The December holidays are a great time to unwind, relax and enjoy your favourite leisure activities and for many South Africans that means hitting the open road to their favourite holiday destination.

However, these leisure activities often require specific gear and packing the whole families gear and equipment can be an arduous task if your vehicle is not correctly equipped.

Fortunately Thule, the Swedish manufacturer of premium vehicle accessories, offer a wide variety of solutions for carrying of cargo and gear safely and effectively. The solutions allow vehicle owners to take maximum advantage of space available while ensuring a safe journey for vehicles and passengers and guaranteeing that leisure equipment is transported safely and securely.

Thule’s product range includes a variety of rooftop cargo carriers as well as specially developed products for the carrying of bicycles, aquatic equipment and everything else in between.

An extra boot on the roof

The use of a rooftop cargo carrier allows motorists to easily add an additional 610 litres of packing space to most vehicles sold in South Africa. The required roof bars also allow for the carrying of other items such as canoes or bicycles up top and alongside the rooftop cargo carrier. Thule’s rooftop cargo carriers range in size from 360 to 610 litres and are lockable both onto the roof bars while also featuring lockable lids for safe transportation of luggage.

How much is 610 litres? Well the boot of the average sized family vehicle is around 350 litres, so Thule’s rooftop cargo carriers allow you to more than double the luggage carrying capacity of your car.

Rooftop cargo carriers are also great for large volume items that would otherwise occupy most of the boot space, such as strollers, golf clubs and diving gear.

The use of a rooftop cargo carrier allows motorists to expand their cargo carrying ability while freeing up the towbar for other duties such as towing a caravan or the fitting of a towbar mounted bicycle carrier.

Thule’s latest addition to their rooftop cargo carrier range is the Motion 3 which offers a sleek and stylish solution to compliment modern vehicles by offering the perfect blend of space, efficiency and style, an element that is accentuated by the Black or Titan glossy finish.

Designers also focused on aerodynamics which resulted in a rooftop cargo carrier that minimises wind resistance and ensures a fuel-efficient journey.

Enhanced functionality includes an intuitive locking mechanism and dual side opening that can be operated with one hand, providing ease of access without sacrificing security or style. The Thule Motion 3 is available in a wide variety of sizes, including new low-profile options.

Thule offer a variety of bicycle carrying solutions

Thule are well known for their bicycle carrying solutions and this range includes roof, boot, load bin and tow bar mounted bicycle carrying solutions. Thule’s bicycle carriers are designed to safely and securely carry bicycles while eliminating any chance of damage to bicycles or vehicles.

Towbar mounted bicycle carriers are a great option as they are easy to load and allow you to keep an eye on your bicycle via the rear-view mirror.

The Thule Epos is the Swedish brands latest towbar mounted offering and is designed to ensure the maximum safety of all types of bikes while being easy to use in all areas of operation.

The biggest innovation of the Epos is the way in which bikes are attached to the carrier. Instead of a claw style holder attached to an integrated rear frame the Epos utilises an innovative telescopic bike attachment system. Patented telescopic arms with a pivoting cradle, along with steel reinforced straps, mounted to the base of the rack can be adjusted to allow for simple attachment anywhere on the frame or rear wheel, offering numerous attachment options. This eliminates the need to thread attachments through frames of the bicycles loaded alongside and allows up to three bikes to be loaded in any order, eliminating the need for last on first off. All types of frames and geometries are supported including e-bikes, mountain bikes, gravel bikes and even bikes fitted with fenders or racks. A generous 25cm distance between the bikes reduces the risk of bike-to-bike contact.

A load capacity of 30kg per bike as well as extra-long wheel holders enable the easy transportation of bikes with slacker head angles, chunkier tyres and longer wheelbases up to 1350mm. Even the ratcheting pump buckles have been redesigned for easier fastening of tyres up to 50mm.

Transport pets safely with the Thule Allax

Thule recently launched their range of Allax dog crates in South Africa, allowing dog owners to travel with their four-footed family members safely and securely inside the vehicle.

This innovative dog carrying solution prioritises safety and comfort. Extensive crash testing resulted in the incorporation of an innovative crumple zone that provides superior protection for both passengers and the four-legged occupants of the crate.

The Allax boasts several innovative features including rounded edges that ensure a perfect fit for both the car and the dog as well as adjustability, a gas strut, lockable, door and a window for improved visibility of the outside world from the safety of the crate.

The Thule Allax is the perfect way to travel safely, easily and conveniently with your dog and is available in ten different sizes.

The Thule Caprock is a platform for adventure

The Thule Caprock is a platform style roof rack designed for use on larger off-road vehicles by creating a foundation for everyday work or leisure adventures and offers a modular design that supports a variety of gear and mounting types, supplied by Thule or third-party suppliers, while being easy to load and unload.

A wide range of accessories

Thule also offer a wide range of accessories that our designed to work in conjunction with these solutions. This includes trailer plug adaptors, adapters for various bicycle axle standards, heat shields and longer straps to accommodate fat bikes to name a few.

For use in conjunction with Thule’s range of rooftop cargo carriers products such as the Thule GoPack, a complete set of duffel bags designed for optimised packing in the rooftop cargo carrier, battery powered lights and bespoke covers are available.

Warranty and aftermarket support

All Thule’s vehicle mounted products are backed by a five-year warranty, but Thule also understand that products can get damaged through wear and tear or loss of small items and parts.

Thule South Africa carry a wide variety of spare parts to ensure that products sold remain safe, functional and operate as they were designed for many years both through their warranty programme or to purchase. This offering includes items such as keys, locks, a wide variety of rubber parts, straps, knobs, attachments as well as clamps, nuts and bolts of various sizes, which ensures sustainability and value for money by facilitating an extremely long product lifespan.

Nationwide availability

Thule’s wide range of rooftop cargo carriers, bicycle racks, accessories, spare parts and luggage are available from Thule Concept stores located throughout South Africa.

For more information please visit www.thulestore.co.za