Going abroad with the car or even a stay-at-home motoring holiday, makes huge demands on the car's carrying efficiency. The answer very often is going to the roof with a roof rack or roof box. Andrew Hamilton looks over the open air options
Martin O'Meara who runs O'Meara Camping in Bridgefoot Street, Dublin, prides himself on his huge stock of both.
"There must be about 200 different applications of roof rack for popular cars and we aren't even talking about the more complicated or difficult ones. For instance, for Honda Civic there are 19 different lines. With the roof boxes, we do 21 different types with prices going from €160 up to €1,000."
MPVs are supposed to be about versatility with loads but he still finds that they don't always meet the needs of a family on holiday. "Actually we supply more roof boxes for MPVs than conventional saloons, hatches or estates. Opel Zafira owners are probably our best roof boox customers: there simply isn't the boot space with the third row in place."
O'Meara Camping is a veritable cornucopia for those who are doing long drives with the car or even living with it in wide open spaces. On a recent visit we came across interesting devices such as the power inverter which retails at €125. It converts the 12 volt electricity of the car to 230 volts AC.
"It means that you can bring the television or video along with you on holiday because the power supply in effect becomes the same as mains electricity," explains Mr O'Meara.
One of the most popular comfort items he sells is car fridges: "People on the move like to stay cool with cool drinks and that isn't easy in a warm car." At O'Meara Camping, there are no less than 12 different 12 volt fridges starting at €100.
Catering for another body need is the flushing chemical toilet at €89.
Martin O'Meara, originally a teacher by profession, says the name of the company is almost a misnomer: "We still have our camping customers, looking for tents, etc but I think we are more a motoring company now. We have so many things that don't come into the specification of a car that can make that long holiday journey so much more tolerable."