Mike Owen

Thanks, this is a great article!

Hi Ray, did you ever managed to find a good place to get steel wheels that fitted your 05, and also if so the size of the tyres?

Thanks Ian, let me / us know if you do it / how it goes 🙂

@Iain McKendry - Here we go: DISCLAIMER - If you follow the instructions below and your roofbars / roofbox / bike etc. falls off / damages your vehicle, please don't blame the messenger, i.e. Do it under your own risk. Basically I had some Thule roof bar foot fitments for a Seat Allhambra, and a Fiat Punto Grande, and the ones that seemed a 'closest/configurable' match were the fiat punto, so I used these as a base for my cunning plan and they seemed to work out pretty well. You may be able to find some different Thule brackets that are a closer fit, and if so please post it on here 🙂 The final result is a very sturdy roofbar, capable of carrying a large THULE Roofbox and other fitments as required, all for £40 plus my own labour. I have fitted it twice so far and recently used it on our 'old, free and married' middle/old aged crisis move up to Scotland, and also on a previous holiday to Scotland, and it seems to be staying solid as a rock. FYI note: - Our Alphard is a 2007 3.0L with 2 threaded 6mm holes in the top of each side of the rear door frame that can be seen when the doors are open. - We already had the older square type roofbars, which I think you can still buy from Thule The steps I took were: 1/. I took a set of secondhand/ebay Thule fittings for the punto. These can be seen in 2 photos attached. Specifically they were the Thule Evo Clamp Fitting Kit: https://roof-bars.co.uk/products/thule-evo-clamp-fitting-kit-5008 - But note I managed to get mine secondhand on Ebay for £23 inc. delivery. Worth shopping around I think. - Note that 2 of the fittings have pins in the bottom that would normally push into holes in a Fiat Punto, the other 2 just have little indents. I drilled out the pins with a 6mm drill, to make 6mm holes instead, and drilled 6mm holes through the indents in the other 2 - These holes will eventually be used to attach the brackets to the Alphard by 4 off stainless steel M6 button head screws, the invoice for which is shown in the one of the photos attached. 2/. Once the holes had been drilled in the brackets I clamped the part with the newly drilled holes between 2 pieces of wood (to prevent the plastic coating from being damaged) into a sturdy vice, then manually straightened them out to the profile shown on the fitted roof bar, using brute force (this will keep you fit 🙂 ) - Just bend the first one then try it against the Alphard until it looks like in the phot, and feels about right, and note that this angle doesn't seem to be super sensitive. Repeat the same straightening process with the other three fittings, note though that the angle and point of bend (due to the slight difference in hole position of front and back holes) for the front 2 holes is slightly different from the back 2 holes. 3/. The rubber protective foot that comes with the brackets is much too shallow for the new fittings, so it needs to be replaced / supplemented with much deeper rubber feet. This has the effect of raising the whole roof bar a couple of inches or so higher, but this doesn't seem to have any negative / weakening affect. I bought a block of rubber for £11 from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07BJ7F6NT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 , and cut it into 4 pieces with a circular saw. The size of the block was almost perfect for the requirements, and the circular saw tore through the rubber with ease. 4/. Finally fit the roofbar / brackets!! Obviously take all the usual precautions, i.e. clean the area where you are going to fit the brackets before fitting to prevent scratching, then fit the bars / brackets as usual, feeling your way as you go until you are comfortable with the fit and its sturdiness. I was very happy with the result, and I hope you will be if you try the same 🙂 Any questions with the above please just ask!

Hi @Iain McKendry, sorry I took them but we were in the middle of moving to Scotland so never got around to posting them…will try and do so in the next day or so…

It’s a 2007 so yes I think so, but the method could possibly be used? I’ll post it in the next few days, with photos, so you can see what I did, then you can make your own decision.

Hi Daphne, Yes I had success - Used them a couple of weeks ago to carry our Thule roofbox to Scotland for a week! I wouldn't say it was easy, but not too bad, and I am pretty confident it's very solid, which is the main thing. Just needed to source a rubber block and 4 off 6mm screws (to fix into the existing roof bar holes in the Alphard), which again was pretty easy once I had worked out what was required. Let me know if you want some more detail of the parts / method / photos etc. and I will post them on here. Cheers, Mike.

Yes, thanks Alan. Been looking for them everywhere, including ebay for a few months. I've now just ordered a second hand kit that fits the roof rack to my Punto, and am hoping / thinking that with a small amount of adjustment will be able to get them to fit the Alphard gen-1. We'll see.....

If anybody going to the Alphard meet at Gaydon at the beginning of July 2023, or any other kind person, who has got a Thule 1267 Rapid Fitting Kit (required for Alphard 2002-2008), and can lend me a piece so I can copy it I would be very grateful. It is just one of the metal pieces that attach to the car that I need to borrow. They are impossible to get hold of so I am going to try and make them myself. I have all the other bits that I already use when putting our Thule roof bars / roof box on our Fiat Punto, and I think it might be just a question of buying a set of secondhand punto attachments, then adapting them very slightly... but I need to see one and try it first. Here is the fitting instructions FYI: https://www.roofracks.co.uk/pdf/1267.pdf I would probably need it for a week or so but can post it back registered post, or another guaranteed delivery method.

We live in Stratford-upon-Avon, about 30 mins away, and the racecourse is a good place to camp: https://www.pitchup.com/campsites/England/Central/Warwickshire/Stratford-upon-Avon/stratford-racecourse-touring-park/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIztTKmvfR_wIVR9ftCh3uaQBpEAAYASAAEgLFKfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Hi @Trevor - I am pretty sure we will be able to come, just got to talk to my wife about it first 🙂 - We live in Stratford-upon-Avon, 30 mins away, so happy to help out as well.

Looks like pre-event camping is circa £10 a night, and during the 2 day weekend event , about £50 to £75+ depending on the number of people.

FYI: the next Overland Show in Stratford-upon-Available n is 17/18th September- It would be a really good place to meet up. If you haven't been it’s really good. Live music, good food, incredible overland vehicles / camper vans. FYI: I am not connected with it, but just live near it. https://adventure-overland-show.com

Sounds good to me. We are waiting for our import to arrive. Should have been last Monday! Stratford-Upon-Avon would be good 🙂 Note you can camp / stay at the racecourse in Stratford-up-Avon, where incidentally the Overland show is being held THIS weekend!