The extra space you’ve always wanted for your car
In the car, even as it is at home, especially in the case of long journeys, space is essential. If we then have to move discrete loads with us it is even more important. We remember all the old movies where 127 tiny ones were filled beyond belief to take families on vacation. In the end, it was the people who had to fit the luggage and not the other way around. Luckily the door bars all save us from this chilling image.
This simple system in fact guarantees us the possibility of adding additional space to our car, without affecting the comfort of the passengers in the passenger compartment and without having to play Tetris in the trunk. We will no longer have to knock down the passenger seats to increase space, provided our car allows it, then. The ideal solution is to rely on roof bars, a system that is as simple as it is effective, which allows us to transport practically anything on the roof of our car. Caution!! If your car is a convertible, this is not the right article for you: you need a hardtop for this system.
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What are the roof bars?
Already the name should make us suspect something but for clarity let’s describe them anyway. These are steel or aluminum bars, coated with plastic or enamel paint, which can be applied to the roof of any car. The roof bars are used, as the name implies, to carry everything or almost everything, simply by loading it and fixing it on them.
Their purpose is to increase the car’s load capacity by creating an additional trunk on the outside of the vehicle. Obviously, we will have to make the right choice when purchasing and be precise with assembly and loading, in order not to incur unpleasant road safety violations and to avoid jeopardizing driving safety.
Assembling the roof bars is incredibly simple: the only thing we have to take into account is that our car is equipped with fixing systems such as handrails or special fixing points. If the car has handrails we will be able to direct our purchases towards universal roof bars while, if we only have fixing points, it is preferable to take specific roof bars for the car model.
What to consider before buying roof bars
First of all, we should consider what we have to carry and the use we wish to make of it. In fact, we will need different accessories and attachments if we want to carry luggage, bikes or skis, or a classic roof box. There are many alternatives on the market, specific both for load and for the type of car on which the roof bars will be mounted. The standard dimensions of this system range from about 110 cm to 220 cm in length with 2/3 mm thickness.
It is therefore not a system that adds a lot of weight in itself but, given the thickness, we will have to choose
the right model based on the load we will decide to transport to avoid deformations.
How are the roof bars used?
Each roof rack system is equipped with a hooking system that will be fixed to the handrails or to the anchoring points on our roof. The luggage must then be loaded symmetrically in such a way as to distribute the weight equally on both bars. At this point, we will only have to tie our luggage with the special fixings and mount the anti-theft mask, a special security system that covers and blocks the fixings of the roof bars making it difficult if not impossible to steal our luggage.
What we need to consider before buying
Roof bars are extremely comfortable to use but we have to consider a few obvious things that are often overlooked.
First thing: we often tend to enter with luggage loaded on the roof bars. In this case, it will be good to check the height and speed of parking in closed spaces. Believe it or not, the distortion of the bars or the damage to the roof come from episodes of this type, more frequent than is evidently believed.
And if we want to orient ourselves on the purchase of a universal model (Withcar) we must be sure that the size of the roof bars does not exceed that of the roof. This thing would not be in accordance with nor is it safe for those who drive and for those who are on the road with us.
It goes without saying that the advantages of this system are immense, both in terms of space and travel comfort.
