TentBox is the bestselling roof tent brand in the UK. We continually reinvest back into the business with a core focus on Product, Service & Community.

As a company, we will never bash other brands, but we're proud to talk about what makes us great!

Some highlights from this article:

• Team of UK-based product specialists
• 25,000 TentBoxes on the road
• Industry-leading 5-year warranty
• Industry-leading reviews on Trustpilot
• Exceptional product quality
• TentBox has an incredible community

TentBox was established in 2015, at a time when the roof tent concept was little-known, other than in small circles such as the 4x4 overlanding scene. Brands existed (mainly outside of the UK), but all of them were aimed at the 4x4 market.

They had a vision to change this by creating a range of roof tents that would work with any car, in order to make this incredible concept available to everyone. Britain is a country of camping enthusiasts and they knew, even back then, that roof tents would one day become the new norm.

Over almost a decade they have been at the forefront of this growing market and have played a big part in taking the concept from obscurity to the main stage. As a result, we now have over 25,000 TentBoxes on the road in the UK and are proud to be the bestselling roof tent brand in the Britain. Learn more about the TentBox story here.

Although other brands have started to pop-up (excuse the roof tent pun) over the last few years, by sticking to our core values below and continuing to reinvest & innovate, we continue to remain at the front of the pack and plan to stay here for a very long time.

A Guide To Getting Roof Bars For a Roof tent

Summary

Important: always follow the TentBox User Guidelines when choosing and installing both your roof bars and Tentbox.

• Car roof types
• What roof bars should you get
• Help with roof load limits
• Where can you buy them
• Installing roof bars
• How does a TentBox attach to roof bars

How roof bars work

You can get roof bars for almost any vehicle, even if there are no obvious fixing points or raised side rails.

We stock a wide range of roof bars for hundreds of vehicles – click here to check if we stock bars for your car.

Roof bars run across your vehicle from side to side and they generally come in pairs. For a TentBox, you will need two roof bars. 

They way they attach to your vehicle depends on your roof type. Your vehicle will have one of the following roof types.

Open Rails

Very obvious raised rails along the length of your car roof. They're "open" rails if there is a gap between the rail and your roof.

Closed Rails

A different type of raised rails that run along the length of your car roof. They're "closed" rails if there is no gap between the rail and your roof. These are also often referred to as "flush" rails.

Plain Roof

No obvious fixing points. The bars clamp to the frame of your car, sometimes slotting into small holes under your door.

Fixed Points

Clear fixing points, often hidden behind a plastic covering in a channel that runs along the length of your roof. The bars will attach to these directly.

Guttered

A gutter system that runs along the top of your roof. Not very common, these are often featured on old school Land Rovers and similar style vehicles. The bars will clamp onto the gutter.

Where can you buy roof bars

We stock a wide range of roof bars for hundreds of vehicles - click here to check if we stock bars for your car.

Need help with roof bars?

Remember, we have a dedicated team of product specialists who are roof tent and roof bar experts, so please contact us if you need help with any of this. We would be more than happy to send you a link to a set of roof bars that will work with your car.

Installing roof bars

Your roof bars will come with an installation manual and you should follow this closely. Often there are also really helpful videos online, but do remember to always double-check with the written instructions. 

It is relatively straightforward to install roof bars, but if you need help, you can always ask a local mechanic to install them for you.

We can not stress enough the importance of installing them correctly and making sure they are securely tightened. 

How does a TentBox attach to roof bars?

Once you're roof bars are installed to your vehicle, you simply place the TentBox centrally on top and then use the simple fixing clamps provided to clamp it in place. All in all there are 4 clamping points and just 8 nuts to tighten. Remember to closely follow the instructions that come with your TentBox when it comes to installing it.  

Do you need more than two roof bars?

No, two roof bars is what we recommend as long as they are good quality bars. Some people do like to use a third bar, particularly if they plan to go off roading, and expect to be hitting steep sideways angles, but for everyday road users to is more than adequate. 

Need help with roof bars?

Always feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions relating to roof bars. Our team of product specialists are experts at this and love to provide advice. 

If you let us know your vehicle details, we can send you a link to some compatible roof bars for your setup.