How do you transport your skis?

[djg21]

I have tried the two obvious choices, cargo box and rack, and find pros and cons with each. Rack is nice and convenient, however you pick up all the road crap on your skiis. Cargo box is protects the skis. But it's harder accessing, on my 4Runner, and the skis bounce around. Yes, I know you can tie them down, but it's a pain in the butt having to balance your self on the runners of the truck and messin with tie downs. I was thinking of working on some kind of in between. Perhaps a cargo box and some contraption where the skis are held in place at the top of the box when you open it. Any ideas out there?

I use a Yakima Spoacebooster II.

Inside, I attached two cargo straps, about 6' in length, by running them under the metal mounting plates. Rather than using carpet to line the box, I went to Home Depot and bought a 6.5" length of "fatigue padding." I

"Fatigue padding" is essentially 3/4" closed cell foam, that is sold off a spool by the linear foot, and is about a yard in width. It is the stuff that is used to pad flooring where people constantly stand, like at sinks, or behind cash registers at Home Depot, etc. This stuff cost me just over $4/linear foot, so I spent about $28 bucks on it. I place the fatigue padding inside the box and inside of the cargo straps, folded over like a big taco (it fits perfectly with NO cutting). I can fit a couple pairs of skis inside the "taco," and I can place a couple sets of skis on top of the taco. The straps secure everything in place.

The padding definitely deadens the noise from the skis banging on the box every time you hit a bump, and together with the straps, it protects the skis from getting too knocked around. I like the padding because it is waterproof, and it non-absorbent. Thus, when I leave my skis in the box after use (rest assurred, not for long), I need not worry as much about oxidation.

 

[andyzee]

I have tried the two obvious choices, cargo box and rack, and find pros and cons with each. Rack is nice and convenient, however you pick up all the road crap on your skiis. Cargo box is protects the skis. But it's harder accessing, on my 4Runner, and the skis bounce around. Yes, I know you can tie them down, but it's a pain in the butt having to balance your self on the runners of the truck and messin with tie downs. I was thinking of working on some kind of in between. Perhaps a cargo box and some contraption where the skis are held in place at the top of the box when you open it. Any ideas out there?

I use a Yakima Spoacebooster II.

Inside, I attached two cargo straps, about 6' in length, by running them under the metal mounting plates. Rather than using carpet to line the box, I went to Home Depot and bought a 6.5" length of "fatigue padding." I

"Fatigue padding" is essentially 3/4" closed cell foam, that is sold off a spool by the linear foot, and is about a yard in width. It is the stuff that is used to pad flooring where people constantly stand, like at sinks, or behind cash registers at Home Depot, etc. This stuff cost me just over $4/linear foot, so I spent about $28 bucks on it. I place the fatigue padding inside the box and inside of the cargo straps, folded over like a big taco (it fits perfectly with NO cutting). I can fit a couple pairs of skis inside the "taco," and I can place a couple sets of skis on top of the taco. The straps secure everything in place.

The padding definitely deadens the noise from the skis banging on the box every time you hit a bump, and together with the straps, it protects the skis from getting too knocked around. I like the padding because it is waterproof, and it non-absorbent. Thus, when I leave my skis in the box after use (rest assurred, not for long), I need not worry as much about oxidation.

Hey I like it I tried regular foam.the problem with that was, if the skis were wet and then frooze, the foam would stick to them.

 

[Greg]

I'm thinking about getting a cargo box. I'd like to get one that is easily interchangeable between our Cherokee and Grand Cherokee (both have stock roof racks and crossbars). I would like the unit to be large enough to be able to use in the summer while going camping or on extended vacations when we'll need to bring some extra gear. We currently have a soft Thule bag we use for this purpose so if I upgrade to a hard box for skiing, it will need to at least accomodate the same amount of gear for summer excursions. My wife and I are the worst at packing light and tend to bring everything but the kitchen sink on vacations. Any recommendations?

 

[Sky]

I have a Barrecrafter ski box and love it. The original post had an issue with accessing the box mounted on a 4-runner. No solution for you there *sorry*, but I'd stick with the box and use some of the ideas on padding (fatigue cusion etc).

Having a 60/40 split seat is awesome. A must have for those days when you hauling gear for servicing (if that's what you do).

I'd be concerned about "carpet" and moisture. One poster mentioned skis freezing to the padding, someone else mentioned rusty edges. I like the fatigue cushion idea. I envision the circular holes allowing water to drain below he skis.

Not sure what the Yak and Tuhle have for attachig hardware, but the Barrecrafter has a sweet cam-lock / twist lock system that makes it easy to take off and put on....no tools required.

It helps to be tall.

 

[SkiDog]

eh...I put em on the roof rack, no bag, no binding covers...road grime keeps em looking tough

I dont travel all that much with them though they kinda stay at the ski house. Only need to bring em home if im heading out west or something..but I have been doing it the above way since the first pair of skis i had when I started driving..IMHO skis are pretty "disposable" and I have never had an issue with bindings or anything...so im sticking with my current system

M

 

[ski_resort_observer]

In the back of my capped pickup truck.

Ditto for me. When I am within a few miles from mountain I put my boots under the heater then I boot up in the parking lot.

 

[Brettski]

Back in '89 I got a Thule Rack....tails pointing forward and binding wrapped in a "fag bag", or so I was told that's what it was called. Didn't care...even still still got road grime.

'93 got my Thule Alpine box. The stopped making that size...I guess everyone wanted the bigger box, but there is only som much weight you can put in anyway. Love the box...why people mount them in the center of the I don't understand...I find it very funny...anyway the mileage goes to hell in a handbasket...

Almost no room for new stickers now...damn, that sucker is almost 13 years old...this is a time BEFORE they were all the rage...

I mean I see people in Jersey using them on their SUV's...and I know they ain't going skiing...

 

[Brettski]

My wife and I are the worst at packing light and tend to bring everything but the kitchen sink on vacations. Any recommendations?

Pack less and bring extra cash?

 

[bvibert]

My wife and I are the worst at packing light and tend to bring everything but the kitchen sink on vacations. Any recommendations?

Can't help ya, we're the same way... :roll: It was interesting when we took my Wife's VW Cabrio to NH for our honeymoon. We did some shopping while up there and almost had to resort to packaging up stuff and sending it home via UPS..

 

[Greg]

My wife and I are the worst at packing light and tend to bring everything but the kitchen sink on vacations. Any recommendations?

Pack less and bring extra cash?

My "Any recommendations?" question was geared towards the cargo box recommendation, not becoming more efficient packers. Bad placement, I guess.

 

[tirolerpeter]

Back in '89 I got a Thule Rack....tails pointing forward and binding wrapped in a "fag bag", or so I was told that's what it was called. Didn't care...even still still got road grime.

'93 got my Thule Alpine box. The stopped making that size...I guess everyone wanted the bigger box, but there is only som much weight you can put in anyway. Love the box...why people mount them in the center of the I don't understand...I find it very funny...anyway the mileage goes to hell in a handbasket...

Almost no room for new stickers now...damn, that sucker is almost 13 years old...this is a time BEFORE they were all the rage...

I mean I see people in Jersey using them on their SUV's...and I know they ain't going skiing...

I too have had a Thule box for about 10-12 years. With my Hyundai GT hatchback I now only mount the box when I have more than three people on a day-trip or when I take a multi-day trip with two or more people. Why mount it in the center? Symmetry is nice, and besides, having sections of the rack extend beyond the box gives me a good place to put my skis while loading and unloading. I hate putting them in the mud, and I hate it when a ski propped against my vehicle starts to slide and screw up my paint! Yes, the box does extract a fuel penalty. In the case of my current vehicle...nearly 4 mpg. It drops it from 32-33mpg down to about 28-29mpg. But, when I have more people, everyone's share of the fuel cost drops even faster!

 

[Brettski]

My wife and I are the worst at packing light and tend to bring everything but the kitchen sink on vacations. Any recommendations?

Pack less and bring extra cash?

My "Any recommendations?" question was geared towards the cargo box recommendation, not becoming more efficient packers. Bad placement, I guess.

I know...it was just out there for the taking though...

I love my Rack...there was a time not to long ago that I wanted to get a suburban and throw a Thule 600 on there. That's a massive box that you could probably fit 2 or 3 people in...so that's not gonna happen now a days...BUT someone down the block has that exact set up...looks sweet...don't know what they do with it...they don't ski or camp or whatever...like I said before, I think it's a status thing or soemthing

My apline is't as deep as most of them now, which I liked for aerodynamics....whic I believe is a load of crap now...I whould go with a deeper box...hey at the time I only had 1 kid. Now I got three, and all of our gear now, just fits...no an inch of spare space..gonna be interesting when the skis get longer...might have to retire her...

http://www.thule.com/frames.asp?id=8590

 

[dmc]

Boxes rule...
They fit your skis and boards...
But most importantly..
After hiking back down from 4 days at Tucks - you can toss all the smelly cloths, boots and trash in them...

 

[Vortex]

I think this year I'll leave the ski rack off the top and just put my skies in the Suv to save a couple miles per gallon.

 

[billski]

have help

Giles brings my skis up the night before in the spare 'Rover 8)

 

[ga2ski]

Thule box as the dog and the gear can take up al lot of space in the car. Plus then it doesn't matter if all the snow is off the gear.

 

[ALLSKIING]

Just bought the Thule Evolution 1800. This thing is great. It fits a ton of stuff and goes on and off very quick. How did I go skiing with out this thing.

 

[tirolerpeter]

Thule Box

Allskiing. Make sure you spray plenty of WD40 into the lock(s) so that they don't freeze up.

 

[sledhaulingmedic]

Re: have help

Giles brings my skis up the night before in the spare 'Rover 8)

In Lexington, Home of the "Starter Mansion", I'd almost take you seriously!

 

[bvibert]

Re: Thule Box

Allskiing. Make sure you spray plenty of WD40 into the lock(s) so that they don't freeze up.

Good point! Last December I pulled up to Stowe to find my ski rack locks had frozen! Luckily after several minutes I was able to work them loose... It was quite a scare though...