hello , I have recently returned to LR and bought a 21 plate D300 L405 .... I'm really enjoying the car / engine is fantastic , no lag , great economy , smooth and quite !

We are planning a ski trip soon so I have fitted roof rails (what a faff !! never seen anything like it - and the cost !!) and bought bars on flea bay. All genuine LR.

Question for my fellow forum members is anyone worried about the way the bars 'clamp onto' the rails ... all seems a little insecure to me !

Has anyone driven at 70/80/90 mph with a large box attached to the bars ...without any mishap ! I have visions of my loaded roof box flying off on the French motorways !!!

I’ve only ever fitted a ski carrier to my roof bars and never had a problem. The bars lock into the rails with a securing pin and should be rock solid; if they’re not, that means the securing pin hasn’t seated into the hole in the rail. It can be a faff, but once you’ve worked it out it’s a doddle.

hi thanks Andy ! i saw the holes in the rails but didn't know they were for a pin ? I'll go back and refit ! many thanks

Drove to the south of France this year with a huge, loaded roof box on. I know what you mean about the cross-bar clamp, I also expected something a bit more obviously secure. I just really took my time to make sure the bars were straight and aligned so that as I tightened the bolt that secures the clamp, it got the best purchase possible on the rail and it was sat into the little groove as well as possible.

To be fair, there was not 1mm of movement over nearly 3 weeks of driving around France.

I've never see a pin nor hole in the rails or cross bars so would be interested to see that FFRR SDV8 Autobiography

There’s a small lug on one side of the clamp for each bar which you have to line up with the hole on the roof rail, same for both sides. If the lug, or pin, (same thing) isn’t aligned then the bar won’t sit securely. You have to make sure the bars are on the slackest tension when fitting as that allows them to move on the rails to align the lug. Once in position, tighten up the bars - they should have a torqued screwdriver like device as part of the kit so you know how far to tighten them.

I always fit the ski clips to the bars before mounting the bars to the rails as I find that easier. Never tried to fit a top box though I would imagine its a similar approach.

As mentioned, its a bit of a faff, especially if you’re not that tall and don’t have side steps.

I have used the RR roof bars and a large LR box (Thule made I think) many times without problem. Definitely need to get the lugs from the bars to fit into the notches on the rails. Make sure you’ve got the bolt tightening tool which gives a good visual indication of the 11NM (I think) specified.

Enjoy your travels! 2016 SDV8 AB

gents , thanks for all advice .... didnt get a chance today , but over next day or so will take pic of rail holes and bars and post .