Roof Rack

WillyWonka

Hey all,

looking to buy a roof rack for surfboards. Car is a BMW 1 series.

Any advice on what to get/what not to get?

Is it worth buy the aerodynamic ones for fuel economy and less noise?

thanks
Willy

CantGetNoSleep

Don't buy a cheap one that is just a general one for any car, cant remember the make but I had one and you couldnt open the windows with the noise it makes

cormie

What about one of these: http://www.handirackuk.com/ ?

paddyb

i have never used the handirack but in general, strap on roof racks leak when its raining

WillyWonka

cormie wrote: »

What about one of these: http://www.handirackuk.com/ ?

not mad on the inflatable ones, they just look a bit awkward.
I'm based in Dublin so would have to drive about 4 hours there and back for each trip.

cornbb

I've been using strap-on racks for ages, they are annoying, unsightly and I'm guessing they're not great for the car's paintwork either. Good hard racks are damned expensive though.

paddyb

i got my roof bars from this ebay shop for €50/60 I cant remember, i use them all the time and they are fine

Plek Trum

Have a look also at www.micksgarage.ie Sometimes roofracks come up on www.adverts.ie > Motor accessories, so keep an eye there also if you are looking for a bargain. I got a set of my BMW E46 for only 40euro delivered!

The Machine

Get a decent hard roof rack. I've had cheap poorly fitting roof racks fly off the car with a load of boards attached. It was a miracle no one was hurt....

Your BMW dealer will have the BMW approved rack. An other option is Thule, they are generally considered the best of the other roof rack brands. Plus if you change car you usually only have to change the foot blocks and not the entire rack.

promethius

You've just spent god knows how much on a bmw so do it right and get a proper roof rack, get up to halfords and get a thule one with the aerodynammic bars which are less noisy and look ok, the sqquare ones look cat. the soft racks are ok for short trips but will not suit you, they will also damage the seals on the doors over time. don't skimp on a rack it's essential for a serious surfer and good luck with it

WillyWonka

promethius wrote: »

You've just spent god knows how much on a bmw so do it right and get a proper roof rack, get up to halfords and get a thule one with the aerodynammic bars which are less noisy and look ok, the sqquare ones look cat. the soft racks are ok for short trips but will not suit you, they will also damage the seals on the doors over time. don't skimp on a rack it's essential for a serious surfer and good luck with it

Thanks guys, nicely summed up promethius. Although careful who you're calling a serious surfer

promethius

good man willy! Once you get one set up they're great, i used a soft rack for ages and it's night and day now with a proper one

Gone West

Also, most cars will leak like hell with a soft rack and a bit of rain.

gort100

Can anyone tell me will a roof rack from a 02 mondeo saloon fit a 05 focus 5 door hatchback. I have looked at them online and they look similar??

Jackrum

Anyone know where you can pick up some good straps for hard-racks - I hear those bungie cords are bit dodgy!

While on the topic of transporting surfboards -been reading conflicting advice on how to place boards on a roof-rack. I always transport my boards in board bags with fins-up and the noses to the front.

The following article http://www.wikihow.com/Carry-Surfboards-on-the-Roof-of-a-Vehicle suggests that the fins should be to the front of the car in order to reduce lift. Anyone have any thoughts?

cormie

Yeah bungee cords are definitely not what I'd use to strap down something on a roof. They have their uses but generally when slack is allowed, not for something like this

Ratchet straps are your best option. Lidl had some on special a week or two ago and they had heavy duty ones too, but they'd be a bit excessive for surf boards. You'd get them in any hardware shop though.

spaceHopper

cormie wrote: »

Yeah bungee cords are definitely not what I'd use to strap down something on a roof. They have their uses but generally when slack is allowed, not for something like this

Ratchet straps are your best option. Lidl had some on special a week or two ago and they had heavy duty ones too, but they'd be a bit excessive for surf boards. You'd get them in any hardware shop though.

You need tie down straps like this and not ratchet straps as they will damage you boards, alway make sure you tie off the free end of the strap to something just encsase the buckle fails or slips. You can get the straps on homebase or in most surfshops.

When you put the boards on make sure that you put the straps under the roof rack and not on the ends of the bars as they's come off.

cormie

spaceHopper wrote: »

You need tie down straps like this and not ratchet straps as they will damage you boards

As long as you use some padding that wont be a problem. Ratchet straps will keep them very secure

Jackrum

Cheers guys, I'll be investing in hard rack v soon, so I'll have a look around for some decent straps.

Poster King

www.surfdock.ie for straps and lots of other surfing gear.
the soft straps are a disaster and dangerous in my view. I regularly see speeding along a road with a board or two on top and the front of the board about 2 to 3 foot in the air due to the wind.
WillyWonka, you could sell the BMW and buy a really nice van that you can get all your gear in, so no need for roof rach, and change in it too and sleep in.

Chimichangas

cormie wrote: »

As long as you use some padding that wont be a problem. Ratchet straps will keep them very secure

padding where the rachet strap hits the board? is that what you mean?

cormie

Yeah, just put some padding where the strap is going to be touching the board and put the actual ratchet mechanism away from the board itself, get it tight enough before starting the ratcheting and away you go

Mickeroo

hey there, thinking of gettin a rack for my van too. These look like they should be grand yea? anyone know if they're a reliable make or anything?

http://www.micksgarage.ie/proddetails.aspx?pid=166398&pk=9762D

thanks

Wopp

cormie wrote: »

As long as you use some padding that wont be a problem. Ratchet straps will keep them very secure

For good straps, try halfords...got two ratchet straps for about 20 euro that would hold a cow to the roof if necessary!! Great for extra support if your carrying more boards then you should on a hard/soft rack;)

But you do have to be careful, one extra tighten too much could snap a board in half....

spaceHopper

Wopp wrote: »

For good straps, try halfords...got two ratchet straps for about 20 euro that would hold a cow to the roof if necessary!! Great for extra support if your carrying more boards then you should on a hard/soft rack;)

But you do have to be careful, one extra tighten too much could snap a board in half....

Guy's please don't use ratchet straps on surf boards, they are to strong over tighten them and you'll crack the rails or ding the board.

99% of surfers use tie down straps, which work fine though I wouldn't trust the clips 100 % so I ties them off with a good knot.

If you don't beleive me go into a surf shop and see what straps they sell

stupidbaby

spaceHopper wrote: »

Guy's please don't use ratchet straps on surf boards, they are to strong over tighten them and you'll crack the rails or ding the board.

99% of surfers use tie down straps, which work fine though I wouldn't trust the clips 100 % so I ties them off with a good knot.

If you don't beleive me go into a surf shop and see what straps they sell

dinged a board a few weeks back by tightening too much with ratchet straps. I use a bit of carboard padding now and it's grand though - also, keep the ratchet off the boards - put it down the side as some other poster said

rodento

Guess some people live and learn while others:eek:

spaceHopper

stupidbaby wrote: »

dinged a board a few weeks back by tightening too much with ratchet straps. I use a bit of carboard padding now and it's grand though - also, keep the ratchet off the boards - put it down the side as some other poster said

How much did you spend on the board, then damage it all for the want of price of a set of proper tie down instead of using cheap ratchet straps from Lidl

rodento

If you use one strap, if its tightened to much, you could pull the roof rack out of alignment...

One nasty cross wind later and it'll fly off the car

stupidbaby

spaceHopper wrote: »

How much did you spend on the board, then damage it all for the want of price of a set of proper tie down instead of using cheap ratchet straps from Lidl

Ratchet/Straps weren't from Lidl. spent 60 euro on the board - second hand shortboard - so wasn't too upset. Use the ratchet straps for other purposes too - tying up the wife etc.

you guys seem to be alot more annoyed than me! get over it! I did!

macmurchu

I have a Thule roof rack on a Passat. Jesus the noise. Anything above 70mph and you're straining to hear someone talk

spaceHopper

macmurchu wrote: »

I have a Thule roof rack on a Passat. Jesus the noise. Anything above 70mph and you're straining to hear someone talk

I've the square bars with pip insulation for padding and I've never had a problem. What bars do you have? What's making the noise the rack or your straps?

are you looping the straps around the bard close to the board (as you should be) or at the ends where they make load of noise and could slip off, I've seen this done.

cornbb

macmurchu wrote: »

I have a Thule roof rack on a Passat. Jesus the noise. Anything above 70mph and you're straining to hear someone talk

If the noise is from vibrating straps (which I think it more likely than from whistling bars) then put a twist in them to stop them from doing so* (i.e. don't have them lying flat against the board).

If the noise is caused by whistling bars, then experimenting with their positioning may fix the problem.

(*a friend of mine who knows about these things told me that doing this is not a good idea as it adversely affects the strength of the straps. Just a warning).

macmurchu

It's entirely the bars (square ones on mine) cos this happens all the time and they're empty more often than not. I have the grey foamy pipe lagging cable-tied onto the bars. When I first put the rack on I thought I'd reduce the noise by adding the foam but it just made it lower pitch. Then my girlfriend and I thought we'd make a fortune by designing quiet ones in a wind tunnel. Until I googled it to see if they already exist... We have music on all the time and chat in the car on 3hour trips to the west coast and the noise (of the roof rack and not the girl!) is such a pain

wersal gummage

just get the aero bars so. i had them on a car before and have them on the jeep now - never any noise out of them, even with a few boards up there's hardly any noise. those square ones look terrible as well !

Poster King

My Thule roof rack on a Land Cruiser makes noise when there are no pads on it, but as soon as I put on the pads the noise almost stops. I usually take the pads off so that they don't get robbed, and when I am going on a long journey, without my gear I put the pads on. When I actually put my boards up there it is completely quiet, strange.