Wife Drives Thule Box into Garage=Fail!

[4aprice]

I don't have the box but a regular Thule ski rack which I put a nice dent in when I tried to enter the garage with the skis on the rack. It just caught the top of the binding and thus the dent. Live and learn.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[bigbog]

When it comes to stuff like that, Never put off what one can do in the present... Comes back to bite...seems as though it takes one incident to learn..
Might do the sand area, epoxy with/without resin ...?? with fiberglass cloth to fill, then sand to smooth...sort of repair. Sorry about being non-specific..haven't had to do it..is a normal [ww-]fiberglass canoe.. repair. If you check out either paddling.net or cboats.net..search and you can find some info. Add paint and it can look as good as new.

 

[hammer]

I don't have the box but a regular Thule ski rack which I put a nice dent in when I tried to enter the garage with the skis on the rack. It just caught the top of the binding and thus the dent. Live and learn.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

Sure this has been asked before but I can't find the responses...

Do you ever have any problems with your equipment on an external rack?

I have a ski box but it's a PITA to install, and I can't keep it on the top of my car because of the box vs. garage problems. Was thinking of buying a rack that I can just attach to the OEM crossbars during the winter time.

 

[billski]

Sure this has been asked before but I can't find the responses...

Do you ever have any problems with your equipment on an external rack?

I have a ski box but it's a PITA to install, and I can't keep it on the top of my car because of the box vs. garage problems. Was thinking of buying a rack that I can just attach to the OEM crossbars during the winter time.

I used a rack for about 20 years. In fact, I wore out three of them. In general, the only cars that gave me a hard time were those without gutters, but that problem seems mostly resolved.

THE most important thing is to bag your skis if you are going to rack them. The salt, sand and grime will do in your bindings faster than you can say "powder day". And I'm not talking about a bag for the bindings. Do the whole ski. Bags are cheap.

I also bought a lock for the rack, mostly for those times when I'm leaving the skis on in a parking lot somewhere, at the resort, at a restaurant, etc. Locks also tend to break down due to corrosion, especially salt. If you get locks, make sure you lube them before you store them away for the summer, or you'll have an interesting time the first time you go to use it in the fall.

I used the same rack on the crossbars of my wife's Sienna. I take it off when I'm done with it, rather than ride around all summer like some people do. Prolongs the overall life.

 

[hiroto]

Because of pain of putting things on the top of the car, I've been driving mini-van since I was single. Skies, mountain bike, road bike (but not sail board), they can all go inside and protected from the weather. I throw my skies in at the beginning of the season and they stay there until the end of the season.

 

[4aprice]

Sure this has been asked before but I can't find the responses...

Do you ever have any problems with your equipment on an external rack?

I have a ski box but it's a PITA to install, and I can't keep it on the top of my car because of the box vs. garage problems. Was thinking of buying a rack that I can just attach to the OEM crossbars during the winter time.

No problems with the rack (except for the dent). The rails on top of my Durango run parallel to the side of the vehicle not across. Very easy to put on and take off. If I didn't have running boards I don't think I could get the skis up on the rack. We've fit six pair on it. Drove home in the storm just after New Years and got a little salt residue up there but not too much.

Alex

Lake Hopatcong, NJ

 

[SKIQUATTRO]

happend to us too...Thule box vs Concrete parking garage....garage wins. was on top of the Armada...had to get new Thule box

 

[jrmagic]

LOL some good stuff here.

I havent done one yet but I have been very close. I had my boat on the trailer and was bs ing with a friend on the way to the gas station. I looked up and noticed I was heading right at the RR bridge Thakfully I didnt hit it but the car was completely under the bridge by the time I stopped with the hard top of the boat jsut a couple of inches away from the structure. That would have been a 5K+ Doh.

My mother has done the garage door at each house we lives in growing up but the best was when I got a call to come get my mom and my dad as my mother rear ended my dad's car with hers at a stop sign and both were undrivable lol

 

[billski]

happend to us too...Thule box vs Concrete parking garage....garage wins. was on top of the Armada...had to get new Thule box

Nasty. You know how to do things well!

 

[billski]

the best was when I got a call to come get my mom and my dad as my mother rear ended my dad's car with hers at a stop sign and both were undrivable lol

I hope your father was a good American and sued your mother for pain and suffering. :flag:

 

[SKidds]

The wife has had a couple parking garage close calls. Lots of scrapes, but not holes.

Only crack I have in my Thule box was my own fault. Needing to take the box off the van so we could go get the Christmas trees, I was too lazy to take all the beach gear out first. Darned if that thing isn't heavy when its full, especially when taking it off the top of the car by yourself. I saved the car, but crashing down the box came, hitting the ground, and now I have a minor crack in the bottom.

Lazy a$$ I am, further evidenced by the beach gear in the box come December.

 

[billski]

When it comes to stuff like that, Never put off what one can do in the present... Comes back to bite...seems as though it takes one incident to learn..
Might do the sand area, epoxy with/without resin ...?? with fiberglass cloth to fill, then sand to smooth...sort of repair. Sorry about being non-specific..haven't had to do it..is a normal [ww-]fiberglass canoe.. repair. If you check out either paddling.net or cboats.net..search and you can find some info. Add paint and it can look as good as new.

When we were putting an addition onto the house, we tore down the garage, and everything from inside was piled up in the yard. I don't recall how it happened but an extension ladder fell about 20 feet and landed on the canoe in the yard. A crack along the bottom, the length of the canoe resulted. I thought it would be a quick fix at an autobody shop. Then I learned he wanted $600 for the job (a don't bother me quote) I learned all about fiberglass cloth and epoxy that day. I think it was a $30 fix. Floats fine, looks like hell.

 

[Smellytele]

Here is another stupid thing I did a few years back. I drove my friends to the airport and parked their car in my driveway when I got back. The next morning I was running late, strapped my toddler in his seat and jumped into my truck and put it in reverse. I forgot their car was right behind me even though I had just walked by it to get in my truck. Smashed up their front end - no damage to my truck.

 

[UVSHTSTRM]

Back in 96 or 97, some guys from the local Mt Bike shop and I headed to Sugarloaf for the Widowmaker challenge. We were staying at the Sugarloaf Inn (I think), anyways there is a huge over hangover where you pull up to drop of your equipment/luggage, and while standing outside putting our bikes in storage we watched helplessly (sp) as a big SUV pulled up with two bikes on top and completely ripped the bikes off the top.....the guy was sooo pissed. Everyone was yelling when they first heard the loud noise, but it was too late.

 

[jaywbigred]

Agree that this thread is useless without pictures!!!!!!!!

Anyone have any experience with Inno (or any other brand) magnetic racks?

http://www.racknroad.com/rv-inno-magnetic-ski-carrier-bv276.html

Intriguing to me for 2 reasons:

1) With the new ski condo, we don't cart our own gear back and forth to the mountain that often, so investing in a big Thule box or expensive dedicated system seems like a waste. I'd love to have something small I can keep in the back and then just throw it on top when we are giving someone a ride or the 1 or 2 times a year that we bring gear home in prep. for a trip out west.

2) Speaking of trips out west, not sure how big the Inno system is, but was wondering if it was something that might fit in a ski bag and then can be thrown on top of a rental car with ease.

Don't even know how exactly they work, but I read a blurb about them in one of the ski magazines that intimated they were easy to use.

Maybe this post should go in the gear forum, but it seems like most of the folks here have had experience with rack systems, so....

 

[Puck it]

When we were putting an addition onto the house, we tore down the garage, and everything from inside was piled up in the yard. I don't recall how it happened but an extension ladder fell about 20 feet and landed on the canoe in the yard. A crack along the bottom, the length of the canoe resulted. I thought it would be a quick fix at an autobody shop. Then I learned he wanted $600 for the job (a don't bother me quote) I learned all about fiberglass cloth and epoxy that day. I think it was a $30 fix. Floats fine, looks like hell.

Done this too. I have did it to my sister in law twice. No damge to my vechicle either time, but $1500 1st and $4000 second. Claimed the $4K on insurance and still being surcharged. Wife has done it to my mother(brand new car) and house cleaners.

BTW - Don't park in our driveway.

 

[Trekchick]

There are a million stories about such incidents, please let her know that we appreciate her situation and that she entertained us for just a few minutes.

 

[wa-loaf]

I've done the bike thing in parking garage. Fortunately the rack at the time was on my old car with rain gutters so everything just slid back without any damage to the bike.

The Yakima on my subi fits in my garage and the garage at work so it doesn't come off until ski season is over. I had totally forgotten about it the first time I had it on at work and drove right in, didn't think about it until I parked right under one of the beams. There was about 1/4 inch clearance when I got out of the car. :-o Could have been a disaster.

 

[Glenn]

This is why I fold the seats down and throw everything in the back of the Jeep...skis...bikes. The quad doesn't fit so that goes on a trailer.

 

[wa-loaf]

This is why I fold the seats down and throw everything in the back of the Jeep...skis...bikes. The quad doesn't fit so that goes on a trailer.

That doesn't work when you have two kids in car seats still.