Removable Roof Bars - roof-prep??

[Mistral1]

Hi All. does anyone know if there are roof bars available that can be easily fitted and removed? I cant fit rails as it will mean my van is Over-height for the car parks i use.
Is roof rack prep something I could retro fit and if so would it solve the issue. If I do fit roof rack prep do I have to remove the roof lining (it is a camper conversion and that would be a real pain)
Cheers Paul

 

[MsM]

Did you find a solution to removable roof bars? I also can't fit rails but don't want the bars on all the time as will probably only use them a few times a year (and won't fit in my carport with bars on). I only have factory hardboard lining so can access underside of roof if I need to. I have standard 4 bolts along each gutter.

 

[Ads_Essex]

Hi All. does anyone know if there are roof bars available that can be easily fitted and removed? I cant fit rails as it will mean my van is Over-height for the car parks i use.
Is roof rack prep something I could retro fit and if so would it solve the issue. If I do fit roof rack prep do I have to remove the roof lining (it is a camper conversion and that would be a real pain)
Cheers Paul

Did you find a solution to removable roof bars? I also can't fit rails but don't want the bars on all the time as will probably only use them a few times a year (and won't fit in my carport with bars on). I only have factory hardboard lining so can access underside of roof if I need to. I have standard 4 bolts along each gutter.

Roof-bar prep does sound like your solution, and I do believe they are solely fitted externally. With the lack of replies here, perhaps try searching for a YouTube fitting video before risking it with asking the dealers!

 

[MsM]

Roof-bar prep does sound like your solution, and I do believe they are solely fitted externally. With the lack of replies here, perhaps try searching for a YouTube fitting video before risking it with asking the dealers!

Thank you - I'll look up roof bar prep (never quite sure what that is when I've seen the term!) and see how I go

 

[Stuart D]

Roof bar prep is fairly straight forward to retro fit, I fitted it to my LWB earlier this year as both my previous had it. To fit correctly you will need to drill 3 extra (one is square actually) holes and need to gain access inside to fit 2 extra retaining clips per side. Depending on what you want to carry & your resistance to ripping your van to bits then you could compromise installation. You will notice from my photos the missing holes are 2 & 3 which are above the second row of seats, the square hole at the back is not essential it could be substituted with Tiger Seal. In fact you could use Tiger Seal in place of the 2 & 3rd holes but spread under the new rail full length, possibly using a quality countersunk self tappers as well. I replaced all the VW countersunk bolts with quality stainless items. On a cost basis buying from TPS it was about £250, a joke when on a new build it’s about £110. I used neodymium magnets either side of the hole to be drilled so no swarf would fall into the van. Initially daunting but easy to do with the roof down. Hope the photos help.

 

[The Ham]

i fitted roof prep on my T5 and my T6, didnt do any extra drilling just 4 fixing per side and a good quality adhesive around the missing fixings and the front/rear plastic trims.
never had an issue using roof boxes and windsurfing kit on many journeys over many years, many of which were 12-14 hr drives, most of which are autoroute.
Same reason as OP, there was a height barrier at a certain beach that I needed to get under

 

[harveyj09]

When I had my T5.1 I fitted some flat roof rails (maybe Caravelle??) that were flush to the roof and you could slide specific gen VW roof bars into them when needed. Does anyone know if these would fit a T6.1 or is there a similar one? Pic as an example.

 

[bobby69]

I’ve had some retro fitted to a t6 so I would think you could
vw sell the parts but they are quite expensive for what you get
I bought the parts and had Leighton Vans fit them for me from memory I think all in it was about £600

 

[harveyj09]

Thanks, yeah I saw you had some advertised previously. I fitted them myself to a previous van, bought off eBay, but can’t find any at the moment.

 

[Bengaz]