Hi folks, Im looking for some advice regarding tow bar mounted racking systems. There seems to be two big players in the UK market these being Thule and Bak Rak. Both units seem to be good quality with the Bak Rak retailing for around £50 less than the Thule. However im considering getting a box at the same time. Bak Rak only offer an aluminium unit at £250 whereas the Thules Backup Box is a mere £180.
Does anyone have experience of these systems ? Can you open the tail gate with them in place ? How easy are they to fit to their respective base racks ? and lastly does anyone know of an alternative ? (whether it be a different racking system or another type of box).
Ok I've probably blown everyones mind now with all the questions but any help would be appreciated.
Hi I have just bought an easybase from tesco direct and it is a fab bit of kit about 2 mins to fit to the car, you have to fold down the upright bar to open the boot but you can't have every thing, for a box I got one of these http://www.outstanding-keter.com/catalog-in.asp?cat=14&pr=3&num=29 it was only £30.00 from homebase and I will be holding it on with some small ratchet straps. hope this helps
Hi.
I have been looking at these systems.
I quite like the idea of mounting the storage box to the base, but I don't know how to secure it properly.
The box from Homebase looks ideal for the purpose, it also folds down for storage.
I got the Thule 900 BackUp Box last November £140, I already had the Thule Euroclassic Pro 902 Bike Carrier, which I got back in 2006 onto which the BackUp clips, almost obscuring the 902, to just to reveal the lights and number plate, fits like a glove around the 902 frame, although a huge 420Lt the BackUp is only rated at 50Kg which is fine as I only intend to fill it with the Canvas and ZiG some 48Kg, the BackUp is made from stronger stuff than thier roofbox's, and is shaped in such a way as to be aerodynamic, and aesthetically pleasing to the vehicle, the Thule takes 5 mins to fit, using 4 supplied clamps, no tools as it uses handwheels to fasten up from the inside, and the locking mechanism is very secure, access to the boot is possible, as the unit drops down on the towball, all in all a fine piece of kit and definatley made for the job intended.
I have a towbar bike carrier and I'm not sure the Bak-rak ones will let you open the boot easily once loaded. The Thule ones should let youy tilt the bikes back and then you can open the boot.
Have a look here, they sometimes have somein the bargains section:
www.roofbox.co.uk Not affiliated with this site in any way - just got mine from there and they were very helpful and have a tryout and exchange if you don't like policy ( in addition to your statutory rights)
I also thought of mounting my garden storage box on my Thule back rack so removed it from the garden for cleaning only to find that because the construction is like lots of tubes making the panels and floor each tube was full of insects which took hours and hours with a hose to flush them all out. So beware where you store the box - the beasties love them!
Forgot to say that we decided not to the garden box in the end - the cover from an old camping wardrobe with a board in the bottom makes a good flexible substitute.
we have used a bakrak and garden storage box for some years. we use ratchet tie downs to keep the box on and no you can't get into the back of a hatchback with a box on. but its easier to load than a roofrack and not as expensive. we also use a couple of cheap ratchets to stop the box exploding the whole system including lighting board cost just over £100
They advertise next day delivery i ordered on the 9th August and its now the 16th and still no delivery i phoned and some stressed bloke got stroppy and said they had too much on. Its not bak rak - you can't even contact them they hide behind a messaging service and don't reply to messages ever. They use another company to send their stuff out who are just as rubbish to get hold of and when you do they are just as unhelpful, they tell you they will send it the same day and then don't. I have no idea if the £300 worth of stuff is ever going to arrive.
UPDATE
The item did arrive 10 days after it was supposed to, my view of this company is even worse having received the rak, parts are missing, the design is atrocious, and zink plated parts have been drilled after they have been plated and will rust because of this, two box sections had clearly been used before (had bolt tightening marks all over them) and were bent, i have trashed most of it and basically only used the bit that fits on the tow ball. As an engineer i would seriously advise against using one of these they are not strong enough to hold my two canoes, and i had to redesign and make an new frame in order for it to work safely.
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Topic: Bak Rak Base Rak v Thule Easy Base
