WJenness
Active member
I <3 the ski pass-through in my car...
I've never bothered to put the racks on the roof.
-w
I've never bothered to put the racks on the roof.
-w
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Ski Rack Owners: To Bag or Not?
- Thread starter thetrailboss
- Start date
SIKSKIER
New member
My racks are only used to transport my skis a short couple thousand feet to the mountain and at the begining and end of the season.When I did use the rack to travel on the highway,i would stop in the car wash when I got home and run through it with everything still on the racks.Cleaned the car and skis in one shot.It really did work.
WWF-VT
Well-known member
How was the car wash wax on the skis ? Did you get clearcoat protection ?
ceo
Active member
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- Apr 1, 2009
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- 422
- Points
- 28
If you have less than 2 kids, fold down the small side of the rear seatback and put the skis in the back. That's what I do with my Legacy wagon (I assume your Outback is a wagon; who the hell buys a Subaru Legacy/Outback sedan?!) and it works great, though once I start Kid #2 skiing I'll need to switch to a rack and put up with the gas mileage hit. (I used a rack briefly on a previous car, and took it down when I saw what it did to my mileage.)
I wouldn't use a ski bag on the roof, at least not one I ever used for anything else, but my family used binding covers when I was growing up and that did the job. (Thinking about it, I'm pretty sure my mother made them; I still use a boot carrying strap she made out of seatbelt webbing.) We still wiped the skis down after every trip, though, something I've never bothered with since.
I wouldn't use a ski bag on the roof, at least not one I ever used for anything else, but my family used binding covers when I was growing up and that did the job. (Thinking about it, I'm pretty sure my mother made them; I still use a boot carrying strap she made out of seatbelt webbing.) We still wiped the skis down after every trip, though, something I've never bothered with since.
SIKSKIER
New member
No clearcoat but that wax won me a few races.:-o
Geoff
Well-known member
+1 on inside the car. It's not like the old days when I was skiing on 207 SL boards. If you insist on putting humans in the back seat instead of using it as a rolling trash bin like the rest of us, next best option is a pod.
It's not just the salt on the bindings. It's also the MPG hit you take with the added wind resistance and the noise generated by the turbulance.
It's not just the salt on the bindings. It's also the MPG hit you take with the added wind resistance and the noise generated by the turbulance.
NJSkiBabe
New member
Putting skis on a rack on top of the car is not a good idea any more. If you can - do it like everyone is saying - travel with them inside the car. It's not just the bindings you have to worry about. If you keep travelling with your skis on the roof - eventually the skis will split and delaminate because of the force of the wind resistance.
If you can't travel with them inside the car - invest in a Thule box for the roof. You'll also have extra storage for some luggage too!
I wipe my skis off to get most of the snow off - then I put them in a ski bag inside the car. The car doesn't get wet or dirty and the skis are also protected from the rest of the luggage. I clean everything really good when I get home.
If you can't travel with them inside the car - invest in a Thule box for the roof. You'll also have extra storage for some luggage too!
I wipe my skis off to get most of the snow off - then I put them in a ski bag inside the car. The car doesn't get wet or dirty and the skis are also protected from the rest of the luggage. I clean everything really good when I get home.
SKIQUATTRO
New member
thule box although the Yak is a better design (handle/lock)
ctenidae
Active member
Rooftop, no bag, split with bindings down.
And my ski waxing station is in the basement, next to the beer fridge.
I wax them often, whether I ski or not.
And my ski waxing station is in the basement, next to the beer fridge.
I wax them often, whether I ski or not.
bigbog
Active member
Having room inside works well, especially in later winter/early spring when there's a chance of doing some paddling with friends in the afternoons.
darent
Active member
have a outback, skis go inside, when the kids were around skis went in cheap ski market bags and put in the rack on top
WWF-VT
Well-known member
We own two stations wagons. Both have racks on top and we never bag skis. If we drive, it's 4 miles to the mountain. I think the winter gas mileage hit is probably bigger from our snow tires than a rack on top of the car.
jaywbigred
Active member
I have a ski rack. In the old days, I used a binding cover.
Today, I put them in the car if I can.
If the weather is nice, and we have a full car, I put them on the rack.
But I mostly transport other people's skis now. A lot of the girls I ski with are small enough that their skis fit in the back of the Pathfinder sideways. Otherwise, they go on the rack, no option.
I will probably buy a box when I have kids.
Oh, and obvi, for short drives to the mountain from the condo when the car is full w skiers, I rack em.
Today, I put them in the car if I can.
If the weather is nice, and we have a full car, I put them on the rack.
But I mostly transport other people's skis now. A lot of the girls I ski with are small enough that their skis fit in the back of the Pathfinder sideways. Otherwise, they go on the rack, no option.
I will probably buy a box when I have kids.
Oh, and obvi, for short drives to the mountain from the condo when the car is full w skiers, I rack em.
x10003q
Active member
Day trips with 3 people or less - skis in the ski sack inside the car
Day trips with 4/5 people - skis/poles on top in a thule box
Weekends with 2 or less - skis in the ski sack inside the car
Weekends with 3 or more - thule box
Longer vacations and I use the box.
The box has the added storage capacity for other items like clothes and sleeping bags and even boots if they are packed properly.
Growing up in a family of 6 skiers we had to put the skis and poles on the roof rack of whatever station wagon we owned at the time. The inside of the car was still jammed to the gills.
Good times.
Day trips with 4/5 people - skis/poles on top in a thule box
Weekends with 2 or less - skis in the ski sack inside the car
Weekends with 3 or more - thule box
Longer vacations and I use the box.
The box has the added storage capacity for other items like clothes and sleeping bags and even boots if they are packed properly.
Growing up in a family of 6 skiers we had to put the skis and poles on the roof rack of whatever station wagon we owned at the time. The inside of the car was still jammed to the gills.
Good times.
ceo
Active member
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- Apr 1, 2009
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Oh yes, that was us, particularly on the way to the annual February vacation at the Loaf. Our trusty '77 Impala wagon was down 10 degrees at the stern on that trip.
x10003q
Active member
We had a 1973 Buick Estate wagon with the disappearing rear window and tailgate. The next one was a 1978 Chevy Caprice Classic wagon. By the time we traded in the Buick it had that dropped stern boating profile also. I was in charge of all the equipment (boots/poles/boots). Skis were loaded base up tips back. I was also the navigator so I got to ride shotgun. When my mom sat in the front the back seat was a cage match between my brother and 2 sisters. As I write this I am smiling thinking of all the commentary in the back during the battle. It usually ended with a stop at a rest area and my Mom going to the back and one of them coming to the front. We usually went to Mt Snow or Killington 4 weekends a year plus Feb break. I still have no idea how my Dad swung it.
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