky items e.g., to fit a pram up there you pretty much have to dismantle the whole thing. But soft bags and small (carry on) suitcases fit fine.

If you're in SW London you can take a look at mine.

[HK_RS4]

Hi
anyone of you is doing Mountain bike ?? I am wondering how to do for moving 2 adults and 2 children with their bikes in a B8/B7 Rs4 Avant ....
Roofboxes in not the solution there ...
thxs

[RossDagley]

Graeme does a lot of biking and uses the b8 a lot for transport iirc.

[Graeme4130]

Did someone mention my name
I use Thule 591 bike carriers on Thule wing bars

[HK_RS4]

Thxs for the reference
looks like you have 2 bars for 2 bikes on your B8
I have 2 daughters , do you think 3 bikes can go on the RS4 roof ??
sounds impossible to use the RS for 4 persons and 4 mountain bike , no ?

[Graeme4130]

Thxs for the reference
looks like you have 2 bars for 2 bikes on your B8
I have 2 daughters , do you think 3 bikes can go on the RS4 roof ??
sounds impossible to use the RS for 4 persons and 4 mountain bike , no ?

Yeah, I only use two racks
However, I've seen wing bars like mine with three racks on them, but you'd need to put the centre one facing backwards so that the handlebars don't clash with each other
4 bikes would be a squeeze on the wing bars as the black plastic edging that you can see in my photo takes up about 3" both sides, but with some of the other, wider, bars, you could easily fit 4

[boff]

Once the attachment is complete, the box locks (using three locking points) and there is therefore no access to attachment points. I suppose that it's as secure as you can get with a plastic box.

Thanks. The Thule boxes clamp into place without locks, so I've read numerous reviews where thieves have got past the box lock (very easy apparently!), then simply untwisted the 4 anchor points and lifted the box away.

Had a Thule Spirit in Anthracite now for a few years no problems at all from it on what ever car its been on, done 2k this year on the B8 with no issues or sound issues at all,
Great looking too not like some boxes !!

That looks good. Sadly it seems as if Thule have discontinued that box.

Wasn't out to impress or deliver, just shared a relevant pic and some words, if not useful no worries. Good luck.

It's the words that would help. The pic is great, but without knowing what box it is etc, it's hard to tell if it will be any good or not.

An RS6 boot and the rear space are huge in comparison to an RS4
As cool as some roof boxes are, they're a pain in the arse to keep loading and then worrying if you've done it up correctly. Plus, this time of year, anything in it freezes
I use Thule wing bars for my bike rack, and the bars are pretty much silent

I had a C7 before the B8, and the boot is 10cm longer and 5cm wider. Sadly that's not enough space for what would be a 40% increase in my monthly payment. It's a roofbox, or a new Q7...

I think I'm sold on the Thule wingbars, they certianly seem the quietest.

I ran Whipsbar's on the B7. Were epic. Literally no noise at all. I can't comment on a box as I didn't run one, but these bars are worth a shot.

http://www.whispbar.co.uk/products/11/rail-bar

According to their website the WB's aren't compatible with the B8

HiYa Buddy, the RS6 is Circa 12% bigger than the B8:

A6

The boot offers 565 litres of space, which expands to a generous 1,680 litres when the split-folding rear seats are dropped down flat – a simple and painless process.

Read more: Audi A6 Avant estate practicality & boot space | Carbuyer http://www.carbuyer.co.uk/reviews/audi/ ... z3wWF9RBXP
Follow us: @CarbuyerUK on Twitter | CarbuyerUK on Facebook

A4

Compared to its rivals, the A4 Avant fares pretty well here. Its boot is nowhere near as big as the Skoda Superb or Volkswagen Passat estate’s, but it does well against its Mercedes and BMW rivals. There’s 505 litres of boot space with the rear seats in place (more than either the C-Class or 3 Series), but flip them down using the handy plastic levers in the boot and that extends to 1,510 litres.

Read more: Audi A4 Avant estate practicality & boot space | Carbuyer http://www.carbuyer.co.uk/reviews/audi/ ... z3wWFVrj66
Follow us: @CarbuyerUK on Twitter | CarbuyerUK on Facebook

FIRSTLY! the RS4 B8 is the best car I have ever owned, I'm gonna have to shift mine for business reasons, but I tell you - I'd love to hang on to it. The RS6 though is on order and allows to to shift financing methods. ANYWAY Hard Choices:

Lets talk kids, I have 2 kids, 5 & 7, the RS4 is bearable but sometimes just far to small Xmas being the main event. If number three were on the way that would make me move the RS4 on straight away. The RS6 now then, I did the full test on that car, and loaded her right up - the boot is much bigger, and I could get a dog + pram and a load of stuff in there no drama, also the back seat works for three.

Outside of the 6 your are really looking at a RRS/X5/blaah 7 seater, or like my cunning plan, Disco sport for the mrs.

And then there's the final and very important note... it is the FFSINA effect - the For Fucks Sake I Need Amusing effect. This is other wise known as oh <beep> my wife has turned into a gooey alien effect. If you can't find a release in a motor.... then a man needs a release, time to take up erm.... I dunno - I actually dunno. 40% is a small investment.

Hard choices fella indeed, I do love my B8, it is too small, C7 isn't - sod the cash.

[kmpowell]

The Packline roofbox is perfect for your stated requirement.

It will fit all the softbags and other bagged baby / small kids paraphernalia you could feasibly need (there is a 400 odd litre capacity), as long as your single / double pram is in the boot.

The combination of Thule Wingbars and the profile and low fitment of the roof box is less than 1.85m which is the typical height restriction out there for mutli storey car parks etc.

Noise levels at the NSL is minimal / non-existant.

When the roof box is positioned correctly on the B8 then it looks really integrated (in the pics mine is positioned too far forward).

The only compromise is that as the roofbars go through the roofbox itself to lower the profile, mounting and dismounting the roof box is not as quick as with the mainstream models.

Also the max height within the roofbox once you have accounted for bars passing through the roof box would be restrictive for quite a few chunky items e.g., to fit a pram up there you pretty much have to dismantle the whole thing. But soft bags and small (carry on) suitcases fit fine.

If you're in SW London you can take a look at mine.

The 'compromise' you mention, might be an advantage security wise. So you're saying that in order to remove the box, you have to remove the bars because they slide through holes either side?

This is good because Thules are stolen by cracking the single lock, opening and undoing the hand tightened clamps, then simply lifting it away.

[sasha320]

Correct, aint no-one stealing the roofbox by lifting it off the bars.

The weakest link in my setup is where the roofbars join the roofrails. Prise the plastic covers off the Thule roofbars with a flat head screwdriver and loosen the allen key nuts that clamp the bars to the rails and you can lift the whole set up off the roof.

Admitedly more hassle than just getting past the roof box lock and unscrewing the roofbox off the roofrails, but equally the thieves can be away with either roof box in a matter of minutes.

[copperband]

I think the more space you have the more you fill it, it's like moving to a bigger house!

When my wife was expecting our first baby she moved from a 3 door A3 to a 5 door and we bought a Thule roof box (biggest one) for holidays (that we drive to) and bike bars.
When my Cayman was up for renewal I had to accept that 2 seats were not going to work and so I bought the RS4.

I do find the RS4 obviously has more space that the A3 Sportback, I do find that the boot cover and the sun blind (neither of which I have ever used) are complete space hogs and once removed create a lot more load space. If we had a 2nd child then we'd use my car a lot more as it would have more space for the 2 car seats in the rear plus space for rear passenger.

The main space hog with children is the Pushchair. I work in this industry and can honestly say they vary hugely in how small they fold, how easy it is to do and also how compact you can make them to fit around other things. We use several different models depending on where we are going and what we are doing. A bit like a bicycle, the option of quick release wheels and splitting into 2 parts and folding in a way that is most efficeient is good to know. it might mean you can keep the RS4

[HK_RS4]

Got it
Thxs for the details , will stick to 3 , looks better
(love the red RS4 , congrat)

[Silver7]

Quick question on roof bars and RS4 - has anyone actually used three bike carriers on the Thule edge bar or whisparbar? Have some conflicted advice I whether they will fit. Help appreciated !