# ski rack fell off



## ig88 (Jan 3, 2012)

Were your bindings still on your boards when that happened?


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## WasatchMan (Aug 30, 2011)

Wow, this wasn't a great post to read, just on the fact that I am SO paranoid about this happening EVERY time I take my buddies subaru. I am always looking in the rear-view mirror every 5 seconds making sure everything is ok. 

Maybe it happened to loosen over time with highway vibration? I usually shake and check if everything is locked down before driving away though, again - my paranoia. 

What exactly malfunctioned? Did the entire rack just break off? What brand was it and how old was the rack?


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## 509-pow (Feb 22, 2011)

ya bindings were on. high backs put under the starps and all that. bindings were facing down.


thats the only thing i could think off. was it became loos over time or someone tried taking it off but thats realy doubtful. its a thule ski rack. dont know how old or anything. its been on the audi for 4 or 5 months now.

the whole bar and clip came off. heres a pic of what it looks like now. i was very lucky that thas all that happened. i was also always paranoid the first couple times but just got used to it and never even worried about it. it's not going back on the car anytime soon, thats for sure.


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## deeppowder (Nov 27, 2012)

I always worry about that happening. Hasn't happened to me yet. I hope it doesn't happen!


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## ecks (Oct 6, 2010)

Does the B7 A4 audi not have pin points for the rack? I can't remember if my B7 had it but my B8 has points for the thule rack to "grab" into and I think it definitely helps keep it secure. 

My guess is the distance between the towers was too wide, I had that happen the first time I put mine on and it definitely felt loose at a stop. At 65 I can see how if one side moved a little it would throw the whole thing off.

Is there anything you can claim under car insurance or homeowners insurance? Sucks that it happened, but I wouldn't not trust the rack, just constantly keep checking it. Good luck.


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## rfrich74 (Jan 18, 2012)

My B6 Passat has holes for pins on the clips to go into. My previous Jetta had pegs under the weather stripping and the clips went on in a keyhole fashion. I don't know how the base clips could have come off on either one. The bases would have had to been so loose the rack would have been flopping all around on the roof.


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## Sincraft (Sep 6, 2010)

509-pow said:


> so today i went boarding at Bluewood, Wa with my friend. the snow was really good for only 4 inces in two days. powder with some ice under it. amazing day everything went perfect for us. we ended up leaving a bit ealry due to the fact i had to work. i put both boards on the ski rack on my audi a4, like iv done every time. about 4omin into the trip we hear a some noise. 2 sec later i look in my rear view mirror and what do u know. i see my lib tech travis rice and his burton nug flying in the air aswell one of my ski racks. this was on the highway going 65mph. lucky there was no car behind me at all. i felt so bad for my friend, *felt like it was my fault. *my board didnt have one scratche on it. my friends board on the other hand got fucked on the top of the tip of his board.
> 
> anyone ever see something or hear about this happening. we got lucky that our boards didnt break in half or something. even luckier that there was no one behind us.



uh....yea!


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## jfergus7 (Dec 2, 2011)

That totally sucks. I drive a blazer and put my boards on the roof and I am always checking on them through the sunroof.


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## tigre (Mar 5, 2012)

That sucks, man, but it was your rack and your responsibility to make sure that shit was locked down. I'd be buying my buddy a new board if it was me.


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## MistahTaki (Apr 24, 2010)

I think you owe your friend a new board. lol.


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

Sorry to hear about this and glad no one was behind you this could have been A LOT worse as this comes crashing into a cars windshield.....

I always inspect my rack every so often. The rubber feet compress over time and the hooks may need tightening. 

Also I have had a board slide back on me to the point it nearly slid out of the rack. Usually happens when my board is solo or just 2 boards. I try to keep a binding to the front of the rack to stop this and place them upside down as well.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

Wow, crazy. I didn't think such a thing would be possible unless a part of the rack actually broke. I hope it didn't bang up your car as it was flying off; that would have been even more expensive. Anyway, I agree with the others that you owe your friend a new board.


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## deeppowder (Nov 27, 2012)

jfergus7 said:


> That totally sucks. I drive a blazer and put my boards on the roof and I am always checking on them through the sunroof.


having a sunroof to be able to check on them through would be awesome. That is a new criteria I will look for in my next car haha


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## zoom111 (Dec 14, 2010)

ecks said:


> Does the B7 A4 audi not have pin points for the rack? I can't remember if my B7 had it but my B8 has points for the thule rack to "grab" into and I think it definitely helps keep it secure.
> 
> My guess is the distance between the towers was too wide, I had that happen the first time I put mine on and it definitely felt loose at a stop. At 65 I can see how if one side moved a little it would throw the whole thing off...



I think this is universal style rack where you buy the correct "mount feet" and they latch onto the car as opposed to the oem votex racks that lock into the pegs like you described.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

I had a rack pop open and almost lost a new ski...saw it happen through the sunroof and managed to stop before it went flying.

Years ago had a canoe blow off...it was one of those coleman red plastic ram-x things. Just stopped, drugged out of the ditch and tied it on better:dunno:


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## tigre (Mar 5, 2012)

wrathfuldeity said:


> Years ago had a canoe blow off...it was one of those coleman red plastic ram-x things. Just stopped, drugged out of the ditch and tied it on better:dunno:


My boyfriend had that happen with a friend's canoe last summer. Big old plastic thing that cost them $75 thirty years ago. Somehow chewed through a strap and flew off on the highway. Put a crack in the bow, but we patched it up with Splash Zone epoxy and it holds water just fine. They don't use it anymore anyways, so they let us have it in exchange for us supplying pallets for the big New Year's bonfire, which we do regardless. Not a bad deal.


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## IS3_FTW (Jan 21, 2013)

Sorry to hear about that. It sucks, when it falls on you. 

My friend would always joke around with me, about my board flying off. Well, Im gonna tell him, STFU!! Because your board is on there to. And, Im not gonna take the blame, if it happens to go flying like a kite :blink:


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## rfrich74 (Jan 18, 2012)

zoom111 said:


> I think this is universal style rack where you buy the correct "mount feet" and they latch onto the car as opposed to the oem votex racks that lock into the pegs like you described.


That appears to be a Thule load bar setup. When you purchase the clips that fit the base towers to your car they have the proper pins on them to go into the holes on the vehicle. It's the whole point of different clips for different cars.


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## Toecutter (Oct 11, 2009)

rfrich74 said:


> That appears to be a Thule load bar setup. When you purchase the clips that fit the base towers to your car they have the proper pins on them to go into the holes on the vehicle. It's the whole point of different clips for different cars.


...and once those pins are seated within the door frame and the doors are shut I don't see how the rack could come off short of something breaking or separating from having been incorrectly assembled in the first place.


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

the wierd part was he stated it's been on the car for 4 or 5 months with no issue.
any way something was the wrong part or broke or loosened over time as the outcome is WHAM your boards are lying on the freeway.....


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## rfrich74 (Jan 18, 2012)

It could have been on the car for 4-5 months without anything on it to create upward pressure. Strap a board to it and you have an instant sail putting some pretty strong forces on the rack.


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## sangsters (Jan 13, 2010)

rfrich74 said:


> It could have been on the car for 4-5 months without anything on it to create upward pressure. Strap a board to it and you have an instant sail putting some pretty strong forces on the rack.


No aerodynamics expert but if the issue had been the boards creating a sail effect, I would imagine that the leading edge, ie the *front *rack would have lifted off.

OP -- did you retrieve the rack after it detached? I'd be on the phone with Thule, if there was a manufacturing defect I believe they'll step up. If it was the wrong foot pack (the part that secures to the car) that, sadly, is on you.

In the end though, it feels like installation error.


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## slyder (Jan 18, 2010)

Ya OP'er needs to chime in here. 
Your right was this the 1st time he had boards on it, I doubt it from the sound of his post but he needs more info. 
Where did he get the rack?
Was it installed per the dimensions to factory specs for the car??

Here are the factory slots that my rack clamps into specific for my car


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## 509-pow (Feb 22, 2011)

My bad guys totally forgot to replay. I bought the rack from my friend who used it in his b6 a4. We installed it when I first bought the car this summer. It's not factory so there wasn't any pins like u guys say. Ill take pics ones I get home. The front rack took some time to get off. U have to unlock it and then twist the lock like 10 times to get it loos enough to pull off of the body of the car. I picked up the other rack. The boards were still attached to the rack. I've used the rack plenty of times. 3 hour drive with 4 boards on at one time and then every other time is a 2 hour drive. Maybe a total of like 10 times. 

I wish I could buy him a new board but he said no. It's a 09 burton nug. Told him to go take it in and get the top sheet fixed ill pay for it. He said no its only cosmetic don't worry about it. Ima buy him lift ticket next time he goes up. He boards maybe two times a year.


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## BigmountainVMD (Oct 9, 2011)

I just don't know how it all came off with the doors shot if a piece didn't break. It must have been super loose for the back one to fall off. I always tug the hell out of mine to make sure it hasn't loosened up in the cold.


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