For those of us who don’t need a full expedition roof rack on our 4x4's, yet still need to carry a variety of gubbins on the roof, the obvious solution is a set of roof bars, and in my experience, nothing is quite as sturdy as Thule. (Pronounced Toolay btw).

Decades ago I bought a pair of lockable Thule roof bars for my old ’74 Range Rover, they were brilliant and I still have them stored away in the shed, not because I need them, but because I’m a hoarder and I never throw things away.  

Then, back in 2011 when I bought my ’96 Discovery I needed to find a replacement set of bars due to its stepped roof.  By this time I was already sold on the Thule system, not just because of their sturdiness, but also their huge range of accessories.  I ended up with their lockable 'High Foot' kit (ref 420), and square bars (ref 765).

They were on and off my Discovery for 5 years or so, and not only transported my canoe safely up and down the country, but other items that were too big and clumsy to fit inside.  

Over the years they’ve stood up to quite a bit of mistreatment, they’ve been abused significantly by low hanging branches whilst off roading and have even been battered whilst trying to drive through height restricted barriers at car parks!  

Despite all this misuse they’ve always remained sturdy and stylish, and therefore when I start to look for a new roof system for Deux Smurf, Thule’s website will be my first port of call.

Website:  www.thule.co.uk