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Joe22



Member Since: 28 Apr 2023
Location: North West England
Posts: 23

 2004 Defender 110 Td5 CSW Tonga Green
Tentbox owners with roof rack?
Morning! I'm looking for some Tentbox owners to put my mind at ease before splashing out.. (other brands available!)

I've been in touch with Tentbox to ask if their Tentbox Lite XL is compatible with my roof rack and they haven't filled me with confidence. Firstly they recommend bars rather than a rack but I’m convinced I've seen Defenders out and about with a rack and Tentbox..

Main concerns are:

- the M8 55mm bolts that lock it to the bars might not be long enough given the longitudinal bars overlap the horizontal bars (although it looks like I'd have 15mm to play with)
- is the fixing bracket long enough (see below arrow photo) to go around the bars? The bar is 35mm
- Tentbox have advised the tent only works with a maximum roof rack lip of 25mm; I have measured mine (pictured) and it's about 15mm

Any words of wisdom would be welcome!

Cheers
Joe


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Post #1032512 23rd Apr 2024 8:32am
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steveww



Member Since: 05 Jan 2022
Location: Uppingham
Posts: 566

United Kingdom 2015 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Bronze Green
Using a roof rack with a roof tent is a bit of a waste because the tent fills the rack. Roof bars are all hat's needed and they weigh less; lower weight up top is a good thing.

However, if the supplied bolts are not long enough is easy to buy some longer ones

https://accu.co.uk/

When I fitted the roof tent to my Defender I fabricated my own bars for stainless steel stock bar and purchased the required fixings from the above link.
Post #1032524 23rd Apr 2024 10:12am
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AJC



Member Since: 30 Nov 2015
Location: Lancashire
Posts: 1360

United Kingdom 
i have had my tent fitted to my rack which si the same and used a big sandwich washer. no problems.

helps having battery ratchet to tighten though as it is a little tight
Post #1032529 23rd Apr 2024 10:48am
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JARowley



Member Since: 28 Dec 2022
Location: Nottingham
Posts: 88

L663 with the genuine Land Rover rack and Tentbox classic plus awning installed. No issues at all - looks great, fits perfect. No modifications!
Post #1034432 10th May 2024 9:36pm
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Ianb



Member Since: 25 Oct 2023
Location: Devon
Posts: 387

United Kingdom 1998 Defender 110 300 Tdi HT Alaska White
We have a tentbox cargo, so a bit different. Looking at your pics, worst case scenario you might need to change the bolts supplied for longer ones, can't see an issue otherwise...

Biggest issue we had is that the thing is heavy and a bother to get tightened up. The bolts were too long for a short ratchet bit, and the gap between the bolt and the roof was too short for a long ratchet bit... so had to resort to spanners and they were quarter turn each time Big Cry The Yeti - 110 Camper https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic90308.html
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@YetitheDefender
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Post #1034439 11th May 2024 1:39am
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Dorothy



Member Since: 14 Sep 2020
Location: East Sussex
Posts: 39

United Kingdom 2013 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 USW Orkney Grey
Did you get any further on this. I dived in and bought their Lite XL. I have a Patriot so not too dissimilar to your rack. I am hoping to answer these questions on Monday... Shocked

I know various T Bolts exist at different lengths have seen a few different clamps. I am eventually going to look to rotate the tent to fold out over the rear. Then, all things being equal I can get the Living Pod and the rear door will open allowing access in the dry from tent to vehicle. I'd no doubt need to source wider fixing clamps to allow for the width of the long wide top bars.

One tip I keep getting is to buy the anti-condensation breathable under mat to go below the mattress. 2001 Defender Special Vehicles TD5 Hardtop (Ex Scottish & Southern) Side Lockers, Side Hatches - Poorly chassis and bulkhead. (SORNd)
2013 Defender Puma Utility XS
Post #1035504 23rd May 2024 6:10pm
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Dorothy



Member Since: 14 Sep 2020
Location: East Sussex
Posts: 39

United Kingdom 2013 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 USW Orkney Grey
Well our Lite XL turned up but there were issues fitting it to our Patriot Rack. The distance between theTentbox rails was 60cm and of course this didn't align centrally with the Patriot rack. The cross supports beneath also mean't we had to shift it 6-8 inches forward to be able to clamp it. The supplied bolts were fine depthwise because the steel clamp bars are angled allowing a shorter bolt.

Ours sits left side of the rack. I had removed one Patriot side rail to allow it to fold down but the other will have to go too, as it doesn't allow the raincover tension poles to be inserted into the base. Plenty of drilling for me to do.

A fix will be to redrill where the Tentbox rails affix to the base to have the rails fall into the voids between the lengthways top rails.

it might be feasible to bolt straight through the parallel roof rack, perhaps with some alrger spreader washers but less keen on that idea although I reckon the weight load would be nicely distributed. 2001 Defender Special Vehicles TD5 Hardtop (Ex Scottish & Southern) Side Lockers, Side Hatches - Poorly chassis and bulkhead. (SORNd)
2013 Defender Puma Utility XS
Post #1036892 9th Jun 2024 9:04am
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