I’ve got a roof box off free cycle. Husband has gone mad!

[VWCJW]

Every holiday, my husband prides himself on taking hardly anything to a self catering holiday, and gets really stressed by me and my daughter taking a normal amount of clothes. He moans that it all won’t fit in the car and our kids sit with loads of stuff by their feet and piled up between them. This year, we have a long journey through France and our kids are getting taller so I got a roof box and my husband has got really upset and stressed about it. He says he doesn’t want to drill holes in his car and it means we will just take more stuff we don’t need. He was literally shaking about it. I’ve told him we will get rid but I don’t really want to. We have a massive box of footballs in the garage and I am sure they could be stored in the roof box so it won’t take up more room but he just says he hopes we will have less footballs in the future. He’s clearly not thinking properly as our son is really sporty and will probably end up with rugby and basketballs too, once at secondary school. Am I right to think that a roof box is a good thing? I see loads of cars with them. Or is he right and they are just an excuse to take a load of extra crap you don’t need?

A roof box absolutely will affect the handling a fuel consumption. It might still be a necessary/usefully thing, but OP definitely will use more fuel.

So, OP, have you explained to him yet that a) no drilling holes needed b) you don't want to spend your holiday washing and c) it's not normal to shake with anger when your wife makes a perfectly sensible and practical suggestion?

Well first of all I wouldn't have anyone telling me what I can and can't take with me on holiday. Secondly you don't need to drill holes for a roof box as PPs have said.

Have you made sure it's the right one for your car and you have the rails/bars to attach it on to? If you haven't then it is a bit of a silly purchase.

If you have then he's being a twat especially if there's no issue with storing it.

We don't have a garage and didn't want a massive roof box in the shed so we bought a bag. Obviously it's not as sturdy as a box and I haven't attempted to use it in the rain yet but it's fine and rolls up really small.

We put bedding, clothes, dog bed etc in ours.

He needs to look properly at how roof boxes are fitted. No hole drilling is required.

I suppose to try and be fair to him, will you expect him to do the fitting (hopefully without drilling holes!) Or would you?

He may also know of people will roof box disasters. Personally I'd never trust the lock alone and would always strap down too. I know of several people who have lost the contents on a motorway and one that lost the keys.

I do think being sensible about what you pack is a better strategy with price of fuel.
Microfiber towels and reducing the size of your cleaning products (home bargains sell small refillable bottles) makes a massive difference. And buying the consumable stuff close to your destination

Not all cars are suitable for roof racks. But if yours is you'll need to by the right bars for your car to dix to the roof to fix the roof box to.

And if you've already booked the ferry, you'll need to change your booking - it might cost a bit more.

And expect your petrol bill to go up when you're driving with a roof box.

They are great though - they take all
The clutter out of the car. The French autoroute is full of Brit cars
With top boxes in the summer hols.

Note - I would remove the box once you get to your destination. There were attempted breaking to ours on a few occasions when we left the car in a carpark. Luckily it was made of strong stuff - it was a Thule - and the break ins weren't successful

😂

I think he's getting overwhelmed by you all having too much stuff (you say you're both a bit of a hoarder). He wants less stuff, not solutions to help carry more of it around with you.

Oh and roof boxes are not at all difficult to get stuff in and out of!

Depends on how short tall you are 😊

Your husband doesn’t sound very well. That is a totally disproportionate reaction.

Also, holes?!! He is rejecting something he clearly knows nothing about.

I was never a big fan of roof boxes

My dh thought about getting one, I persuaded him against it, just more shit to pack

He always says the clothes can be washed whilst there but I must admit, I do that.

easy compromise then, OP. Roofbox and you take what you like. No roofbox and he does all the packing and washing and handles all the fallout from not having enough clothes.

But seriously "shaking"? he needs to see a GP about his anxiety. And you need to fit the roofbox yourself - your DCs can help you, it's not difficult. And as countless pp said: when not in use you can put things in it.

re. Holes in the roof.
I wonder if this is because the OP has only got the box? Without the bars it's not obvious how it would fit to someone that's not fitted one before, and the mounting holes for the t-bolts do sit right over the roof area. Do either the OP or her DH know how to fit a roofbox?

The bars/feet can be £50-£200, and not every vehicle can have them fitted. Has the OP confirmed that the box is suitable for the vehicle? Everyone's jumping on her DH 'shaking', but who hasn't at some point received a well-meant 'gift' that turned out to be more trouble than it was worth.

Well maybe that's his idea!

He doesn't want to use it so doesn't want to put it on.

That's not to say that he might not be OK with it when Op gets it sorted though!

I agree if he wants people to take less though he needs to facilitate that.

The thing is though, the worst case scenario with it is that it isn't compatible with their car and so they won't be able to use it. That's hardly worth getting yourself into a shaking mess for something you got for free.

We’ve had a roof box - no holes in car required😂. But does really affect furl economy! But he sounds bonkers

You can take it to Halfords to get it fitted if that's what he's anxious about.

As for the amount of stuff, Men generally can get away with bringing way less stuff than women and children.

Eg., when we go away for a week, my husband can get away with bringing 7 pairs of undies and socks, 4 T-shirts (he's got that thing where he doesn't get as much BO as normal people), his toothbrush, toothpaste and a comb. Maybe a change of trousers/shorts, but if he really wants to travel light he just wears the same trousers all week.

Whereas young children (who are at an active age where they get muddy all the time etc.) will likely need a full change of clothes for every day, plus a couple of spares just in case (unless you want to give up an afternoon of your holiday to going to the laundrette). Plus toys, activities for the journey, maybe a couple of changes of shoes.

And women obviously need more toiletries, make-up, and our clothes generally come in a wider variety of patterns and colours, meaning you can't just wear any top with any skirt. So one skirt might have 3 tops that go with it, and for those tops you need one And it's not exactly terrible to want to look as nice as you normally do on holiday, not to mention preparing for various potential weather eventualities. Unless you're going camping or hiking, or travelling the entire way by public transport then I see no reason why not to bring enough stuff to make yourself comfortable for the entire stay.

Whatever your husband's reasons for not wanting the roof box, it seems he is only thinking about things from his own perspective, and not considering everyone else's needs. Which is incredibly selfish.

I've just seen that you say you do do laundry on holiday.

I sincerely hope that from now on you will be making it absolutely clear that since HE is the one forcing everyone to restrict the amount of clothes they bring for no reason whatsoever, that HE will be the one solely responsible for all clothes washing whilst on holiday, including planning when to do it, finding a laundrette, and getting everything dry, while you sun yourself.

I do get what he's saying but it depends on the size of your car, I had a large hatchback when my were small and we got everything in just - 2 suitcases plus assorted jute bags. We then upsized the car to a people carrier that could fit 4 suitcases in a row in the boot standing on their long side plus bags, dog bed (we had acquired one) etc. was great. I now am back to a medium hatchback and thankfully it's only me now h left, kids grown and ddog lives with x ... bliss packing the car with just dps stuff

You’ll need the right roof bars for your car. No holes etc.
use and enjoy !
has anyone said if you can’t really store it you could freecycle it after the holiday and get another in the future ?

keep the roof bars though !

I don’t think I would be too pleased if I was presented with a roof box off freecycle by a person who didn’t know how to fit it.

I have stuff on my car roof and carefully researched what type of feet, bars and racks would fit my car. Once you do that, no drilling would be required. Something random off freecycle - I would be a bit frustrated with you tbh.

They can be a bit faffy to fit, I do need a step ladder to do it. We bought a little plastic folds flat stool that slips into the boot, so its easy to get stuff in and out of the box when away, think it cost about a fiver.
We put things like camping chairs, picnic blankets, body boards, fishing gear in ours, which leaves the boot free for normal stuff and means the children aren't buried under stuff.