Roof Boxes, Pros And Cons

Would a roof box be the solution to your transportation problems? Well the definitive answer to that is that it might! Before you can be sure there are one or two points to consider. First of all, what is it that you want to carry that you can't carry inside the car and still take the required number of people? Is it of a size and shape that will fit inside a roof box? If it is, fine but if not you'll need to think of some other alternative like an open rack.



Assuming your overspill load will fit into a roof box might want to think about the effect on your car's fuel consumption. Roof boxes are very streamlined in shape to minimise drag but of course it can't be eliminated altogether and every bit of extra drag has to be paid for in fuel. That's a much bigger issue if you need to undertake a lot of long journeys travelling at motorway speeds than if your journeys are mostly of a local nature at urban speeds.



There's no doubt about it you will gain a considerable amount of additional space without having to buy a larger car. That's space for luggage etc of course, there's no extra space for people as there might be in a bigger car.



Everyone's requirements are different of course. That's why there are so many different shapes and sizes of cars on the market and indeed on the roads. If you changed to a bigger or maybe different type of car you may well gain the extra load carrying capacity you want plus more space and comfort for yourself and your passengers.



The penalty will be greater costs. It's not just fuel either. Insurance may well cost more, certainly tyres and serving are likely to be more expensive and with recent changes in taxation your vehicle excise licence may well cost you more.



A car roof box will add to your fuel costs through the effects of drag and it's possible that might make your fuel consumption equal to that of a larger car. But remember that is just fuel and nothing else that's costing you more.



While you're agonising over the additional fuel costs etc and trying to make your mind up whether you'd be better off buying a roof box or a bigger car here's something else to consider. How often over, say, a year, will you use that extra capacity? Do you need to carry all that stuff around all the time or on just a limited number of occasions?



With modern roof bar systems car roof boxes are very easy to fit and remove so that if you don't need it all the time you don't have to carry it around all the time. If you take the roof box off when you don't need it your drag induced extra fuel consumption's going to be slashed dramatically. The roof box option will beat the bigger car option hands down for you.



If you do need to carry all the gear around all the time and running a separate vehicle such as a van isn't a viable option then the comparison isn't quite so clear cut. Even here though when you look at all the facts the car roof box still score well against the bigger car with it's heavier costs in items other than fuel.



Like most things in life you'll end up having to compromise. Yes there is extra drag from a roof box but the shape does keep it to a minimum so we shouldn't exaggerate the effects on fuel costs even at today's prices. In the end it comes down to what suits you best.



Author Bio:



Tony Cowley


Faster Online


www.fasteronline.co.uk