Halfords Top Box – Exodus 470!

When we found out we were to be Camp Bestival bloggers we were absolutely thrilled to bits. A weekend of camping with friends, live music and fun seemed like an amazing prospect but then we started to think about all the things we would need to take with us.

Being absolutely novice campers we had no gear whatsoever and no idea how much space said gear would take up in our car. Lulworth Castle where Camp Bestival is held is about a 4 hour drive from where we live so doing more than one trip was not an option but with a 3 door Corsa we were baffled as to how we would fit it all in.

Ok, so we decided to not take a buggy. We thought Jimmy could walk and go in the sling so that was one space saver but still we had a tent, food, booze (of course), air beds, sleeping bags, a massive ruck sac with clothes for four people catering for every weather eventuality, pots, pans, camping stove, fold up chairs, lights, torches, nappies… All of the essentials and I mean essentials (which we didn’t have room for) and then what about the other stuff? Lots of shoes (festival chic baby) and glitter, face paints, bubbles, toys… The list was rather extensive…

What was the solution? Well, it was pretty simple really and no, we didn’t need to buy a new car! A roof top box!

We visited Halfords who had a summer deal on a roof rack, top box and fitting for £300 and within half an hour literally the whole problem was solved. The Exodus 470 carries 470 litres which is equal to a large car boot and in fact, larger than our actual car boot!

The box offers:

• 470 litre roof box equal to a large car boot
• Aerodynamic design reduces wind resistance and noise
• Tough, scratch resistant ABS material
• UV protected materials prevent the roof box from becoming brittle or cracking
• Spring lid stays open on its own
• More secure – key cannot be removed unless locked
• Full width family size roof box
• Quick fit mounting system
• 1 side opening
• Slide mount
• Load capacity: 60kg
• 3 year warranty
• Dimensions: 165x95x41cm
• Weight: 15kg

Our little Colin the Corsa with his new top box!

The box locks on and we have keys to take it off if we want to. The bars will also come off and Halfords showed us how to do all of this ourselves should we need to. Inside the box, which has a lock too of course, there is plenty of room and straps to strap down what we put inside. The fitting really did only take about half an hour and we watched the two Halfords professionals who were extremely thorough as well as chatting and offering advice. When they had finished the supervisor came out to check their work and we were off, new set of keys in hand. Halfords mentioned they can order new keys with our bar code should we lose ours – something to remember knowing us along with the height sticker they gave us to pop on the windscreen to remind us we’re taller now!

Without it we wouldn’t have been able to go camping. With it we had room to spare! It is quite literally going to revolutionise travel for us because we have, in the past, always had to think very carefully about what to pack and make big compromises. I am so pleased with the box and the fitting and the advice from Halfords which was very helpful! We think we used a small amount more in petrol but really and truly, not very much at all which we were surprised about. I absolutely recommend this type of solution for families like ours! It’s brilliant! That’s how I see it – It’s brilliant! While we were looking for a solution for a lot of luggage and we are sure that this will be our next purchase for our next trips, which will probably make the same impression on us.

We were provided with the top box for the purpose of an honest review.