Hey Guys,
Ended up buying a beautiful new 9’0" Channin in a local NJ shop this past weekend. Looking for suggestions on surf racks for a sedan. I’m thinking the steel racks (Yakima, Thule, Barracrafters?) over the soft type that loop through the interior. Also where to buy them on line? Thanks. John
I’d get a hard rack. I have a thule that works great. The yak probably does too. I found mine on ebay. I got generic straps, they have worked better for me, I’ve found myself sticking more than just boards on top since I got the rack.
I have a yakima system and it works great. Is pricey. My only criticism is if you use it for one smaller boards the (overpriced) bunge straps aren’t tight enough; so i fashioned some of my own. But the hardware of the rack system is fine and seems to be of high quality.
I have a Thule system, and I totally dig it. I drive a 2001 Civic (a real muscle car). It holds my ten foot, heavy longboard real well. Keeps it safe and sound. All my other boards I just put in the car because it’s faster than strapping it on sometimes. My shortboards fit right into the passenger’s seat.
The racks can hold three boards stacked on top of each other, but my car is too narrow to hold boards side by side.
But a cheap way to go (and it’s just as easy) is to just buy a set of rack pads (twenty bucks) and a set of straps (twelve bucks), and tie them to the car. Open the doors, run the straps through, and you are set to go. Even cheaper is to forget the rack pads and just buy straps. Then, when you put your board on the car, roll up two towels.
Cheapest yet: Just drive with your arm hanging out the door, holding your board, like guys on the bikes do. It will look hillarious, and it might work (under, say, thirty miles per hour).
Good luck.
Dude…
Hatch can fit up to 8’9" guns inside next to driver!
Been using my Yaks since '86, and I get side by side, two longboards (when I was older, I surfed them), plus room for my bike rack, bike, and a host of windsurfing masts on the other side! Be ingenious, get wider bars…I use 58"ers.
Last summer, drove to Punta Abreojos myself, with mountain bike atop, 2 windsurf boards, 8 sails, booms, masts, 3 surfboards, and had plenty of room for more, if I was going to bring more. Had room for someone else, but maybe not if his gear matched mine.
I’ve taken 6 windsurf boards, plus 2 surfboards, up to S Oregon coast plenty of times.
Honda Civic Hatch…circa '85!
Any of the steel racks will work fine - and carry not only your board but pretty much whatever else you can lift up there. And do you want to trust your rather expensive board(s) to a rack that cost about five bucks to make?
I just finished making several sets of rental soft racks of the type you’re describing, and that’s about what they cost to make with best quality materials and fasteners, #92 sail thread and so forth. The key is ‘best quality fasteners’ as the plastic buckles that are used on many production soft racks and such can fail without any real warning and spit your board onto the highway right in front of that 18-wheeler that’s been following you since Newark.
While there’s a number of online sources ( see the Archives - this subject came up about a month ago ) for Thule, Yakima and Barrecrafter’s racks, your best price might be from a ski shop having an end-of-season sale.
Don’t spend your money on the fancy rubber and plastic surfboard/windsurfer attachment systems. It’s something else that can fail without much warning and plain nylon straps with metal buckles will do a better job. A little pipe insulation makes a great pad.
hope that’s of use
doc…
John, I like the Thule racks and have never had a problem with them. I did have a set of Yakima racks on a Ford Explorer of mine and they hummed like no tomorrow whenever I exceeded 50mph. I thought I could solve that by moving them around, but to make it stop I had to move them so far back that they would not have supported any boards over 7 feet or so. I’m not talking a pleasant, musical hum. This was the type of hum that resonates in the cabin and invades your skull.
What kind of car do you drive? I am actually selling off a complete set of Thule racks for a 2-door 2000 Honda Civic Coupe, and it should fit same-body-style year models and maybe some other vehicles (I have the resource to look up whether my stuff will work with your stuff). They have the spreader bars to move the back load bars to the back of the roof (if you don’t use it you wind up running into the same too-close-together issues) and all the straps and other hardware for carrying surfboards. I wrecked the car, so I have no use for them anymore.
Here is the info/advertisement as I placed it elsewhere:
2 refurbished load bars, 2 spreader bars (spreads the load bars wider for greater stability- important for 2-door coupe), 4 tracker feet, 4 fit-kits, 2 rubber pads for boards, crank-down straps for boards, four locks (have one key) and 4 fit-kit caps. Some spots on the load bars and fit-kits have been re-painted with a epoxy-enamel paint and some hardware (bolts) have been replaced. Used, but still solid and functional. I wrecked my car, so have no use for this set anymore.
Hack - I 'm interested in your Thule racks - I have a '95 Toyota Camry coupe and live in Monmouth County. What is your e-mail address? Thanks, John
Somethings to consider:
If a rack system does not fit your car, then all you have to buy are new feet. The rest of the system will fit right into those feet. So you can buy a used system. What you do with the extra feet is up to you (use them as bookends, perhaps?).
The safest racks for your boards, are without argument, soft racks. The straps go through the car, so only if a strap actually snaps will the boards come loose. The Yakimas and Thules are good, but I have seen them fail.
Time for a story:
Once upon a time, my friend got a new pair of Thules for his early model BMW. They were the kind of Thules where you had a crank to tighten the strap. It became a nightmare when, of course, the darn thing oxidized. It took the strength of Superman to crank those things, and if your hands were cold, forget it. Anyway, when they were still new and worked, my friend and I went surfing at Cardiff Reef and afterwards he put the boards on the roof. I told him, “Dude, I don’t think those are on well enough.”
Well, my friend had a big ego and insisted they were just fine. I insisted otherwise, but eventually relented to save his pride. It’s also important to note that it was the first day I had that new board. I’m sure you can guess by now the rest of the story…Anyway, as we are driving, I hear this Wooosh sound. I did not need to turn around to know what happened, but of course, I looked back and, sure enough, my board was bouncing down the highway, end over end, the tail and the nose connecting over and over in a sick, twisted summersault (note how I spelled that). Anyway, my board finally slowed down just in time to be completely demolished by the Ford Taurus behind us. It was ruined, no chance of recovery. I said a few choice words and laughed about it, because at the time I was making good enough money to not worry too much about buying a new board. My buddies board, of course, flew through the air like a potato chip, and landed (I kid you not) in the iceplant on the side of 101. NOT A SCRATCH! Totally unfair. But, he did have to pay 800 bucks to fix the shattered plastic front end of the Ford Taurus. I say he did the Ford owner a favor. I didn’t think anyone other than car rental companies actually bought Taurus’s.
What goes around comes around, because on our next surf trip to Santa Barbara, he forgot his sleeping bag in the middle of winter. I was nice enough to TRY to let him share mine (nobody was around to watch THAT, thank God), but it was too tight in there. Next we opened it up and spread it over us like a giant blanket. Still too cold, so I kicked him out and told him, “good luck.” He ended up sleeping in his board bag next to the fire. In the middle of the night he woke up ON the fire and started screaming. hillarious.
On the way back, I decided to provoke him by driving really fast to see if the boards would fly off the roof. I was in a 64 and a half Mustang (a real Ford) and was using, you guessed it, soft racks. I got to ninety. They were humming like a fat granma who knits (?) and my friend was screaming for me to slow down, lest his board fall off. I put my foot down, literally. Went to 110 and the boards never came off. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him panic.
Those were the days. I’ll leave off the part about breaking down in West Hollywood that night. Yikes!
Be a man and make your own racks 
http://photos.yahoo.com/surfsurfsurfsc
It took my a couple of hours to make those racks and they held 4 boards - a 9’6" longboard, 7’2" funboard, 7’0" gun, and 6’0" shortboard the whole way from South Carolina to Southern California. And I went 80-90 most of the way - going the St Louis, Denver, Las Vegas route. So 90 miles per hour in the mountains and I had no problems whatsoever.
You would have to be a bit creative to make them look good on top of a car, but its doable.
Otherwise, just use soft racks and put some effort into having some extra padding to prevent any dingage to your board. If you need any advice I could help you out, pop me an email - soccer_kicker@hotmail.com
Those racks on the back of my truck took about 40 dollars and a couple of hours to make. They look just as good as they did in that picture after 3000+ miles of travel time. The only thing that messes up with those racks is the pipe fitting, but you can get a mile of that stuff for like 75 cents, so that’s no big deal.
The Thule racks are good and great and multipurposed, but I’ve heard so many horror stories about them that I couldnt justify the cost for those things. Plus the longer the board, the crappier they are from what I understand about Thule racks. I would assume the same applies for Yaks or whatever.
I’ve had a bad experience with the soft racks popping off on me, where me and my buddy had to literally hold the front end of my board down with our hands out the windows pulling on the straps for two hours. People get REAL REAL pissed when you drive 40 mph with your hazards on the whole time.
I made my own racks, and I will never look back. If I had a car - I would grab the drill and make a miniature version of those racks. You can make them look good if you be careful and know what you are doing. Of course, I’m not sure I would be able to bring myself to drill holes on a BMW or a really nice car.
Fairmont - Thanks for the post. What kind of soft-racks do you recommend? Are you referring to the DaKine or Block Surf type? If so, I’ll purchase those - relatively inexpensive and soft so no harm to the board. Thanks, John
John, I posted them on Ebay before I saw your message: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3676222923&category=33651
I have been using soft racks lately too. I pretty much ride shortboards and fishes, so they go in the car unless I have other people in there with me, then they go on the roof. The longboard only gets used up the block from my house (3 blocks), so I don’t worry about transporting it via vehicle. I had a set of the “volume one” racks- not bad, worked well for a shortboard or two. I upgraded to the “DaKine” ones and they seem much better constructed and sturdier.
If you have a two door car or one with a short roof, the soft racks don’t handle as well as hard racks- the boards jump up and down at higer speeds, especially if they are more than a shortboard (more wind resistance, more leverage).
Once you start getting into the longer, heavier, or multiple board loads I would go toward hard racks- the bars can be spread out the length of the roof (or a spreader bar can be employed to increase the distance between the racks for greater, and in some cases needed, stability).
As far as the failure of racks- you gotta check the fittings and tighten them up once in a while (I made a habit of it once a month or every other) since road vibrations and settling can occurr, especially within a short period of first installing them. It tells you to do so right in the installation instructions/owners manual. Just about anything mechanical needs upkeep and maintenance from time to time. If your racks and boards fly off, it was likely due to your neglect- just as a well-maintained car, plane, trailer, hellicopter, boat, lawnmower, etc. runs longer and is more reliable than one neglected, so it is with racks.
Having made some lately, I can’t say I’m all that wild about the soft racks. On each one you have two buckles, frequently a plastic length adjuster and four sets of stitching, all of which can fail, double that for a complete set. Now, I have the gear to make 'em ( though I most definitely do not use plastic hardware or adjusters) and I run a shop that sends 'em out on rentals so they get checked every day and can be repaired whenever I pick up on something getting loose. I can replace the hardware any time I get even a little unhappy about it 'cos when I got the hardware to make the racks I got spares to repair them and the others I use for the rental biz.
Not many others have my advantages with soft racks. When the stitching goes, or the plastic hardware ( or the metal stuff - it can go too ) I can do something about it. When I make them, I double-stitch everything to be on the safe side. I spend the extra money for the better hardware; cam buckles (http://www.strapworks.com/cambuckles.html ) rather than spring buckles ( http://www.strapworks.com/ratchetspring.html ) which are frankly cr@p and can get bent and malfunction quite easily…and spring buckles are pretty standard on production soft racks. I use heavier grade strap material than the production guys and get enough extra of that so I can replace pieces whenever I get a little itchy about 'em . I have up to a grand worth of rental boards going out on these things, so I’m taking as few chances as I can. A couple bucks extra spent per set so I don’t have to replace or repair my rental boards and even worse, lose a few days rental income during my already too short season, well, that’s not a tough call at all. Padding? Pipe insulation. It’s cheap and replaceable whenever it gets ratty or whenever I get tired of looking at it.
My own racks? Thules. An old, well-cared for set, screw threads greased, disassembled and checked annually - I may upgrade to stainless bolts and such soon, as I have never been all that wild about the zinc-chromate plating they use on the stuff installed at the Thule factory. I don’t use the Thule hold-down gizmos, as I have seen too many failures of the ratchet type they used to peddle and the rubber variety they sell now. Also cr@p, in my far from modest opinion. Instead, I use custom made tie down straps made to measure for my racks and what I’m holding down on them. There are some good straps that are similar which will work fine, just inspect the stitching and buckles ( buy only the type with cam-action buckles and heavy straps) and replace them if there is wear, fraying or corrosion or stitching starting to go.
I don’t go for the aftermarket stuff much. There was a Stupid Rack Trick I saw once. There was this lawyerette who bought a brand new board. And a set of the combination pads and hold-downs that would velcro around the rack bar, then you’d run the straps around the rack bar, through metal D-rings and only then would you use 'em around the board. Being a lawyerette, she wasn’t gonna read the directions, she just velcroed on the pads, ran the straps around the board and off she went around the beltway to take it to the water for the first time. I doubt she heard the RRRRRIIIPPPPP noise as the velcro let go, and I doubt she heard the board hit, but the screeches of brakes and horns sounding…those she heard. Maybe the crunch as the nose got run over.
I never got the whole story, how she got the board into the car or back on top, but what got me was when she decided she was still going to go to the beach and take the board out. When she brought it to me to fix, I had to get the compressor going to blow the sand out of the crushed nose before I could start to fix it. And show her the correct way to attach the board using her cute new aftermarket rack attachment.
She didn’t like that last bit, being a lawyerette who was theoreticly incapable of getting that wrong ( and possibly blowing away her potential lawsuit against the rack people) .
And then there is Haffs. Now, Haffs is a Trustafarian. Always has a two year old car, owns several houses, and somehow he is always borrowing somebody’s new board for an extended period, like all summer. Trustafarians are funny like that, they don’t spend money on some things.
Haffs, for no known reason, always uses old bungee cords. Old, sunburnt, discolored, fraying bungee cords. They cost 89 cents when he bought them fifteen years ago and they might be up to a buck three-eighty now. But he doesn’t replace them as often as he does his cars or even his houses. So, brand new board, fairly new car, zooming down the highway to the beach and SPUNGGG …the board is flying off.
Haffs got lucky with the family he was born into, in benignly neglectful supervisors on his occasional jobs that overlook his amazingly slack work habits and even including his more hairbrained schemes he’s managed to hang onto his inherited money, and he’s lucky with the boards. 3 out of four times they fly off to the side of the road, land on weeds and an occasional rock and don’t get banged up too much. The fourth time ws a pip, though, totalled the board. And he still uses the thrashed bungees, he must buy 'em used or something. The money he saved on them doesn’t really put a dent in what it cost to fix the boards though.
Nope, keep to simple, strong stuff. It’s good to save a few bucks, yeah, but the price of fixing a board or replacing it isn’t worth it.
As Hackeysaky mentioned, longer boards may demand hard racks. Good rule of thumb- if the most space you can get between soft racks isn’t at least half the length of your longest board, best to go with some Thules or something similar. It’s a little disconcerting to watch the boards sway in the wind anyhow…
hope that’s of use
doc…