[Malcolm]

Hi, I have just joined this forum and have read the other posts on roof bars. Has anyone used non Ford Bars and been able to fit them clamped under the top of the doors? Whispbar claim that their fit BMaxs and The Roof Box Company sells them, but I cannot find anyone online saying they have fitted them My local dealer said it would cost me up to £800 to get Ford rails and rack fitted, so I am looking for other solutions.

Thanks BMaxers


malcolm

 

[Wayner73]

Hi Malcolm
Welcome to the forum and B-Max ownership!

There have been quite a few comments about roof bars and racks etc. on here.

I'm not sure if anybody has gone down the 'third-party' route (non-OEM) though.

The Ford (OEM) parts and costs are too high for me to consider, as I wouldn't get a lot of use out of them.

Would be interested to know if the Whispbar items do indeed work.

Sorry I can't provide you with any solution though.

Wayne

 

[Marie]

The roof box company are pretty decent and if they don't fit you can return them easy enough. Worth a try?

 

[Malcolm]

Cheers Marie & Wayner. I have bought a Whispbar set from the Roof Box people and will let everyone know if it fits malcolm

 

[makem]

Cheers Marie & Wayner. I have bought a Whispbar set from the Roof Box people and will let everyone know if it fits malcolm

http://www.whispbar.com/shop/



They don't do bars for a B-MAX.


Don't forget the roof on the B-MAX tapers. The two bars are therefore of differing lengths. My Ford bars are and the difference is very noticeable.


I did quite a bit of research before I bought this car with the long bars already fitted. I was considering a small trailer but the problem there is dragging it everywhere you go in case it gets nicked in a camp ground. Parking is alsoa great problem. I build one in the past but being home built from half a mini it didn't get nicked and I was just going from home direct to camps.


PS.I would be very concerned if bars appeared to fit but were not approved and caused damage not only to the vehicle but to other road users. Insecure load RT Offence comes to mind.



Edited by: makem

 

[Malcolm]

Whispbar do sell bars for a BMax! They seem to sell them only via The Roofbox Company.

You looked on their USA website, but if you look at the UK Whispbar site then they are there, and I live in the UK


I now have them on my BMax. The instructions have measured adjustments to be made for a BMax, and specific attachments. They are set up differently for front and rear and can be adjusted. How good they are, only time will tell. I will update further, particularly on the clamping to the sides of the roof, which is not ideal in my view but secure so far. Assuming they pass some local road tests this week, I aim to drive with them from Wiltshire to Cornwall and back, so will update after that.

 

[makem]

Sorry, I didn't realise it was USA

Hope they are ok.

 

[Kimdurose]

Hi
How did you get on with the Whispbars?
I pick up my B-Max on Monday and am thinking of ordering a set of these ready for summer.

 

[Malcolm]

Hi Kimdurose, to be honest I am unsure about them. The bars themselves are good, but the fixings worry me. They have to clip on to the sides of the roof and did not feel secure. I am thinking of contacting Whispbar about them. Am happy to let you know what happens, but in all good conscience I could not wholeheartedly recommend those fittings. They made it to Cornwall and back, but came loose once, hence my concerns. The BMAX is a wonderfully flexible vehicle, but I think I may invest in the lengthwise roof rails and then find a way of attaching my Whispers to them, rather than use the clip on fittings. Malcolm

 

[makem]

You will not be able to fit those cross bars to the longitudinal ones. They have two indentations which correspond to the protrusions on the cross bars. This stops the cross bars sliding down the long bars in case of an accident.

The actual pressure needed to hold the cross bars onto the long ones is only finger tight because of these indentations, just enough to hold the protrusion into the indentations.


I think the bars you have would just slide as there is nothing to hold they in position because the roof/door section is totally different to the long bar section. I am in Asia now but hen I get back to the UK beginning of April I could show a picture of the fittings if you remind me.

 

[Malcolm]

Well obviously I cannot fit them with their current attachments. But Whispbar provide a range of attachments including ones for roof rails. Using their bars is therefore theoretically possible on roof rails as long as I can get the right attachments and fir the current bars to them. As ever I will post updates here on that. What will be more interesting is Whispers response when I raise my concerns with them about the strength of their attachments. I shall also inform the Roofbox Company, although to be fair they are selling products that Whispbar say are designed for a BMAX.

 

[TheInstructor]

Hi Malcolm. I am interested in going the cheapest(but still remaining safe whilst not damaging my Bmax) around getting my roof box on my Bmax. Could you let us know what you have had on your Whispbar roof rack/bars please and how they faired up? I previously had roof rails on my other car and Thule roof bars with my roof box. So i would be grateful to have someones experience of these bars before purchasing a set. Having spoken to the roofbox company, they do seem very confident that they fit and are strong enough, they even said the fitting kit K753 fit other cars and that they have sold plenty of them.... Thanks in advance for posting your experience of them.

 

[makem]

A slight aside on this subject.

I have roof rails and found that they have fixed location points for the bars. Checking in Halfords I find that some will, some may and some will not allow fitting because of the roof bar attachment pitch which may not match the fixed pitch.


Certainly worth checking before you spend your dosh.


I have to find a box that will fit through a 73 cm loft opening for storage.

 

[Malcolm]

As an interim update on this. I had to delay following it up with the RoofBox Co. due to personal issues at home, but they have now passed on my issues to Whispbar. I will post any outcome on here.

 

[myicq]

Any actual experience and images would be interesting to me.

I like the concept of having length-wise roof bars, but they are SUPER expensive to retrofit the bmax. And after that, you need to order a cross bar. And then accessories like a kayak holder or roof box.

I would say here in Denmark I am short at least 1000 GBP once I have all.

Is there a cheaper alternative to whispbar available, that will just hold goods ? My old 1987 Nissan could fit a cheap china bar, costing me less than 50 GBP. Just worked.

I unfortunately was not aware about missing bar when shopping car.

 

[Kimdurose]

Ive just posted my thoughts on the PreAlpina roof bars in a separate thread. Hope this helps.
Kim

 

[makem]

I have just visited my local dealers and noticed a new car fitted with Ford roof bars that do not fit on roof rails.

I asked if they were available for the B-MAX and was told they were not because the B-MAX does not have a centre post. That post strengthens the roof at the edges.

It made me wonder if non-standard bars were fitted, whether this would affect the roof. The rails spread the load across the whole roof rather than two point loads at the roof edges.

Perhaps it would be a good idea for those who have fitted non-standard bars to be aware of this and keep the load as light as possible.

There must be good reason why Ford supply bars which clip on to the edges of the roof for cars other than the B-MAX. A dealer could be asked to contact Ford with a customer technical query as I did with the headlights.

 

[Kimdurose]

I cant imagine the B-max getting it's NCAP 5 stars if the roof was in any way weak.
With the doors shut, the edges of the doors form the B-pillars as they are strengthened. As long as you dont drive down the motorway with 4 mountain bikes on the roof and the doors open i reckon you'll be golden.