Roof bag and bars

[stalagmike]

I’ve just bought some Atera bars for my car and was looking to use them with the Thule roof bag that I have. I’ve seen that T bolts that slide into the slot on the bars are a thing. The bag has U bolts. So can I just connect up the U bolt clasp (effectively the nut bit) to T bolts? So I would have 4 bolts (one in each corner) held in place by the U bolt clasps? Does anyone have any experience with this? Or do I need to buy a separate bit of kit to hanker the roof bag down. Thule conversion kits are £30, whereas I can get 4 x T bolts the right size for a less than a tenner.

 

[Beebo]

I’ve just bought some Atera bars for my car and was looking to use them with the Thule roof bag that I have. I’ve seen that T bolts that slide into the slot on the bars are a thing. The bag has U bolts. So can I just connect up the U bolt clasp (effectively the nut bit) to T bolts? So I would have 4 bolts (one in each corner) held in place by the U bolt clasps? Does anyone have any experience with this? Or do I need to buy a separate bit of kit to hanker the roof bag down. Thule conversion kits are £30, whereas I can get 4 x T bolts the right size for a less than a tenner.

My concern with anything like this is what happens if it fails and the police get involved.
It’s always best to spend a bit more on the correct fittings. Then if it fails you have done nothing wrong.
That £30 saving looks pretty poor value if you’re explaining it in court.

 

[wiggydiggy]

Do a really good search online for exactly the Thule parts you need. I needed some new feet earlier last year, found what I wanted from a camping/caravaning shops ebay store (they had no website), brand new and half the price of other retailers just because it was the last one.
Theres also a lot of second hand Thule stuff on ebay, that kit lasts.

 

[stalagmike]

My concern with anything like this is what happens if it fails and the police get involved.
It’s always best to spend a bit more on the correct fittings. Then if it fails you have done nothing wrong.
That £30 saving looks pretty poor value if you’re explaining it in court.

You make a good point, but my suspicion is that the adapter kit is ‘universal’, so there will be bits in there that I will never use and I kind of resent having to pay for those pieces. By that I mean I could effectively be paying £30 for 4 bolts. I just wondered if anyone had actually fitted a previously U bolt bag or box to a T bolt track and how it worked.

 

[stalagmike]

Actually - having now found the instruction manual for the adapter kit online, I can see that all the supplied parts are used in the final assembly. Ah well, a search for the cheapest supplier begins. As you were, cyclechatters!