I am starting to lose patience with this. So far this year we've been camping in both Normandy and The Lakes, and each occasion has been difficult with regards to squeezing everything into the coupe. It got so bad that when we went to Devon for a week we had to take our Golf but that wasn't much better.

Getting a bigger car is out of the question, and I realise I could just get a roofbox and bars for the Golf, but it's the coupe I'd rather take - obviously.

I know some owners bought Coupe specific roof bars years ago but I'll never be able to get my hands a set. I've even thought about a tow bar and getting a trailer, but again I can't locate a tow bar. A company in the UK sells 'boot bags' but the top of the boot is too small for it to fit (I think) and I've been thinking about 'soft roof bars', but the straps go across the headlining so would leave marks.

Has anyone any ideas/suggestions?

And does anyone have a tow bar they no longer want, or roof bars for sale? There must be a way.

a quick search found boot racks e.g.

https://www.roofrackshop.co.uk/Car-...For-Convertibles-and-Coupes/000745p.aspx

A bit pricey though and I think I would want to fit it to a spare boot lid as I wouldn't want to mark mine...

Seen something similar myself, and have been eying up a boot lid on eBay, just not sure if it would hold a good size bag etc.

Had a second look at the boot rack. Could be a solution if then adding a waterproof bag such as the ones on over-board.co.uk with the right kind of straps. The bags even come in yellow to match the car.

The only downside of this set up is it covers the third brake light which is probably illegal or would prevent the insurance from paying out if someone ran into the back of me - aargh! So near....

This post on PH seems to make out that it's the two main stop lights which have to work to pass the MOT - you may however be given an advisory on the 3rd one. If it's not actually connected apparently it's viewed differently

If you want a slightly shabby bootlid to play with, let me know - I have a couple that have scratches or minor dents that I'd be happy to supply for the price of a beer or two - collection-only though, as it would cost a small fortune to post

Cheers everyone.

The one and only time it's been on the car was to test/ see how it fitted.

That's a stealth coupe

Invisible outside, blinding inside

Also needs stealth roof bars then - powder coated satin black

How about a little trailer? Often see them on eBay, would not spoil the look of the car and can pack tons of stuff in them.

I've not used on one my Coupe but have a boot rack for my XK8 and use it with a bag from here - http://www.boot-bag.com/ Certainly recommend the bag as it is incredibly waterproof, if you look at the testimonials on that site you will see one from me which I sent in August last year.

If the bag will fit with or without the rack shown in this list I would definitely recommend it. We have been away to France for a month with camping gear and our dog using that on the Jag so I'm sure it would make the Coupe more usable.

For the rear brake light my rack has one built in but I haven't actually connected it. If you are really concerned adding a piggy-back connector and some red LEDs on the rack would work OK I would think, without being too difficult or expensive to do.

You guys are torturing me with these photos of roof bars. Do you still have them, do they work ok, and is there any chance of anyone parting with them?

Annie, the trailer idea would also be good, but tow bars seem to be like rocking horse poo as well.

Andy, I would have to find the correct rack to hold the bag as the top of the boot is too small for it to sit on alone. The Jag XK8 has quite a large area for it to sit on. Haven't got a clue about linking up some LEDs as a brake light as I'm useless at stuff like that. Time for more research me thinks...

If you are capable of swapping the boot lid You could get spare and bolt some rails to that (and a third brake light) to be used solely for that purpose then swap back when not in use!

I've never tried to find a rack for the Coupe but I'm sure there will be one that fits as I've seen them on lots of cars in all sorts of sizes - the XK8 is great though as it has such a large bootlid meaning I can use the bigger of the bags sold by the people in my earlier link.

The idea from Robotrish is great though - a dedicated lid incorporating bars, sounds ideal and probably as easy as fitting a rack each time you want to use it.

dlongstaff's reply made me think of a Coupe that I took a photo of 2 years ago in Garlenda, Italy. It has the same roof bars and is on an Italian registered Coupe.

I reckon if you put clear protective tape on the paint first, it may be the way to go, especially if you can also buy one of those aerodynamic roof top luggage boxes.

Surely boot mounted luggage would end up being a real pain when trying to open the boot? Firstly it would be heavy and not stay up, and second, it could hit the rear window and not open fully?

Agree about the clear protective tape suggestion, the bars move around a little bit and scuff the lacquer slightly

They're the ones Wazza, but sadly impossible to find.

Here's another pic of what you're missing:

They really are pretty useful

But like DaveG says, the rubber does leave an impression mark that's a bit tough to remove.