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?

Omg I think I'm going to go out and get one. We are currently on holiday staying in a caravan and needed to bring everything we needed including towels, cleaning products etc. A roof Box would be perfect for us as we like to have our own things, got 3 dcs still in car seats so the back seat is already full without adding more. The whole point of us doing self catering is to save money, instead of paying to do activities my DCs spent the day scootering and roller skating around the holiday park on their own scooters & roller skates.

Your DH is being totally unreasonable and over dramatic.

Omg I think I'm going to go out and get one.

A small trailer would impact the MPG less. They are a sod to reverse though.

When you look into it further, though, some of them are only really kicking the can down the road - still buying stuff that is produced in bulky packaging but unpacking it and leaving it at the supermarket, burning potentially-toxic waste and similar.

While burning potentially-toxic waste is obviously still off, i am hugely in favour of leaving packaging at the place where you buy it (in Germany shops have to offer this by law, if they sell batteries they have to have a collection point. If you get white goods etc delivered & installed most of the time they take the packaging with them.
And the reason i think it's good leaving it in the supermarket? Because it pisses off the supermarket (or shop) and they are the ones that can put real pressure on manufacturers to reduce and improve (sustainably) their packaging.

Back to the matter in hand. PP mentioned women needing more clothes because not everything goes with everything else? eh? you pack specifically so that everything DOES go with everything else. As an ex-boarding school army brat i can pack with the best of 'em in terms of both utilising space and minimising what i schlepp around. My rule of thumb is make a pile, then halve it and just take that. I do take double the qty of pants i think i need. If i have any on their last legs i take those, wear, rinse out then bin them.

What a twat. Who the f*ck ever drilled holes into their car for a roof box?!! You will need roof bars though that fit the make and model of car.
I bet he never packs for holiday does he? And if there's something that isn't available during your holiday, I bet its your fault for 'not thinking of it' . And he expects you to do the holiday washing if you've run out of clothes. I bet its not him sitting in the back or passenger seat surrounded by luggage either because he's the manly man and he has to drive.
Roof boxes are an excellent idea if you are taking your car on holiday. Our car is actually big enough, but I find the roof box excellent for stuff that can stay with the car and doesn't need 'unpacking', like beach stuff and extra footwear and coats if the weather will be unpredictable. Its worth noting though that I can't quite reach into ours and I have one of those grab handle things to pull stuff out!

We got a roof box and bars for camping, and it's brilliant. We only have a medium car but we do have a garage and so we also bought a couple of belts to hang it from the roof that were about £20 inc the fittings off Amazon. It's a 2-person job to get it up but the car parks underneath it!

You'll need to decide on a set of roof bars: I went for Thule. Not the cheapest but they're solid and so easy to put on after the first time. (The first time you need a tape measure, patience and an agreement not to get a divorce while you get the bars in the right place etc.)

Bars are basic square cross-section or more aerodynamic. I'd go for aerodynamic every time as less drag - and less whistling noise! (More initial £ but better for fuel)
The clamps are car and model specific so you have to make sure they are correct.

We store the bars inside the box when not needed.

Who the fck ever drilled holes into their car for a roof box?!!*

This man…

m.youtube.com/watch?v=HKdJoJHXAZ8

(Also if you've got roof bars, you can also get mounting for bikes, and then moving older kids to/from Uni and all the attendant Stuff becomes easier...)

I voted YABU only because you are being a submissive wet lettuce and doormat when you say I’ve told him we will get rid but I don’t really want to. For goodness sake, put on your big girl pants and tell him it's STAYING. Honestly it frustrates me when I seek pitifully weak women giving in. Grow up, pull up your pants and don't give in. He will love it when it's on.

I couldn’t be bothered with this; maybe having been a single parent for a long time before meeting DP means I have no patience having to argue about stuff that seems blatantly obtuse.

Thats why he still chooses to keep his tiny tiny car, completely incompatible with the 3 kids we have now. I have the big family car, I pull the caravan (he can’t/won’t). Last year I too bought a roof box, it was pretty easy to fit myself, and the bike rack etc….If it was left to him we would all 5 be squeezing into his, which fills me with dread. His initial comment that we didn’t need it soon changed when all the surf boards/helmets/ wetsuits etc were chucked in it last year.

Totally understand why others would hate this dynamic, but it works for me!

What a twat. Who the fck ever drilled holes into their car for a roof box?!! You will need roof bars though that fit the make and model of car.*
Everyone's assuming that DH in this relationship is technically minded and already knows by bloke-osmosis how a roofbox is fitted. In reality, we have no idea at all whether either the OP or her DH has a clue on such matters.

I'd bet that neither is technically inclined, and OP has presented her DH with a roofbox and nothing else - no bars, feet adapters, or clue as to what to do in order to attach it to the car. Expecting a joyful happy dance from DH for this gift, when all he's thinking is "WTF do I do with this?".

Its interesting he only gets at you and your daughter for how much you pack, not your son. Does your daughter pack a lot more than your son? There are possible options here

You are packing way too much and bringing your daughter up to do the same (given it appears you also pack your son this may be down to unconsious bias on your part) - in which case it is worth stepping back and assessing whats needed

You actually pack very similar amounts for both and your husband perceives your daughter to have more due to unconsious bias on his part - in which case he needs to recognise he is being unfair

Your daughter is much older than your son and her clothes take up more space because there js just more fabric and she wants hair and makeup stuff - in which case your husband needs to recognise he is being unfair and you and your daughter can assess whether you really need so much hair and makeup stuff (but I also think you have the right to feel comfortable on holiday and if that includes makeup etc so be it)

You are packing 'joint' items in your daughters luggage such as games, toiletries etc and you also tend to take on the joint items as well which makes it look like you and your daughter pack more - in which case I strongly reccomend you dont set your daughter up for a life time of assuming she is responsible for everyones things, and make sure all 4 of you share joint items equally

because if your husband is the sort of man who prides himself on packing 'his' stuff as minimally as possible whilst moaning about your suff, but then expects you to produce the sun cream, plasters, tissues etc etc on holiday maybe its his turn to have all the stuff in his luggage.*

• (See also dads of small babies who moan about all the stuff in their wifes handbag whilst boasting about being able to leave the house with just their keys and wallet and totally miss the point their wifes bag is full of nappies, and spare clothes etc)

This thread is fun
I am a man and I like my roof box.

With one of my cars the previous owner asked if I wanted his roof bars for free or they would go in the bin ….. yes!

So I proudly fitted the roof bars …. And listened to the whistling at a specific speed

Then I bought a roof box cheaply at auction. This would go onto and off of my car according to need, and I’d lend it out to a colleague for his holiday for some cans of cider
(with this roof box I just needed to buy some U clamps)

I later spotted a better & more streamlined Thule roof box at auction, complete with U clamps
So now I had two, and when I changed car had to remove some clips to access the mounts and was now inclined to keep this one on to save replacing the panel blanking clips

On my colleagues next holiday I declined the cider payment on the proviso that he kept it & saved me the storage space

What you need are:
Roof box
U clamps
Bars (At the approximate width of your car roof)
Fittings (Suitable for your car)

What car do you have @VWCJW ?
If there’s a proper fitting kit then it is reasonable to leave the bars fitted, and then decide whether or not to keep removing the box.
If there isn’t a proper fitting kit and you need to clamp to the car then I’d definately recommend only using it when needed & to keep checking its secure when in use

They can be a convenient storage box and hung, stood up etc

The only drilling that ought to be needed is if the spacing of the current holes in the roof box aren’t ideal for your car. They usually have a few holes and the unused ones taped over to seal

Check the fittings for your car, then look around online but I’d ideally want the right fitting kit bought new so that you know it’s secure

The downsides are fuel efficiency and height. But fuel efficiency balances with your need to use the car - a bicycle is much more efficient then a car, but harder to load up for a family holiday
Height can restrict you. Multi storey car parks may or may not be accessible - I can use my local car park with 1.9m clearance but would be wary of some others. That just means being aware of my height

Things depend on your own circumstances, but I have an SMax that gets used a lot to carry things and/or people
There are a lot of storage compartments which get stuffed with things needed for the car
I can seat 7 but they have a tiny slot of ‘boot’ space. I leave the back two seats down giving me a 5 seater plus a boot.
Often I have more seats down giving lots of load space
When we play events as a team, the boot is quickly filled, when we run them we need extra equipment. With an SMax and a roof box we save on needing multiple vehicles and reduce the need for people to sit for hours with bags on their knees

Thank you for the mansplain

Is your husband quite well OP?

Yes. Thank goodness a man came along to tell us all about aerodynamics and how to fit a roof box. What would us girls do without that kind of help, heh?

Sexist crap.

We've managed self catering for years without taking a roof box and I wouldn't say we have had excessively large cars. What we did find is that use soft storage bags as opposed to rigid suitcases, far easier to pack down into the boot of the car.

Someone in my town drives around in this little orange car with a roof rack with a big red tricycle sticking up on top. Its so weird and adorable.

Spot on!

And a tedious one considering it's already all been said!

Someone in my town drives around in this little orange car with a roof rack with a big red tricycle sticking up on top. Its so weird and adorable.

Does he have a little hat with a bell on that jingles when he nods his head?

I haven't looked too closely to see but I certainly hope so

My god how rude

Yes he was, wasn't he?

This is totally outing, but when we were kids, my dad MADE a roofbox. They were common in Scandinavia, when we went on holiday there, but difficult (and super expensive) in the UK.

My dad and grandad were both engineers, and promptly set about designing and fashioning one. It was made of a wooden base, and aluminium top. It was so good for our tent, table and chairs, and meant us three weren’t packed into the back of the car, with sleeping bags, and food. 🤣

Anyway. It was invaluable for our camping holidays as a family of 5. I think you would be mad not to get it installed, and make your lives way easier.

(the prototype roof box is still in my parents’ garage - about 25 years on. 🤣🤣🤣)