GB2503715A - A Load Carrying Apparatus for a Motor Vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

A load carrying apparatus is disclosed having two roof bars 20 releasably attached to a roof 7 of a motor vehicle (figure 1) in two normally arranged orientations. In a first orientation the roof bars 20 extend longitudinally along the roof and in a second orientation the roof bars 20 extend transversely across the roof. The apparatus also comprises a plurality of base members 10-13 fastened in use to the roof of the vehicle, and to which the roof bars can be releasably fastened. There may be two pairs of bases, a first pair fastened near to a left hand side of the roof and a second pair near to the right hand side. Alternatively there may be a single left hand elongate base and a single right hand base (figures 4 to 7). Each base member may include at least one elongate slot (212, figure 5) or a number of attachment means spaced along at least part of its length (111-116; 121-126, figure 4) to allow the ends of the roof bars to be fastened at different points when in the transverse orientation. The roof bars may be fastened in place using T-shaped bolts (figures 8A, B).

Description

A Load Carrying Apparatus for a Motor Vehicle This invention relates to motor vehicles and in particular to a load carrying apparatus for a motor vehicle by which a load can be secured to the motor vehicle.

It is known from, for example, US Patent publication number 2009/0242599 to provide a load carrying apparatus for a motor vehicle. The apparatus disclosed in the aforementioned US patent publication has a pair of roof bars that are fastened to a roof of the motor vehicle so as to extend in a longitudinal direction of the roof. Each of the roof bars has a cross bar pivotally connected to it that can be pivoted from a stowed position in which it is stowed within the respective roof bar to which it is pivotally connected to a deployed position in which it extends transversely across the roof and latches to the other roof bar.

There are a number of problems associated with such a design, firstly the cross bars are of a smaller size than the roof bars and so are less resistant to bending and deformation, secondly the position of the cross bars is fixed and so loads below a certain size cannot be carried as they are not supportable by the roof bars or the cross bars if the distance between the roof bars and the cross bars is greater than the dimensions of the load. In addition to the above referred to problems the weight of the load carrying apparatus is greater than it need be if a user only wishes to use roof bars because the cross bars then constitute unnecessary additional weight.

It is an object of the invention to provide a load carrying apparatus for a motor vehicle that overcomes or minimises the problems associated with the prior art.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a load carrying apparatus for fitment to a roof of a motor vehicle, the apparatus comprising a number of base members and two elongate roof bars for use in securing a load to the roof wherein each of the base members is fastened in use to the roof and the two roof bars are releasably attachable to the roof by means of the base members either in a first orientation in which each roof bar extends parallel to a longitudinal axis of the roof or in a second orientation in which each of the two roof bars extends parallel to a transverse axis of the roof.

There may be four base members fastened to the roof.

There may be two pairs of base members a first pair of base members fastened near to a left hand side of the roof and a second pair of base members fastened near to a right hand side of the roof.

When the roof bars are in the first orientation, the distal ends of each roof bar may be releasably attached to the roof by means of one of the two pairs of base members.

Each pair of base members may include a front base member located towards a front end of the roof and a rear base member located towards a rear end of the roof.

When the roof bars are releasably attached to the roof in the second orientation, the distal ends of one roof bar may be releasably attached to the roof by means of the front base members and the distal ends of the other roof bar are releasably attached to the roof by means of the rear base members.

Each of the base members may include an elongate slot extending in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the roof forming part of an attachment means for releasably attaching the two roof bars to the roof.

Alternatively, there may be two elongate base members secured to the roof, each of the base members extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the roof.

A first one of the base members may be fastened near to a left hand side of the roof and a second one of the base members may be fastened near to a right hand side of the roof.

When the roof bars are in the first orientation, the distal ends of each roof bar may be releasably attached to the roof by means of a respective one of the two base members.

When the roof bars are releasably attached to the roof in the seoond orientation, one end of each roof bar may be releasably attached to the roof by means of one of the two base members and the opposite end of the respective roof bar may be releasably attached to the roof by means of the other of the two base members.

Each of the base members may include at least one elongate slot extending in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the roof, each elongate slot forming part of an attachment means for releasably attaching one end of a roof bar to the roof.

Each base member may include a number of attachment means spaced out along at least part of its length to permit one end of a roof bar to be attached to the respective base member in one of a number of predefined positions.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a motor vehicle having a roof and a load carrying apparatus constructed in accordance with said first aspect of the invention.

The roof may include two drainage channels each drainage channel extending longitudinally along the roof in a position near to a side edge of the roof wherein each of the base members is positioned so as to overlie a respective one of the two drainage channels.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing of which:-Fig.l is a piotorial representation of a motor vehicle suitable for the fitment of a load carrying apparatus according to the invention; Fig.2P. is a pictorial representation of part of a first embodiment of a load carrying apparatus according to a first aspect of the invention showing four base members fastened to the roof of the motor vehicle shown in Fig.1 and a roof bar attached to two of the base members in a first or longitudinal orientation; Fig.2B is a pictorial representation similar to Fig. 2A but showing the roof bar attached in a second or transverse orientation; Fig.3 is a piotorial representation of part of a second embodiment of a load carrying apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention showing four base members fastened to the roof of the motor vehicle shown in Fig.1 and a roof bar attached to two of the base members in a first or longitudinal orientation each of the base members includes a slot by which the position of a roof bar can be varied when the roof bar is attached in the second orientation; Fig.4 is a pictorial representation of part of a third embodiment of a load carrying apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention showing two base members fastened to the roof of the motor vehicle shown in Fig.1 for releasably attaching two roof bars to the roof; Fig.5 is a pictorial representation of part of a fourth embodiment of a load carrying apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention showing two base members fastened to the roof of the motor vehicle shown in Fig.1 for reeasably attaching two roof bars to the roof, each of the base members includes a slot by which the position of a roof bar can be varied when the roof bar is attached in the second orientation; Fig.6 is a schematic side view of a fifth embodiment of load carrying apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention showing a roof bar extending longitudinally along a roof of the motor vehicle shown in Fig.l; Fig.7 is a schematic side view of a sixth embodiment of load carrying apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention showing a roof bar extending longitudinally along a roof of the motor vehicle shown in Fig.1; Fig.8I is a pictorial view of a T-bolt member for use with the base members shown in Figs.3 and 5; and Fig.8B is a cross-section through one of the base members shown on Fig.5 showing how the T-bolt shown in Fig.8A is used to releasably attach one end of a roof bar to one of the base members shown in Fig.5 when the roof bar is in the second orientation.

With reference to Fig.1 there is shown a motor vehicle having a body structure 6 including a roof 7. The roof 7 has a longitudinal axis L-L and a Transverse axis T-T that are aligned with corresponding axes of the motor vehicle 5.

The roof 7 includes two drainage ditches or channels 8 extending along it in a longitudinal direction. Each of the channels 8 extends from a position near to a front end of the roof 7 to a position near to a rear end of the roof 7 and is positioned near to either a left hand side of the roof 7 or a right hand side of the roof 7.

Referring now to Figs.2A and 2B there is shown a first embodiment of a load carrying apparatus. The position of a front of the motor vehicle 5 of which the roof 7 forms a part is indicated by the arrow F. The load carrying apparatus comprises four base members 10, 11, 12 and 13 fastened to the roof 7 and two identical roof bars 20 of which only one is shown on Figs.2A and 2B.

The term roof bar' as meant herein is a component for attachment to a roof of a motor vehicle for the purpose of enabling an object to be secured to the roof of the motor vehicle so as to enable the object to be transported by the motor vehicle. In some cases a roof bar is used to secure a specialised carrier for transporting an object such as a cycle carrier, canoe rack or ski rack to the roof of a motor vehicle.

The base members 10, 11, 12, 13 are arranged in two pairs. A first pair of base members 12, 13 is fastened near to a left hand side of the roof 7 and a second pair of base members 10, 11 is fastened near to a right hand side of the roof 7. Each of the base members 10, 11, 12, 13 is fastened to the roof 7 by mechanical securing means such as bolts or rivets (not shown) and is positioned so as to overlie one of the drainage channels 8 (not shown on Figs.2A and 2B) Each of the roof bars 20 has a central portion 21 and two end portions 22, 23. The end portions 22, 23 space the central portion 21 away from the roof 7 so as to permit loads to be secured to the central portion 21. Each of the roof bars 20 can be made as a single component as shown or can be comprised of several parts that are fastened together to form the roof bar 20. For example the end portions 22, 23 and the central portion 21 can all be separate components that are fastened together by suitable means to form the roof bar 20.

The two roof bars 20 are attachable to the roof 7 by the base members 10, 11, 12, 13 in a first orientation in which each roof bar 20 extends parallel to the longitudinal axis L-L of the roof 7 and in a second orientation in which each of the two roof bars 20 extends parallel to the transverse axis T-T of the roof 7.

When the roof bars 20 are in the first orientation as shown in Fig.2A, the distal ends of each roof bar 20 are releasably attached to the roof 7 by one of the two pairs of base members 10, 11 and 12, 13. Each pair of base members 10, 11 and 12, 13 includes a front base member 10, 12 located towards a front end of the roof 7 and a rear base member 11, 13 boated towards a rear end of the roof 7.

That is to say, each of the roof bars 20 is attached to the roof via one of the front base members 10, 12 at one end and by one of the rear base members 11, 13 at the opposite end.

In the case of the embodiment being described, the roof bars 20 are releasably attached to the base members 10, 11, 12, 13 by a threaded fastener means comprising a pair of threaded screws 25, 26 each of which extends through a respective one of the end portions 22, 23 of the two roof bars 20 to engage with captive nuts 15, 16, 17, 18 on the base members 10, 11, 12, 13 respectively. The captive nut 17 is attached to base member 12 but is not visible in Figs. 2A and ZR. It will however be appreciated that other mechanical fastening means could be used to releasably attach the roof bars 20 to the base members 10, 11, 12, 13 and that the invention is not limited to the use of threaded screws and captive nuts.

When the roof bars 20 are releasably attached to the roof 7 in the second orientation as shown in Fig.2B, the distal ends of one roof bar 20 are releasably attached to the roof 7 by the front base members 10, 12 and the distal ends of the other roof bar are releasably attached to the roof 7 by the rear base members 11, 13. As before the screws 25, 26 are used to releasably attach each roof bar 20 to the respective base members 10, 12 or 11, 13 via the captive nuts 15, 17, 16, 18 respectively.

To move the two roof bars 20 from the first orientation to the second orientation the screws 25, 26 holding each roof bar are released and the respective roof bar 20 is lifted and rotated through ninety degrees and is re-attached using the base members 10, 12 for one of the roof bars 20 and the base members 11, 13 for the other roof bar 20 by means in each case of the two screws 25, 26.

The reverse process is used to move the roof bars 20 from the second orientation to the first orientation and in this case the roof bars 20 are re-attached using the base members 10 and 11 and screws 25, 26 for one of the roof bars and to base members 12 and 13 using screws 25, 26 for the other roof bar.

Referring now to Fig.3 there is shown a second embodiment of a load carrying apparatus. The position of a front of the motor vehicle 5 of whioh the roof 7 forms a part is indicated by the arrow F. The load carrying apparatus comprises four base members 310, 311, 312 and 313 fastened to the roof 7 and two identical roof bars 20 similar to those previously described with respect to Figs.2A and 2B. Only one roof bar 20 is shown in Fig.3 positioned in the first orientation.

The base members 310, 311, 312 and 313 are arranged in two pairs. A first pair of base members 312, 313 is fastened near to a left hand side of the roof 7 and a second pair of base members 310, 311 is fastened near tc a right hand side of the roof 7. Each of the base members 310, 311, 312, 313 is fastened to the roof 7 by mechanical securing means such as bolts or rivets (not shown) and is positioned so as to overlie one of the drainage channels 8 (not shown on Figs. 2A and 2E).

As before each of the roof bars 20 has a central portion 21 and two end portions 22, 23. The end portions 22, 23 space the central portion 21 away from the roof 7 SO as to permit loads to be secured to it.

The two roof bars 20 are attachable to the roof 7 by the base members 310, 311, 312, 313 in the first orientation in which each roof bar 20 extends parallel to the longitudinal axis b-b of the roof 7 and in the second orientation in which each of the two roof bars 20 extends parallel to the transverse axis T-T of the roof 7.

When the roof bars 20 are in the first orientation in which they extend in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis b-b of the roof 7 (as shown in Fig.3), the distal ends of each roof bar 20 are releasably attached to the roof 7 by one of the two pairs of base members 310, 311 or 312, 313. Each pair of base members 310, 311 and 312, -10 - 313 includes a front base member 310, 312 located towards a front end of the roof 7 and a rear base member 311, 313 located towards a rear end of the roof 7. That is to say, in the first orientation each of the roof bars 20 is attached to the roof at one end via one front base member 310, 312 and is attached at an opposite end by one rear base member 311, 313.

The roof bars 20 are releasably attached to the base members 310, 311, 312, 313 in this case by a T-bolt fastener 240 as shown in Figs.8A and 83 and described in detail hereinafter. It will however be appreciated that other mechanical fastening means could be used to releasably attach the roof bars 20 to the base members 310, 311, 312, 313.

When the roof bars 20 are releasably attached to the roof 7 in the second orientation (not shown) , the distal ends of one roof bar 20 are releasably attached to the roof 7 by the front base members 310, 312 and the distal ends of the other roof bar are releasably attached to the roof 7 by the rear base members 311, 313.

To move the two roof bars 20 from the first orientation to the second orientation the fastening means that include for each roof bar two of the T-bolts 240 and cooperating nuts 250 are released and the respective roof bar 20 is rotated through ninety degrees and is re-attached using two of the T-bolts 240 and cooperating nuts 250 and the base members 310, 312 for one of the roof bars 20 and two of the T-bolts 240 and cooperating nuts 250 and the base members 311, 313 for the other roof bar 20.

The reverse process is used to move the roof bars 20 from the second orientation to the first orientation but in this case the roof bars 20 are attached using two of the I-bolts 240 and cooperating nuts 250 and the base members 310 -11 -and 311 for one of the roof bars 20 and two of the T-bolts 240 and cooperating nuts 250 and the base members 312 and 313 for the other roof bar 20.

The primary difference between the second embodiment shown in Fig.3 and the first embodiment shown in Figs.2A and 2B is that each of the base members 310, 311, 312, 313 forming the second embodiment includes an elongate slot 315, 316, 317, 318 extending in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis L-L of the roof 7 thereby allowing the roof bars 20 to be releasably attached in differing positions when arranged in the second orientation.

The elongate slots 315, 316, 317, 318 of the base members 310, 311, 312, 313 form, in combination with the I-bolts 240 and the nuts 250, an attachment means for releasably attaching the two roof bars 20 to the roof 7.

When the two roof bars 20 are in the second orientation, in which they extend parallel to the transverse axis T-T of the roof 7, the elongate slots 315, 316, 317, 318 enable the position and distance between the two roof bars 20 to be varied. That is to say, each of the roof bars can be moved in a longitudinal direction of the roof 7 and then be secured in place. This allows the two roof bars to be positioned close to one another, be positioned widely apart, be positioned nearer to the front end of the roof or be positioned nearer to the rear end of the roof 7 if required.

Referring now to Fig.4 there is shown part of a third embodiment of a load carrying apparatus. The position of a front of the motor vehicle 5 of which the roof 7 forms a part is indicated by the arrow F. In this case the load carrying apparatus comprises of two elongate base members 110, 120 fastened to the roof 7 -12 -and two identical rocf bars 20 cne of which is shown in Figs.2A and 2B.

Each of the base members 110, 120 extends parallel to the lcngitudinal axis f-f of the roof 7.

A first base member 120 is fastened near to a left hand side cf the rocf 7 and a second base member 110 is fastened near to a right hand side of the roof 7.

When the roof bars are in the first orientation in which they extend in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis f-f of the roof 7, the distal ends of each roof bar are releasably attached to the roof by a respective one of the two base members 110, 120 using captive nuts 111, 116 for one of the roof bars and the captive nuts 121 and 126 for the other roof bar. As referred to with respect to the first embodiment, a threaded screw (not shown) extends through each end portion of each roof bar to releasably attach the respective roof bar at each end to a respective base member 110, 120 using the captive nuts 111, 116 and 121, 126 respectively.

When the roof bars are releasably attached to the roof in the second orientation in which they extend parallel to the transverse axis T-T of the roof 7, one end of each roof bar is releasably attached to the roof by one of the two base members 110, 120 and the opposite end of the respective roof bar is releasably attached to the roof by the other of the two base members 120, 110. That is to say, one of the roof bar is attached using the captive nuts 111 and 121 and the other roof bar is releasably attached using the captive nuts 116, 126.

However, to allow the position and spacing of the roof bars to be varied when the roof bars are in the second orientation, a number of additional spaced apart attachment -13 -points each containing a captive nut 112, 113, 114, 115; 122, 123, 124, 125 are provided.

The additional captive nuts 112, 113, 114, 115 are attached to the base member 110 and the additional captive nuts 122, 123, 124, 125 are attached to the base member 120.

The additional captive nuts 112, 113, 114, 115; 122, 123, 124, 125 permit the two roof bars to be attached to the two base members 110, 120 respectively in a number of predefined positions when the roof bars are in the second orientation.

The captive nut combinations for the predefined additional positions are:-112 and 122; 113 and 123; 114 and 124; and 115 and 125. It will be appreciated that the pairs of captive nuts 111,121 and 116, 126 form front and rear predefined roof bar positions respectively.

To move the two roof bars from the first orientation to the second orientation the fastening means are released and each roof bar is rotated through ninety degrees and is re-attached by means of the base members 110, 120, using one of the pairs of captive nuts 112 and 122; 113 and 123; 114 and 124; 115 and 125 and 116, 126 defining the predefined positions and screws extending through the end portions of the respective roof bar.

The reverse process is used to move the roof bars from the second orientation to the first orientation and in this case the roof bars are re-attached by means of the base member 110 using screws and the captive nuts 111, 116 for one of the roof bars and by means of the base member 120 using screws and the captive nuts 121, 126 for the other roof bar.

-14 -Referring now to Figs.5, BA and BB there is shown part of a fourth embodiment of a load carrying apparatus. The position of a front of the motor vehicle 5 of which the roof 7 forms a part is indicated by the arrow F on Fig.5.

In this case the load carrying apparatus comprises of two elongate base members 210, 220 fastened to the roof 7 and two identical roof bars not shown in Fig.5 or Fig.6A.

Each of the roof bars is the same as the roof bar 20 shown on Fig.3 Each of the base members 210, 220 extends parallel to the longitudinal axis L-L of the roof 7.

A first base member 220 is fastened near to a left hand side of the roof 7 and a second base member 210 is fastened near to a right hand side of the roof 7.

When the roof bars are in the first orientation in which they extend in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis h-h of the roof 7, the distal ends of each roof bar are releasably attached to the roof by a respective one of the two base members 210, 220 using a pair of I-bolts 240 of the form shown in Figs.8A and 8B. Each of the I-bolts 240 is engageable with an elongate slot 212, 221 formed in the base members 210, 220 respectively.

Each of the I-bolts 240 comprises of a shank portion 242 having one end fixed to a locking plate 241 and having an external thread 243 formed on an opposite end. The distal end of the shank 242 to the end fixed to the locking plate 241 has a screwdriver groove 244 formed in it for use in rotating the shank 242 between retaining and released positions. A nut 250 is threadingly engageable with the threaded portion 243 in order to clamp or releasably attach a roof bar 20 to in this case the base member 220.

-15 -The looking plate 241 has a longitudinal axis Y-Y. The width of the looking plate 241 is less than the width of the slot 221 in the base member 220 (or the slot 212 in the base member 210) but the length of the looking plate 241 is greater than the width of the slot 221 (or the slot 212) The fastening means is shown in a retaining position in Fig.8B in whioh the longitudinal axis Y-Y of the locking plate 241 is arranged at an angle and in this oase at ninety degrees to a longitudinal axis of the slot 221. To reach this position the looking plate 241 of the I-bolt 240 has been aligned with and then inserted through slot 221 before being rotated by use of the groove 244 and a flat blade screw driver ninety degrees so that it is moved into the retaining position in which the I-bolt 240 is retained in the slot 221 with the flange plate 241 located within a cavity in the base member 220.

After the I-bolt 240 has been rotated into the retaining position, the nut 250 is engaged with the threaded portion 243 and tightened so as to clamp one end of the roof bar 20 to the base member 220 and hold it in position.

It will be appreciated that a similar approach is used to releasably attach a roof bar or one end of a roof bar to the base member 210 using the slot 212.

When the roof bars are releasably attached to the roof 7 in the second orientation, one end of each roof bar is releasably attached to the roof 7 by one of the two base members 210, 220 along with a respective I-bolt 240 and nut 250 and the opposite end of the respective roof bar is releasably attached to the roof 7 by the other of the two base members 220, 210 along with a respective I-bolt 240 and nut 250 that are engaged with the slots 212, 221.

-16 -To move a roof bar from the first orientation to the seoond orientation, the nuts 250 and T-bolts 240 holding the roof bar are released and the roof bar is rotated through ninety degrees and then is re-attached using the base members 210, 220 and the reguired T-bolts 240 and nuts 250.

The reverse process is used to move a roof bar from the second orientation to the first orientation but in this case the roof bar is attached using only one of the base members 210, 220. The base member 210 is used for one roof bar and the base member 220 is used for the other roof bar along with the required T-bolts 240 and nuts 250.

With reference to Fig.6 there is shown a fifth embodiment of a load carrying apparatus for a motor vehicle such as the motor vehicle 5 shown in Fig.l.

The load carrying apparatus comprises of two roof bars 420 located one near to each side of the roof 7 of the motor vehicle 5 and releasably attached to the roof 7 via a pair of base members 410 one for each roof bar 420 and suitable attachment means (not shown) Each base member 410 is fastened to the roof 7 by fastening means such as rivets and/ or threaded fasteners and is conveniently located so as to overlie one of the two drainage ditches or channels 8.

Each roof bar 420 is releasably attached to its respective base member 410 by any convenient releasably means (not shown) such as, for example and without limitation, threaded fasteners, over-centre locking means, quarter turn locking means or the like.

Each roof bar 420 has a number of apertures 421 which can be used to secure an object to the respective roof bar 420.

-17 -As before the roof bars 420 oan be releasably attaohed (as shown in Fig.6) to run longitudinally along the roof 7 or can be releasably attached to run transversely across the roof 7.

This embodiment has the advantage that if the roof bars are removed completely the base members 410 present very little increased wind resistance and have little effect on the vertical position of the centre of gravity of the motor vehicle 5. However, the aerodynamic drag is relatively high when the roof bars 420 are arranged to extend transversely aoross the roof 7.

With reference to Fig.7 there is shown a sixth embodiment of a load carrying apparatus for a motor vehicle such as the motor vehicle 5 shown in Fig.l.

The load oarrying apparatus comprises of two roof bars 520 located one near to each side of the roof 7 of the motor vehicle 5 and releasably attached to the roof 7 via a pair of base members 510 one for each roof bar 520 along with suitable attachment means (not shown) Each base member 510 is fastened to the roof 7 by fastening means such as rivets and/ or threaded fasteners and is conveniently located so as to overlie one of the two drainage ditches or ohannels 8.

Each roof bar 520 is releasably attached to its respective base member 510 by any convenient releasably means (not shown) such as, for example and without limitation, threaded fasteners, over-centre locking means, quarter turn locking means or the like.

-18 -Each roof bar 520 has a number of apertures 421 which oan be used to secure an object to the respective roof bar 520.

As before, the roof bars 520 can be releasably attached (as shown in Fig.7) to run longitudinally along the roof 7 or be releasably attached to run transversely across the roof 7.

It will be appreciated that in practice the base members and the roof bars will be designed to be aesthetically attractive and aerodynamioally efficient and that the base members and roof bars shown are provided by

way of example only.

It will be appreciated that each base member could be a single integral component or could comprise of two or more components fastened together to form a base member.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that although the invention has been described by way of example with reference to one or more embodiments it is not limited to the disclosed embodiments and that alternative embodiments could be constructed without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (17)

1. -19 -Claims 1. A load carrying apparatus for fitment to a roof of a motor vehicle, the apparatus comprising a number of base members and two elongate roof bars for use in securing a load to the roof wherein each of the base members is fastened in use to the roof and the two roof bars are releasably attachable to the roof by means of the base members either in a first orientation in which each roof bar extends parallel to a longitudinal axis of the roof or in a second orientation in which each of the two roof bars extends parallel to a transverse axis of the roof.
2. 2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein there are four base members fastened to the roof.
3. 3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein there are two pairs of base members a first pair of base members fastened near to a left hand side of the roof and a second pair of base members fastened near to a right hand side of the roof.
4. 4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein, when the roof bars are in the first orientation, the distal ends of each roof bar are releasably attached to the roof by means of one of the two pairs of base members.
5. 5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3 or in claim 4 wherein each pair of base members includes a front base member located towards a front end of the roof and a rear base member located towards a rear end of the roof.
6. 6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein, when the roof bars are releasably attached to the roof in the second orientation, the distal ends of one roof bar are releasably attached to the roof by means of the front base members and the distal ends of the other roof bar are -20 -releasably attached tc the rccf by means cf the rear base members.
7. 7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 6 wherein each of the base members includes an elongate slot extending in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the roof forming part of an attachment means for releasably attaching the two roof bars to the roof.
8. 8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein there are two elongate base members secured to the roof, each of the base members extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the roof.
9. 9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein a first one of the base members is fastened near to a left hand side of the roof and a second one of the base members is fastened near to a right hand side of the roof.
10. 10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8 or in claim 9 wherein, when the roof bars are in the first orientation, the distal ends of each roof bar are releasably attached to the roof by means of a respective one of the two base members.
11. 11. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 8 to 10 wherein, when the roof bars are releasably attached to the roof in the second orientation, one end of each roof bar is reeasably attached to the roof by means of one of the two base members and the opposite end of the respective roof bar is releasably attached to the roof by means of the other of the two base members.
12. 12. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein each of the base members includes at least one elongate slot extending in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the roof, each elongate slot forming part of an -21 -attachment means for releasably attaching one end of a roof bar to the roof.
13. 13. An apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein each base member includes a number of attachment means spaced out along at least part of its length to permit one end of a roof bar to be attached to the respective base member in one of a number of predefined positions.
14. 14. A motor vehicle having a roof and a load carrying apparatus as claimed in any of claims 1 to 13 fastened to the roof.
15. 15. A motor vehicle as claimed in claim 14 in which the roof includes two drainage channels each drainage channel extending longitudinally along the roof in a position near to a side edge of the roof wherein each of the base members is positioned so as to overlie a respective one of the two drainage channels.
16. 16. A load carrying apparatus substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawing.
17. 17. A motor vehicle substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawing.