Do you strap your roofbox?

Haven’t used one since getting a van but never strapped it when I used it. Once it’s locked it feels pretty damn secure

Possibly because of this?

https://news.sky.com/video/france-moment-migrants-found-hiding-in-car-roof-box-12038632

Possibly because of this?

Wow. That had genuinely not occurred to me.

As I wasn't heading back into the UK immediately, I really hope I haven't been roofbox cuckoo'd.

That video is absolutely hilarious. ( from 1 perspective)
The righteous indignation from the headmaster type and the "where's all our stuff" wailing from the woman

How did they not notice 160kg of extra weight?

Why was someone filming?

Went via Calais in the last week and can't say i noticed this trend of strapping.

Our decade old Thule locks as i assume they all do so can't see the necessity for additional strapping and it would be a bit of a design fail if that wasn't sufficient

I guess you could visually see if someone had opened the strap and climbed in as they wouldn't be able to restrap it from inside the roofbox

If I had/used a roofbox then I'd be strapping it. Seen a few boxes pop open on the A9 and watch all the kit get spread across the road - car passengers appear oblivious as they kept on going, but debris all over the place.
20 miles down the road the car is in a layby with the police giving them a chat as the passengers look into an empty roofbox.

I have been using a roof box for 10 years. Driven thousands of miles. No straps. I sell roof boxes and my mate rents them out. Never heard of anyone having one open. Most have triple locks - you would have to totally overstuff them to ridiculously stupid proportions and not lock them properly and you would think hire customers would be prime candidates….but nothing.

multi-storey car parks and height barriers …well that’s another story

watch all the kit get spread across the road

Isn’t that why there are internal straps?

Our decade old Thule locks as i assume they all do so can’t see the necessity for additional strapping and it would be a bit of a design fail if that wasn’t sufficient

If I had/used a roofbox then I’d be strapping it. Seen a few boxes pop open on the A9 and watch all the kit get spread across the road

Two points which fully confirm my confusion on the whole issue. Whilst my roofbox doesn't contain insanely valuable things, I'd be down a good few hundred quid in sports kit and outerwear if it blew it's lid. Plus the resulting traffic hazard. And the risks to the guys hiding in there, obviously.

I used to strap mine as it was very old and the hinges were shite. The lock broke once, just disintegrated, whilst on holiday in France.  so I bought some straps, after I fixed the lock O carried on using straps as well.

My brother in law had one come open last Saturday driving down to the Alpes. Fortunately it was strapped so didn't come fully open. Only lost one of his daughters moon boots, that cost him £150 for a new pair though...

Adding a strap is a two minute job that could save a nightmare when you're driving a thousand miles with all you ski gear in the roof box!!

I sell roof boxes and my mate rents them out. Never heard of anyone having one open.

My brother in law had one come open last Saturday driving down to the Alpes

Arghh this is a risk judgement nightmare! 😀

If it helps, I always smack the lid around a bit before I drive off. Is that legitimately preventative?

I’m sure the Thule one I had wouldn’t lock unless the locking points were lined up correctly though?

I’m sure the Thule one I had wouldn’t lock unless the locking points were lined up correctly though?

Mine too, it's really quite sensitive and I can't remove the key unless it thinks it's secure. And yet, clearly something goes wrong for some people.

How air tight are they? Is it possible at speed to create enough airflow that the lid can pop?
I've never used one but having seen a small number fail (I think 3 in total over the years) straps just seem an obvious extra precaution worth taking.
As long as I'm in front of you then I don't care if your roofbox opens at speed...

@OwenP, you do shake it a bit and say "that's not going anywhere" don't you?

@DickBarton they must generate a fair bit of lift, but Thule just say not to exceed 130km/h

I have an old Thule one and the hooks on the lid that go into the locks are only held on with a couple of pop rivets. I’ve had a couple of these pull out over the years so ended up using a strap for piece of mind even though I’ve replaced the rivets. Was probably due to me cramming in all the kids clobber when they were young!

Never bothered. I don't drive at crazy speeds. The old Halfords one we used had two side locks + end clamps.

It would be a pretty **** design that wouldn't pass type approval if it needed a ratchet strap round it and it didn't come with one integrated.

Of course if you overstuff it to the point it won't safely close then you might need a strap the better solution is to remove some of the crap and leave it at home or buy a trailer.

If I was going to strap one I'd make sure it went round the roof rack and not just round the middle of the box.

Do people buy straps because other people sell straps and so they think "oh, I must need one of those, then"?

We strap ours as the key broke in the lock a number of years ago, couldn't get it out and the easiest solution was to strap the roofbox closed (we have only used it once or twice since)

Thule just say not to exceed 130km/h

Thule worry too much.
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Use a box most weekends,and never had an issue or even a threat of an issue*
May have, accidentally, but can’t defo confirm, have exceeded 70mph at times.

* I realise I’ll be losing all my possessions later this weekend in the M6

I have a vague memory that in France you are liable for clean up costs if you shed a load of the motorway. Could it just be people taking the belt and braces approach? (That needs a strap pun)

P'raps they are knowingly overloading with beach gear/clothes/small children (delete as appropriate) and using the ratchet strap to close the lid and align the locks?

I’ve seen one opened up spraying the owner’s belongings down the A30…

The hardware is generally held on by pop rivets. Into plastic. That's got crack written all over it.

Straps keep the box shut and the box on the roof. I'm so used to strapping other stuff on that it's second nature.

Can anyone highlight the downsides of strapping them ?

I must be failing to see a downside....but I have seen enough bits of roof box at the side of the road to know they fail from time to time....

Never seen one open, but have seen a full box lift off the roof of a car, flip over the central reservation and bounce down the opposite carriageway as lots of cars swerved to avoid it. It stayed closed.

The English family were about 20 miles South of Calais and, up to that point, were probably excited about the start of their holiday 😢

Since then I strap mine closed and to the roof bars

Isn’t this STW? Why isn’t everything in your T5?

Pro-tip if you decide to use straps...
Put one twist in each length of strap: it will prevent them from buzzing annoyingly at speed.

I knew my hear-earned windsurfing kit loading knowledge would come in handy one day 🙂

Never seen one open, but have seen a full box lift off the roof of a car,

Would be interesting to know how they’d secured it. My Thule one had windy claws that weren’t going anywhere, and IIRC came with T-track fittings in the box.

Don’t still have it though due to combo of bigger kids (so no need to carry pram/travel cot etc) and estate car.

Probably long-time users. Used to work for Halfords and the ones made around the millennium would occasionally pop open at high speed, of all brands. It was eventually put down to the then-modern cars aerodynamics creating lift that pulled on the locks hard enough to break the designs of the time. The newer models, especially the Thule ones, had a much more robust system fitted that didn't pop at all. IIRC the Mk1 Focus and the Vectra were identified as particularly good at popping boxes open. The solution was to put a strap round the box as an extra measure. That was negated with better lock deigns and also the move towards aero boxes that not only cut down on drag but also sucked the lid down slightly. Also a lot of boxes didn't originally pas TUV tests that were done at high speed, it quickly became a selling point for boxes and cycle carriers that carried the TUV hologram. You'd be hard pressed to find one now that doesn't pass it.

The people hiding in them is probably the modern reason, unless someone is outside to do the strap up it's a very good clue that things have been tampered with.

Edit: just remembered that some of the cheaper ones (Mont Blanc springs to mind) came with an instruction sheet that advised where on the roof to put it for certain models of car. There was one or two models that were advised to not have it fitted, might have been a Chrysler Voyager but then why would you need a roofbox on one of those?

Some good facts in all this, I have learned something.

So, I should be able to trust my roofbox locks, unless I know it is knackered, suspect it is on the way out (missing rivets etc) or I generally plan to cram it beyond easy closure.

On the other hand, if it does pop by surprise, the outcome is explosive and straps are cheap as a form of insurance. Plus indicate tampering. But you need to put a twist in them.

I am going to ponder this. Being a classic Dad, I have suitable straps in the boot if needed (far far too long, but suitable). So my plan is to watch for issues and not be too proud to strap if it looks at all shady.

I’ve seen one opened up spraying the owner’s belongings down the A30…

This is just black propaganda spread by Big Strap.

I used to climb on top of my Thule roof box to squash the contents enough to get the locks to engage

Now I'm going to put a couple of ratchet straps round instead, much easier

Save hassle, just get some straps over the box...simple decision and very easy to make...always going to be what ifs, but if you are unlucky it gets messy quick and I suspect potential points on licence if police involved (as you failed to secure your load for the journey).
Stick some straps on and no need to have any worry.

Why isn’t everything in your T5?

T5? Is this paupertrackworld? T6 at least these days.

Last time I travelled with both bike and box on the roof I strapped the bike up good and proper.

Didn’t even think about the box. Won’t be able to not think about the box now. Thanks STW.

I always wonder what are in those boxes. I can't think of a single large wedge-shaped object that people would wish to carry.

I always wonder what are in those boxes. I can’t think of a single large wedge-shaped object that people would wish to carry.

IDK. If you've been to France on holiday and you're *not* coming back with a hunk of decent cheese of roughly those dimensions then you're doing something wrong.

Of course! 🤣

I can’t think of a single large wedge-shaped object that people would wish to carry

Well lucky for you we can help clear that up. In my case it generally contains a large squishy dog bed, some blankets, a few pieces of outdoors outer wear and a couple of pairs of walking boots. If I have the bike it will also contain bike shoes and my ‘odds n sods’ needed to ride.

Stuff that probably could fit in the car, but would probably smell or get dog hair on the other stuff in the car.

I cannot imagine why you would think they contain a single wedge shaped object.

When we take my son’s stuff up to university it normally has a duvet and clothes in it. Valuable or heavier stuff such as computers, monitors, pots and pans etc go in the car. (I have a PHEV, so my boot is half full of battery 🙄)

Always strap ours. Not crushing it with proper ratchet straps but a couple of the webbing straps with the cam-teeth style clamps on them. The box is a long and fairly narrow one inherited from the in-laws that is of 90's German heritage. Still in good condition and going strong but I'm definitely not taking the risk of either the locks or the hinges going pop on the motorway.
I also make sure the straps go round the roof bars as well, but primary reason for this is to prevent the straps from being able to slide around on the box and come loose on a narrower section as none of it is truly flat.

When those aero boxes came in I'd just assumed there were plenty of fans of Star Trek - The Wrath of Khan and wanted to carry Spock's coffin on their roof...

Our old box was huge, old and of a cheap design. The clamps were just over the plastic to secure it down. I always used one of our canoe straps to secure it.