[rosshayburn]

Hi Folks, in need of some advice. I'm looking to put roof bars on my t4 swb that I converted last summer; however I'm not wanting to bolt through the roof as I will have to remove the interior roofing etc, and to be honest I don't want to drill more holes in the roof!

Will bars like the Thule's with 141572 fixings be possible to clamp on, or how has anyone else done this?


Any advice or help is appreciated!

Thanks,
Ross

 

[Or_GazM]

I had a pair of "clamp-on"...Thules....
Only used them ONCE for a trip to UK with a small roofbox on.
Left scratch marks on the paint, didn't feel secure at all (OK, I do tend to drive "with the traffic" when going through Germany...so 180kph ...100+ mph was "normal").
As soon as I got to UK, ordered the ones from VeeDub (as in the previous thread) and fitted those....
Gave the "clamp-ons" to Simon at Brickwerks to add to his collection of "junk"....I guess he binned them or gave them away!

There is no "gutter" on the outside of the van to get a secure fix....you rely on simply "pulling the cross-bars tight enough to not move".
Well, they DID move!
Took a while to polish out the marks they left (even though I'm NOT a fanatic of "nice paintwork", they left a dull/scratched patch about 3" square (yeah, still use my old-mans measurements for rough guesses), and I would NOT suggest you use them.

FAR better to spend the time, remove the roof lining (yeah, it's a pain, but not impossible) and do the job right...assuming you want to put any load over 50kg up there, and/or drive at more than 50mph!...

Remember, I did this "replacement job" of the roof bars, at my mum's house, limited tools, in an afternoon.
New ones are FINE with a 100kg load (NOT according to OLD VeeDub specs....but they upgraded them after MY comments...even offered to send me a modification....but they work fine as-is).

Why take a risk for the sake of a few hours work, when, let's face it, you guys in UK have f*ck-all else to do until the pubs open...

 

[rosshayburn]

Legend! You make some very good points, especially about having f all to do until the pubs open! 😂 But yeah, I was assuming because there was no gutter that clamping them on in any form wouldn't be overly secure, so I'll take the advice and do it properly. Will keep you updated!

Cheers

 

[Or_GazM]

It really does depend upon what you want/need them for.
Occasional use to put some lengths of wood on the roof...maybe OK.
But for a roof-box, I would give a pass on them.

OK...seems VeeDub are currently "Out of Stock", but even my 1st (un-centre supported) V1s have been great.
As I posted in the other thread...fitted them whilst visiting my mum in UK....only tools I had was the ones left from my dad (who died 5 years earlier, and his garage raided by my brother..LOL).

The bars come with "feet" that fit perfect between the slots in the gutter...and using the rubber seals and a little extra quality sealant, have survived Norwegian winters (over 3 feet of snow on the roof, temps to -20C) and also 35C temps driving through Europe.

The ONLY problem is....as they fit into that gutter slot, water does sit there.
NOT caused any issue, other than when you 1st drive, and brake, you DO get a flood down the windscreen...MAJOR PROBLEM...NOT!

No association with VeeDub, but the guy (Simon?) was VERY helpful when I bought these.....in a 3 week time slot to buy/get delivered/ask questions before driving back to Norway!
He was also VERY open to the suggestion that "maybe a centre support would be good".....even offered to get a pair made and posted to me....but time was not on my side. (They now fit them....)

Honestly....took me an afternoon to take the roof panels out, drill/bolt/seal, and re-assemble. (Wife and mother were at Matalan...I dropped them off, and picked them back up with the job done!...but we all know how long women take to shop clothes..LOLOL)

 

[rosshayburn]

Eventually there will be a roof box / cage or something load bearing on them, so better being safe than sorry.

That's good to hear it was a simple install though, hopefully taking down my cladding roof won't be too much of a pain! lol Do you remember what size of bolt was used for them? And I already have the issue of a flood down the windscreen when I brake as my solar panel cables pass through the roof in the gutter - so this doesn't bother me at all!

Had a look on the website there and as you say, they're out of stock, but I'll get in touch with them and see what can be done!

and I take it you had days to fit them then whilst they were shopping 😂

 

[Or_GazM]

'Twas some years ago, but I think the 4 bolts are 6mm diameter. (Stainless steel)