roof rails roof box.

[helphelp]

I have bought the Omtec cross bars for my van, they are nice quality and quite wide and not sure if you can use a roof box with them as the U clamps with boxes are not so wide and are for the more narrow type bars.
Has anyone used a roof box withe Omtec cross bars configuration.
Omtec do a locking roof bar which sits up on top of the rails and look narrow like most other roof bars
be interested to know before I go and buy anything else.
Cheers.

 

[n10n]

Haven't used myself but an alternative attaching mechanism is to use t-nuts in the roof bar top grooves, Omtec bars have these as well.

I think the t-nut base sizes are pretty standard and there's a variety of options available from Thule and others, including nuts of different lengths, eyelets, box - specific adapters etc.

 

[Bav]

Haven't used myself but an alternative attaching mechanism is to use t-nuts in the roof bar top grooves, Omtec bars have these as well.

I think the t-nut base sizes are pretty standard and there's a variety of options available from Thule and others, including nuts of different lengths, eyelets, box - specific adapters etc.

View attachment 206157

I use these - they're a lot easier to use than the u-clamps and, IMO, more secure.

 

[n10n]

I use these - they're a lot easier to use than the u-clamps and, IMO, more secure.

Out of the interest, did you take the rubber strip that normally goes into the groove away completely, or splice it to accommodate the nuts?

 

[Bav]

Out of the interest, did you take the rubber strip that normally goes into the groove away completely, or splice it to accommodate the nuts?

Spliced it - in the hope it would supress any rattles when no roof box was attached. Never heard any rattles, but it might not have rattled anyway I guess.

 

[Pete C]

I have bought the Omtec cross bars for my van, they are nice quality and quite wide and not sure if you can use a roof box with them as the U clamps with boxes are not so wide and are for the more narrow type bars.
Has anyone used a roof box withe Omtec cross bars configuration.
Omtec do a locking roof bar which sits up on top of the rails and look narrow like most other roof bars
be interested to know before I go and buy anything else.
Cheers.

In a word, yes. We have used 3 different roof boxes with ours, and they all had U clamps big enough.

Pete