Evoque Roof boxes - help please for the uninformed!

Hi folks,

So, holiday has just been booked to Centreparks for the week. This means the car will be packed to the rafters with clothes, shopping, pram and all manner of baby gear. Would like to get a roof box instead, so we can enjoy the ride in comfort!

I've NO idea at all about these things!

So, what do I need to make a roof box happen?

Do Land Rover sell them? How much are they?
Do I need rails? If so, I'd prefer LR ones to keep the style. How much are they?
Do the rails come off when we've done?
If I have LR rails, do I have to buy an LR box?
Whats the differnce between an LR box and a halfords jobby?

So many questions, any help gratefully received!

Cheers,

Paul.

After doing a lot of research here is my 2p on the subject:

Stick to Thule for Roof Boxes - The LR one is a rebranded Thule but if you come to sell it the Thule will get you a better return on ebay. It will also be cheaper for the SAME as the Thule Motion 200 box with a different badge on it. I'd steer clear of the Halfords boxes as they're a pain to put on the car and take off and don't hold their value as well as the Thule.

As for rails - for LR you'll need both the rails and the cross rails which are the best part of £1000 for the set. You can remove the cross bars but the front to back bars are not really designed to be taken off once installed. Once you've picked yourself up off the ground I'd suggest you take a look at some Thule bars which are come to about £180 and are fully removable.

Plenty of info here -> http://babyrr.com/forum/search.php?actio...order=desc

I have just got roof bars for my 5 door with out the front to back roof rails these are thule from http://www.roofrack.co.uk. 1X 754/1663/762, Foot Pack 754, Fitting Kit 1663, SquareBar 762 (135 cm) @ GBP 134.95 = GBP 134.95
Delivery (VAT incl): 5.95
Total Amount (VAT incl): 140.90
I already have an halfords roof box,
I have tried the on an fit fine with no marks left on the paint work, will be put to the test this weekend when we go away

I have the Thule rails for my 5-door. They were about £150 and really good. I would advise for best and scratch free fitting make it a two person job the first couple of times you do it. The foot pack is well protected and leaves no marks or concerns for damage on the car.
One small recommendation would be to mount the box on the rails before putting it on the roof, then adjust the feet etc. works best for mine, but it may differ depending on the roof box and how it fits on.

I brought the LR box and roof rails last summer for my Coupe, have always had bigger Range Rovers before the Evoque and never needed a roof box, but the Evoque's small boot meant the girlfriend's suitcases for a week completely filled the boot............... so needs must. I was surprised how quiet the car cuts the air with the black carbunkle on the roof and fuel consumption was hardly affected either, even at some very high speeds. I remove the box and cross bars when I don't need them though.

Hi,

A good place to start, for general info, is roofbox.co.uk.

However the Evoque has quite a short roof so a longer box (which they will recommend) is going to look a bit odd and/or you may risk hitting it with the tailgate. The roof also slopes so make sure you get the box level.

It is also a tall car, if you don't buy a box that opens both sides (expensive) you may be in trouble. I am 6'1" and even with kitchen steps I would not be able to reach the fasteners on the far side if it only opened on one side.

You also need to decide whether you want full time bars or the Thule 'feet' that avoid the need for bars. The feet are possibly a little riskier if you have the Pano roof but others don't seem to have had a problem. I did not want to risk my new paint or cracking the glass.

If you go for the bars and you want to save some money you could buy and fit the OEM parts yourself - you will need the bars and the finishing kit. However my LR garage allowed 3 hours to transfer mine from one Evoque onto the other so it is not likely to be straightforward and it also follows that once on, they will not be coming off. There are 'Evoque' rails from China on e-bay that some on this forum in the the US have tried.

Some photos here

http://babyrr.com/forum/Thread-Roof-rail...e+roof+box

Hi,

After much consideration I went the Thule route rather than LR roof rails and cross bars mainly because of the cost for the amount of use I'd give them. I bought Thule's 754 foot pack with the 1663 kit and their 762 standard roof bars from http://www.northeastroofracks.co.uk for £130 which included delivery and free locks which was a lot cheaper than LR roof rails and cross bars (£750 plus fitting). I only use it occasionally and even then only for short distances to carry my windsurfer, mast and boom or other items too big to fit in the car, but it has been fine with no problems and no marks on the roof.

However over the past 20+ years I've had both this Thule type system on various different cars and Land Rovers roof rails and cross bars on 3 different Freelanders. On the Freelander the cross bars were easier and faster to fit - I could probably fit them and have them locked on the car in about 1 minute where as the Thule system probably takes closer to 5 minutes to fit.

So if you are going to be using them on a frequent or regular basis I'd probably recommend going the LR roof rails and cross bars route but if its only for occasional use then the Thule system is fine.

Sorry, can't advise on the roof boxes themselves as I've never used one.

Just got off the phone with http://www.PureEvoque.com. They are in the middle of building out their store with a lot of rail, crossbar, and roof rack/cargo box options. Their first look is on their facebook page at http://www.Facebook.com/PureEvoque - see their photo album. I'm waiting on the next look as this one is too tall for my likings. It's a little premature, but keep an eye on what they have to show over the next month.