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  Andy August 7, 2014 at 10:20pm

  I would have a ladder roof rack, comes with a roller at the end nearest the rear doors, makes getting long heavy stuff on and off so much easier. Don't forget hands free I use a parrot system (not the bird before you ask!) which bluetooths to my phone and plays through the speakers. No idea on alarms, but you will need a thatcham category one for your insurance company to accept it. Would have thought the van had one anyway? A good crook lock is essential. A sign to remind you how tall your van is?
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  Sam Moon August 8, 2014 at 10:11pm

  I've been doing that for years Andy, sick of the chaos; battling tons of tools, kit, tonne bags of green-waste, rubble bags, etc...TBH I can't bloody wait to be do bits like get the ladders out of my way and lay timber lengths flat, having to move them only when I need them!...Forget 72 virgins, that's my idea of heaven. Sad I know.
• PRO

  James Brett August 8, 2014 at 10:18pm

  Surely you only carry what you will need for that day?? Roof rack will add massive drag and reduce your fuel economy!! I would go for the small bars instead of the full rack to reduce the affect!!
  
  I have a rack built out of ply and one of 25mm box steel lined with ply!! I much prefer the steel lined one as it is much sturdier!!
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  Daniel Goree August 8, 2014 at 11:30pm

  Could you get a 12 ft tripod ladder inside?

  The other thing is a ladder attached to the rear door will put stress on the hinges. But if you have no rear door ladder, you will need a ladder to put stuff on the roof.
• PRO

  James Brett August 9, 2014 at 1:37pm

  It won't put extra stress on the hinges because you only climb up when the door is shut. This means that the door is fully supported. Rhino racks are the only real way to go!!
  
  I would advise bars unless you are putting loads of stuff up there!! But with a load length of 3.4m surely you only need to put the ladders up,there when you require them?? Rhino clamps are the nuts aswell. The bars have rollers to which will save a lot of the effort to put me up there
  
  I wouldn't put bags of waste up there because of the effort. I can get 18 bulk bags of grass in the back of the lwb movano with two mowers strimmer, long reach trimmer, all my hand tools and the racking!! If you did you would probably need to secure it with a net?? As you would be responsible for anything which falls off. You would also attract lots of attention with bags of waste on the roof. I think the tranny weight limit on the roof is 150kg because it's the gutters where all the weight sits.
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  Sam Moon August 10, 2014 at 10:39am

  Thanks James, very helpful info.
  To answer why I don't just load up what I need each day, unfortunately I live in Central London and I have recently moved a few miles away from my lock-ups. Ideally I'd have a skip, a yard and my vans right outside my home, but considering I can't even park outside my own home between 8.30 and 5.30 without getting a ticket, those things are just a distant dream for me. Perhaps it's time to move out of town a bit...
  
  James, any inputs which on of these racks to choose please?
  http://www.rhinoproducts.co.uk/product_detail.asp?VehicleModelID=14...
  Or
  http://www.rhinoproducts.co.uk/product_detail.asp?VehicleModelID=14...
  ...did you say that these racks have rollers for ladders?
  
  And these are the clamps you mention right?
  http://www.rhinoproducts.co.uk/product_detail.asp?VehicleModelID=14...
  
  Cheers all for your time, much appreciated.
• PRO

  James Brett August 10, 2014 at 11:22am

  They are the clamps!!! I travel 15 miles to my yard either the night before or the morning so that I can carry the minimum!! Generally in the evening so that I can unload waste and then load up
  
  Only the first link to the roof rack worked. Personally I would go with a 4 bar option with the last bar having a roller and load stops on all of the bars
  
  As for as I am aware the roller is an optional extra but don't quote me on it. I'm on my phone which doesn't make things much easier when viewing links.
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  Sam Moon August 10, 2014 at 12:24pm

  Cheers mate. I'll maybe give Rhino a call tomorrow. You have the Rhino ladder too?
  
  Trying to rejig things that's all, spending a couple of hours every other day loading and unloading is impacting on my downtime. I've recently seen another guy in central London with half a lock-up strapped onto a huge roof rack (the full length of a LWB transit), so it seems I'm not alone in this predicament.
  - This actually reminds me of when one loaded client(he was in banking) with an amazing bachelor pad in Hampstead was complaining to me that I wasn't as cheap as his parent's gardener (£12 an hour) out in the sticks.
  
  Cheers.
• PRO

  Adam Pilgrim August 10, 2014 at 1:21pm

  Might be worth having a look at Saunders Direct - www.saundersdirect.co.uk - I had a set of roof bars for my old Toyota Hi Ace off these guys and the quality and customer service was second to none.

  Really helpful guys - all the items you need are on their website.
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  Sam Moon August 11, 2014 at 3:09pm

  Cheers Andy et al.