Space is always at a premium when it comes to packing the car for your summer holidays and even more so if you have children or like to take leisure related gear along.
Thule, the Swedish manufacturer of vehicle accessories, offers a wide variety of solutions for carrying all types of gear safely and securely on the exterior of vehicle. Their offering includes a wide variety of bicycle carrying solutions and options for aquatic gear like kayaks and surfboards all of which are designed in conjunction with vehicle manufacturers in order to work seamlessly with the majority of models on sale today.
However it is their range of rooftop cargo carriers that are able to transform your holiday packing from a complicated game of tetris to the ability to safely and securely transport everything needed to enjoy the time at your holiday destination. Thule’s rooftop cargo carriers are available in sizes ranging from 300 to 610 litres, giving motorists the ability to more than double the boot size of the average vehicle.
Rooftop cargo carriers are ideal for bulkier items like golf clubs, strollers, cooler boxes and beach equipment, which are not necessarily heavy but can take up a lot of space in terms of their overall volume. This frees up the boot for regular luggage items. Enjoy a bit of shopping for curios or home décor items while on the road, your Thule will swallow them with ease. Stop for firewood or charcoal on route, just pop it in the Thule.
Those that would like to utilise every litre of additional space offered by the rooftop cargo carrier can invest in soft luggage, such as the Thule GoPack, allowing for the packing of all your regular luggage in the most efficient manner.
The Thule GoPack is a complete set of duffel style bags, which are the perfect solution for organising the roof box load. The GoPack bags allow for easy access to gear through an oversized, wide mouth opening while side handles make loading and unloading into the rooftop cargo carrier a breeze. The GoPack bags weigh under a kilogram each but can swallow 60 litres. Colour coding or ID panels allow for easy identification.
In addition to lockable rooftop cargo carriers like the Thule Pacific M and Thule Force XT, the Thule Canyon XT roof basket is another solution for rooftop loading, with the added advantage of not being limited in terms of height. The Canyon XT is ideal for bigger items like cooler boxes, tents, jerry cans or even an additional spare wheel and items can easily be secured by tie down straps or a cargo net. Its robust styling perfectly compliments off-road vehicles.
For those that prefer to expand their luggage carrying capacity towards the rear, solutions like the Thule OnTo and Thule BackSpace add up to 300 litres of space by mounting onto the vehicles tow bar. The low height of these solutions make for easier loading, especially when it comes to exceptionally tall vehicles or in cases where the roof bars are utilised for other leisure items such as a tent or water sport vessels.
While expanding your vehicles cargo carrying capacity by 300 litres might not seem like much it is important to take note that 300 litres is the luggage carrying capacity of the average South African vehicle so in fact this extra space easily doubles your load carrying ability. In addition with many cash strapped consumers opting for smaller vehicles, loading space is most certainly at a premium and Thule’s rooftop cargo carriers are a cost effective way of safely and securely being able to travel to your holiday destination with everything you need.
Thule’s rooftop cargo carrying solutions require the installation of roof bars, of which the brand has solutions for the majority of cars sold in South Africa, from small hatchbacks to large SUVs. These mounting systems are non intrusive, allow full access to the boot and sunroof and are available in a variety of styles and finishes to perfectly compliment your vehicles styling.
All Thule rooftop cargo carriers are covered by a five-year warranty.
Thule’s wide range of rooftop cargo carriers, bicycle racks, accessories and luggage are available from Thule Concept stores located throughout South Africa.
