Well the wife finally had our new baby on Monday weighing 8lb 13oz, pretty big compared to the small frame of the missus. Anyhow we have 2 children now and make regular commutes to the parents house at the weekends. This means huge amounts of luggage also come with us. I originally bought the a4 avant for this purpose but still need more room...eek!, after spending a small fortune on preventative maintenance (cambelt, water pump, full service, gearbox oil change) I'm not to keen to sell. My other option is to get a roof box, however we have limited storage space at home (no garage, shed), however do have a enclosed garden. Looking at roof boxes theres the new semi rigid ones (Thule ranger) we've been considering this, has anyone had any experience of these? Also whats the best roof bars to get for the avant with factory fitted side bars? If the rigid box is better which ones are best?, how does this effect fuel economy? Any help would be much appreciated.
Recommendations on Roof Box and Bar for Avant
- Thread starter medicpaul
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Congratulations!
The A4 Avants aren't that big, I seem to fill mine pretty quick and thats with only one child!
The Audi roof bars are as good as any I think, I paid about £50 for mine and I expect these will fetch similar:
Audi A4 Avant Roof Bars (2004-2008) on eBay (end time 13-Mar-11 12:10:59 GMT)
The A4 Avants aren't that big, I seem to fill mine pretty quick and thats with only one child!
The Audi roof bars are as good as any I think, I paid about £50 for mine and I expect these will fetch similar:
Audi A4 Avant Roof Bars (2004-2008) on eBay (end time 13-Mar-11 12:10:59 GMT)
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Picked up some thule bars so now need a box, theres a Thule Atlantis on ebay for £120 however its 100 miles away, is it worth the drive? How do the halford boxes compare and what sort of drop in fuel economy should i expect???
dsmclark40v
Registered User
I recently bought a Thule pacific 600 for a drive down to Switzerland and highly recommend the thule ones. didn't notice too much of a drop in fuel economy maybe 3mpg but with the thirsty V8 that's like throwing a deck chair off the sinking titanic and my range from a full tank dropped to 250 miles. That was with 4 people in the car and lots of luggage including a pair of skis and 2 snowboards.
Also there was no wind noise which surprised me even doing 120mph down a stretch of German auto bahn there was no noise.
Also thought this thread could do with a picture
Oh and I looked at going to ebay route but in the end I decided to buy it new as it was only £230. I got it from http://skidrive.co.uk
Also there was no wind noise which surprised me even doing 120mph down a stretch of German auto bahn there was no noise.
Also thought this thread could do with a picture
Oh and I looked at going to ebay route but in the end I decided to buy it new as it was only £230. I got it from http://skidrive.co.uk
thanks Sam, the pictures gives some good proportion of size on the avant. Will be keeping my eye out for a second hand Thule box I think, the arrival of little one means money is tight. Thanks for you input really appreciated.
dsmclark40v
Registered User
Thanks James that was on the way home yesterday. Sadly I didn't have much time to stop and take pictures as the drive down I did in one go in 13 hours, the frequent fuel stops gave time for rest and stock up on more red bull. But the scenery was amazing driving around the mountains made better with the soundtrack of the v8 burble.
and I see your a moderator now! congratulations
dsmclark40v
Registered User
Thats ok Paul I just didn't have time to find one on ebay before the trip I needed it for. Check out the Thule matchmaker as well here you can select the box you want and it shows it on the car. There should be loads going on ebay now as its coming to the end of the ski season so hopefully you should be able to grab yourself a bargain. Also thought I should mention the thule power grip is a breeze to put on I can do it myself in 30 seconds (but then the ocd kicks in I spend a good 5 to 10 minutes making sure its on straight)
Oh and I forgot to mention in my first reply congratulations for the new addition to your family
