Space is a premium when going away especially with children. A few years back we travelled to go and see Mark’s dad and completely underestimated how much stuff we needed. We ended up filling the boot of a Ford Focus as well packing around the boys in the car. It was okay for one trip but certainly not again! When we went to wales a few years back we hired a roof box from A2B Outdoor Hire & Sales. At the time it was Iain and Steve and they ran it out of their garages on an as and when basis.
A2B Outdoor Hire & Sales
Fast forward 2 years and not only have they upgraded their base they have also expanded to another CITY!! A2B Outdoor Hire & Sales now has a unit in Peterborough (Botolph Bridge, Oundle Road) where customers can come for fittings and viewings. The unit isn’t always open so it is worth phoning ahead before visiting as it is still ran part time. It was great to see a local family ran company do so well especially when it isn’t a particularly happy time to be running a business.
Up until walking into the showroom I had no idea of the range of other equipment that was available to hire!
- Camping equipment (accessories and tents)
- Roof boxes and bars
- Bike racks and boxes
- Marquees
- and my total favourite spa!
Hiring a Roof box
The whole hire process is really simple! I emailed Iain explaining that we needed a largeish roof box to fit our people carrier (Citroen C4 Grand Picasso) as we were going camping! With 3 children we were slightly concerned we wouldn’t fit everything in. A concern which later would have become true if it wasn’t for a roof box. We were very swiftly booked in for the Friday before we left to go.
When we arrived at A2B Outdoor Hire & Sales Iain and Steve were very quick to welcome us. Steve went straight to fit the required roof bars and box. Everything was nicely organised and the equipment was already waiting to be fitted. We was told that this particular weekend (bank holiday weekend before May Half term) they were due to fit a lot of roof boxes! The back of the unit was full of items waiting to be collected. Even though they were busy you certainly didn’t feel rushed and they didn’t appear to be rushed either. Everything was very organised!
The Fitting
Whilst Steve did his thing and fitted everything I took the opportunity to speak to Iain. He is a very friendly chap and you can tell he loves doing what he does! Both Iain and Steve are camping enthusiasts and started hiring from their garages. As I mentioned before they have relocated to a large unit and Iain mentioned that they have outgrown that too. There is future plans to upgrade their current unit to create more space!
About 10/15 minutes later Steve was finished fitting the box and gave us a quick rundown on the box. As we had previously hired we kind of knew what to do but it was worth a refresh. We booked in for the return and set off on our way.
It wasn’t until we packed our boot that we were thankful for the roof box. We managed to fit everything we needed camping wise into our boot but had no where for our clothes. The roof box we hired was “large” which is the equivalent to an Estate car boot. We packed using bags rather than suitcases to make the most out of the space and was relived when it all went in. I will be honest I didn’t think it would.
Returning the Roof Box
After our holiday we took the roof box back to Iain and Steve. The return was originally booked in for 10.30am but arrived 10 minutes early. I hate being late and would rather be early and wait. I wasn’t expecting to be seen early but I must have arrived at a quiet time. As quick as I was to pull up the bars and box was removed.
The whole idea of being able to hire not just roof bars/boxes but bike racks, camping equipment and other items really appeals to me. We would love to own a roof box but realistically we wouldn’t be able to store it when it isn’t in use. The service A2B Outdoor Hire & Sales offer is absolutely great! If you are planning to go away and considering to get a roof box, give the gents a call.
*We were given a reduced hire fee in return for writing an honest review. All opinions and Photos are my own*
This is really handy to know about thank you. It’s amazing the number of companies you don’t realise are right on your doorstep.