# Car Packed....Strapping Board to Roof Rack??



## sabatoa

I know that I've read people highly recommending that you cover your board so that road crud doesn't get all over it.


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## mojo maestro

No bungies.....


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## gmore10

Lots of duct tape especially zebra print.


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## EatMyTracers

I think this is a terrible idea Unless you have snowboard racks.


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## edlo

bklyned said:


> Does anyone have any advice or warnings related to strapping a snowboard to a roof rack? Car is small and filled with people who don't want a board on their lap for 6 hours of driving. Is strapping it to the roof recommended? Advisable?
> 
> Not my car so I don't want to buy a Thule rack or anything, but it is my board....


I put it in a bulky bag and use tie downs and tie it to the post and cross bar. I'll put boots and clothes in there too, but my rack sits on top of my tonneau cover. The bulk gives the straps something to create pressure against the board. I've seen people drive with bungie cords and their board is like 45 degrees in the air


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## killclimbz

Go to a local recycled sports gear type store and see if they have snowboard racks that you can mount to your current roof rack. You can probably get a four board carrier for around $50. The biggest deal is getting the feet that clamp to your roof rack. The store may have them but you may have to buy them new. Not sure on the cost of those, but probably not over $100. That part sucks. Then again, if you are really snowboarding, this is something you are going to use over and over again...


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## bklyned

I would, except it's not my car. So my friend isn't going to buy it or have a real use for it and I don't want to get a mount that only fits on his car.

My next idea is to try to use a trunk mounted bike rack to hold the board. I'm going to hang the board by the bindings and tie it all down so it won't fly off. I figure as long as the bindings are secure to the board and I tied it down that it should work.


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## BigmountainVMD

There is a lot of pressure on the boards when cruising on the highway... just strapping it down "tight" may not be enough. If you can move the boards at all after they are strapped down... then they are not strapped down tight enough.

You could also tell someone else to drive... or take two cars.


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## killclimbz

Make room in the car, or tie them down to the roof rack with bungees and such. Then hope that your system doesn't fail. The longer the drive the greater the chance that will happen.


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## Lamps

bklyned said:


> I would, except it's not my car. So my friend isn't going to buy it or have a real use for it and I don't want to get a mount that only fits on his car.
> 
> My next idea is to try to use a trunk mounted bike rack to hold the board. I'm going to hang the board by the bindings and tie it all down so it won't fly off. I figure as long as the bindings are secure to the board and I tied it down that it should work.


I think that this is an interesting idea but I would not hang the board from the bindings but would tie the board directly to the rack. I've never done this but I would use padding. When I move boards around on my SUV if I don't put them inside I put them in a board bag with padding inside and then tie that directly onto my roof rack. I only do this for shorter trips in nice weather becuase I dont want my board bag to get all salty and nasty. 

Webbed straps are much easier to tie things onto roof racks than rope, and bungie cords are NFW. Hardware stores sell ratchet straps that are easy to use, just be careful as the ratchets create a lot of leverage. 

Having tied a lot of stuff onto racks I wouldnt be uncomfortable strapping boards with lost of foam padding directly onto roof racks with a couple ratchet straps. The purpose built carriers are nice and convenient but you should be able to tie stuff down securely without them. It may take a half hour or more to get everything snug but if it's a one off trip not such a big deal. Also the nice thing about ratchet straps is that they are easy to snug up, things often loosen up a bit after a few minutes on the road.


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## mojo maestro

It's not fuckin' rocket science......just TIE it to the rack. Stop and check it once and awhile and you'll be fine.


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## edlo

http://www.snowboardingforum.com/snowboarding-general-chat/63770-ski-rack-fell-off.html

Lose your stuff with a rack.
I don't like ratchets.


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## bseracka

Cam straps


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## Lamps

edlo said:


> http://www.snowboardingforum.com/snowboarding-general-chat/63770-ski-rack-fell-off.html
> 
> Lose your stuff with a rack.
> I don't like ratchets.


good point here, you have to believe your rack will stay in place

On my VW Touareg the rack sits in channels and can't come out, as opposed to designs where the rack relies on pressure to hold itself to the roof.


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## mdc

Cam buckle straps. Tie it down like you would a kayak. Done it 100's of times never a problem. Bungees work to, again tie it down like a kayak.


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## snowklinger

I don't know what all the excitement is about, strap that shit down to the roof and go, if it doesn't stay on, you are retarded.

:dunno:


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## edlo

mojo maestro said:


> It's not fuckin' rocket science......just TIE it to the rack. Stop and check it once and awhile and you'll be fine.


Put it in a bag and call it a bag of shit an ask yourself how do I tie this bag of shit on my car and you will come up with a pretty fast easy solution. Tying down a 6 foot metal pipe is harder than tying down a six foot metal pipe in a bad with stuff in it, as long as the pipe doesn't go through the bag you are golden. You can even just tie it to the rear cross bar, put it in a bag , put a strap between the binding , stuff some clothes or boots in there. Bungee around the clothes or boots for pressure and be done. As long as you don't have 80mph cross wind you should be fine. 

If I didn't have bike racks the bag would be right up against the pole. The bag is also to break up the wind so the board doesn't become a rigid sail.


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## bklyned

The problem is that its not a roof rack, more like rails. So it's not the easiest thing to use to tie things down. Also I figure there will be less resistance behind the car.


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## edlo

bklyned said:


> The problem is that its not a roof rack, more like rails. So it's not the easiest thing to use to tie things down. Also I figure there will be less resistance behind the car.


What do you mean rails? If it runs across the car it is a roof rack, if it is flat and runs front to back it is tracks for mounting. If it runs across the back and you have one it is a spoiler, don't tie it to the spoiler. :sarcasm:


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## bklyned

It's the tracks, but wont' the board face more pressure and resistance on top of the car than behind the car? Plus the tracks can't actually hold the snowboard I'd just be tying it the tracks, at least the bike rack on back has hooks I can use.

Are you saying it's better to tie it to the roof tracks then to hang and tie it on a truck mounted bike rack?


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## rfrich74

edlo said:


> http://www.snowboardingforum.com/snowboarding-general-chat/63770-ski-rack-fell-off.html
> 
> Lose your stuff with a rack.
> I don't like ratchets.


You don't lose your stuff with a properly installed roof rack. I am of the firm belief that guy had the wrong clips and or installed the rack incorrectly. Looking at the picture the remaining front crossbar looks way too far forward. Knowing that VW/Audi always has rack attachment points and the proper clips have pins that go into holes, I am pretty sure he is using the wrong clips. If I thought the load bars could handle the weight I would feel confident lifting my car by the rack that's how solid it is.


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## mojo maestro

I know a guy....who's cousin, knows these kids that went on a trip out west. Some smaller car...fully packed with four dudes and tons of gear on top. Apparently, they were in such a hurry to get to the slopes, they failed to properly secure their boards and baggage. One of the edges of a board "sliced" through the rope, bungee, strap or whatever. This happened at 70+mph on the interstate.Long story short....shit goes airborn.....through windshield of car behind.....multicar accident.......2 deaths......jail time.


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## huckfin

these work awesome for surf boards, would prolly work equally well if you wanted to toss a snowboard on your rack..

cheap option with some risk, but could work if you are careful enough when you secure your board.

good luck

Thule Express Surf Straps 

Thule Express Surf Straps - Pair at REI.com


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## tigre

Before I got a roof rack on my old Frontier I used to strap kayaks to the roof using cam straps and foam blocks. It's a bit of a hassle, but it works fine for occasional use. I'd think if you can hold a 13-foot kayak on a roof you can hold a snowboard. Just watch that your edges don't cut the straps (maybe put something in between), and check occasionally to make sure the straps are tight. I always checked after the first 15-20 minutes and then at least once an hour after that.


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