Roof Bars,Roof Racks,RoofRack Systems by Thule|Atera|Fapa,Roofbars,Roofracks,Roofrack,Roofbar

Our roof bar range

We supply roof bars from three different manufacturers - Thule, Atera, and CRUZ.

Thule (Sweden) and Atera (Germany) make bars of equal quality. Thule's application list is wider than Atera's, and their bars are supplied in modular form, i.e. several boxes of components which you fit together, so you may be able to use some or most of these components when you change vehicle. Thule bars are always available in steel, sometimes in aluminium. Atera bars are supplied complete, i.e. everything in one box, all adjusted and ready to fit onto the car. Atera bars are always available in either steel or aluminium.

We also supply a selection of very good quality mid market bars from CRUZ (Spain).

Cars fall into six major types so far as roof bars are concerned: (1) with gutters, (2) without gutters, (3) with longitudinal roof rails standing far enough off the roof that you can slide your fingers under them, (4) with flush mounted longitudinal roof rails, (5) with special mounting points in the roof (often known as "Fixpoints"), (6) with longitudinal 'T track' slotted rails fitted into the roof. Basically the roof bars for these six different systems are very different from each other.

Go straight to our VEHICLE SPECIFIC roof bars database to find out "Which roof bars fit my car?".

VANS-RACKS for commercial roof bars and accessories

VAN-RACKS is the part of our business which specialises in light commercial vehicle roof bar systems, roof racks and accessories.

We can supply the full range of CRUZ, Rhino, Saunders and Thule Professional van systems.

Visit www.van-racks.co.uk for further information.

>> Thule roof bars

Thule has roof bars to fit almost all car makes and models. Please note that there are a few vehicles, for which Thule has a listing, which we mark as "No fit". This is because the bars are too close together to carry anything we sell, e.g. bike carriers, luggage racks or roof boxes. All the Thule bars available for your vehicle will be listed, together with any available options, e.g. aluminium aerobars instead of plastic coated galvanized steel bars. If you see an entry for Old Style Adapter Kit, and you already have a Thule Foot pack like the one shown in the pop up picture, then this is what you need. more...

>> Atera roof bars

Atera is the best of the German rack system brands, and at least as good as any manufacturer in this market. Most of their roof bars and accessories business is with the car manufacturers, where major customers include Audi, BMW, Daewoo, Chrysler, Fiat, Honda, Mitsubishi, Mercedes-Benz, Opel, Subaru, Suzuki, Vauxhall and Volkswagen.

Atera's SIGNO family of roof bars (below left) is available in steel or aluminium. They're beautifully made, stylish, pre-assembled and ready to fit.
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>> CRUZ roof bars

Cruzber is Spain’s largest roof bar and roof rack manufacturer, founded in 1963. Cruzber specialises in the mid market sector, and sells most of its products under the CRUZ brand label, operating from over 50,000 square feet of modern premises and using state of the art manufacturing machinery. Cruzber is highly regarded in the European market in particular and is also Thule's Spanish distributor. We have no doubt that CRUZ branded products are the best made and overall best value in the mid market.

Aerobars or square bars? What's the difference?
Just looks and price?

The aerobars we sell are made of aluminium and certainly look very smart, and Thule branded aerobars are over twice the price of their steel bars, the thick end of £70 a pair at RSP! (Atera's aerobars come at a lower premium.) Apart from good looks, here are three good reasons for choosing aerobars: (1) You can use the full length of the bar for fixing your accessories, which may allow you to carry more on the roof, and thereby get better value from the whole system. You won't have the problem of the roof bar feet getting in the way of the accessory fixings. (2) Aerobars are substantially quieter than steel bars. Roof bars generate a "howl", usually around the "middle C" frequency, which can become instrusive if the bars are exposed - it depends on the type of car and the position of the bars on the roof. The volume tends to increase in line with speed. "Howl" is much less of an issue if there's a roof box to change the airflow. (3) Aerobars are overall more aerodynamic than steel bars and must therefore have a relatively better effect on fuel consumption.