 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
To get my skis to Switzerland I think they are going to have to sit next to our centrally mounted large topbox on the roof bars. I'm considering wrapping putting them into two ski bags one over the top of the other and then using what my DH calls a bungee (I call an elastic) to hold them onto the roof bars on one side of the topbox. Does this sound a serviceable solution? Our top box will mean that I can't deploy one of those purpose made ski carriers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
I'm not sure I would trust bungee/elastic to hold on to two pairs of skis for a long trip. I assume it is not possible to move the box over so it is no longer centrally mounted and to provide room for proper ski carriers that way? If not then I would probably look for ratchet straps rather than bungees.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
solarfish, I do have a supply of rachet straps (don't ask  !!), but its only one pair of skis possibly wrapped in 2 ski bags. DH isn't keen to de-centralise the top-box due to the weight that goes in it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Megamum, can't the skis go IN the box?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Probably best to hire ski's in the resort.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
Bode Swiller, I assume it is not long enough.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I use two bungees to hold my Sportube with one pair of skis. Pull them tight enough and it's fine.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
|
Need a maths expert... cost of extra fuel v cost of ski hire. I read this somewhere... If you drive from London to Aviemore and back with a cheap mountain bike on the roof, it's actually cheaper to buy a bike up there and dump it at the end of the trip than the extra fuel cost for the round trip. Same must apply for skis. Pedant opportunity...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Helen Beaumont wrote: |
| Bode Swiller, I assume it is not long enough. |
Just a nasty rumour 
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
Megamum, Have you thought where you are going to put the poles 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Bode Swiller, I doubt the skis will cause significantly increased fuel besides the already rather nasty topbox. Besides, i doubt the extra fuel consumtion will be more then the around 100 euros for a week of vip ski rental 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Megamum, The ski racks I posted (even found a nice price at a UK supplier here) are very small so should easily fit alongside your box, possibly even if the box is in the middle. Yes the skis will travel aked, but I really can't see them coming to any harm. We drove ours down to Val Thorens one year and they were exposed all the way without any problems.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Megamum, it would depend on how wide your roofbox is, do you have a long narrow one or a short wide one? (OK, guys, I know..........) We tend to put bulky stuff like the ski clothes and boots and skis in the roofbox , and the holdalls/ bags, and boxes of shopping in the boot. (although we took a patio table and 4 chairs in it this time.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
solarfish, Thanks for hunting - I'll show DH.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
YOu need to put your skis on the rack tips and bindings facing downwards so they don't get wind damaged.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Helen Beaumont, What????
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Helen Beaumont, I can't imagine this is true and not only that the racks I linked to have the skis on edge so absolutely no way of having them tips down. Depending on the clearance of your roof rack above your car roof you may also find with horizontal racks that the ski bindings would be scratching the roof if they were placed tip down.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Forget the bags. Just get some heavy duty tie wraps (the type the police use for for football hooligans) and secure them to the roof bars.
Easy, so why make it hard work.
Tip, if you have a Thule ski rack (like me) You can hang it from the rafters in your garage and store your skis there when not in use.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Megamum, Can you fit 2 boxes on the roof or is your one wider than half of the roof? Be careful that you don't exceed 75kg on the roof.
Top box and fully loaded on my Espace hurts the fuel economy by about 8mpg compared to 1 person and empty. haven't done the figures for it loaded without the box. Rarely drop below 90 and still get 32mpg.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
| Helen Beaumont wrote: |
| YOu need to put your skis on the rack tips and bindings facing downwards so they don't get wind damaged. |
Better in a ski bag and ratchet strapped to the bars. It will be noisy though.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Helen Beaumont wrote: |
| YOu need to put your skis on the rack tips and bindings facing downwards so they don't get wind damaged. |
So if that was the case my ski rack designed for 6 pairs would have to be 12 skis wide !!!.
You put them in pairs with the tips at the boot end. I have drove 900 miles like this (and back) and you would not even know they were there, unlike those wind stopper roof boxes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
I was told about putting them that way on the rack when putting skis on the car at Calgary airport by the hire car company. Or tips facing backwards (but what about twin tip). Apparently in danger of wind pulling the ski apart. Seen them like that on loads of cars on motorway so assumed it was correct.
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
|
Anyway, leave some of that grub at home and get your skis in that roofbox.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I've always carried mine in pairs base-to-base, I do tend to put tips to the back but not always. There is usually so little of the ski protruding beyond the front clamp that I really can't see the wind being an issue. Maybe if you had really long thin skis (so perhaps several years ago) this may be a problem?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
solarfish, no we didn't, but perhaps that is where the advice came from. We don't generally carry them on our roof in a rack, so didn't think anything of it.
't
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Not ried it myself but I have seen skis pairs on bars (or those funny magnet/suction thingies) with cling film wrapped round the tips and binding areas to keep out the spray/salt/s&^%.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
Megamum, You could buy food out there. Surely one of the great joys in travel is to eat different things?
re the "centralising the weight issue" does yer man refuse to drive the car without someone in the passenger seat?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
For goodness sake just tie your skis to the roof rack with a bit of rope and get on with it. If they are in a bag (or even if they aren't) they will be fine as long as nobody steals them, and the difference in fuel consumption will be fairly insignificant. Don't know what all the fuss is about.........grumble, grumble...............mumble................................................. (pop)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
| solarfish wrote: |
| Megamum, The ski racks I posted (even found a nice price at a UK supplier here) are very small so should easily fit alongside your box, possibly even if the box is in the middle. Yes the skis will travel aked, but I really can't see them coming to any harm. We drove ours down to Val Thorens one year and they were exposed all the way without any problems. |
I have a set of those Thule ski holders, they are small and easy to use but wouldnt fit alongside the roofbox that I borrowed for christmas. Happy to lend them out if you PM me.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| Megamum wrote: |
| The box may not be long enough, but the real reason the skis can't go in it is because its where we stash enough food to feed four for a week!! |
I'm now more concerned about food miles. Ahem, haven't they thought of supermarkets yet wherever you're going?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
I doubt as much planning went into 'Sir Edmund Hillary's' ascent of Everest as Megamums week in the Alps.
The one time I drove down the only thing mediocremum did was sleep.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Some of my own experience
(1) I always put skis in pair. Tip toward rear of the car is to minimize drag. When properly clamped the driver should not hear a thing and hardly notice any change in fuel consumption. Same experience as Kel.
(2) Top box has a weight limit, so are the roof bars and the so is the bearing resistance of the car's mounting points. The capacity is seldom in excess of 100lb with the weakest link from the top box which is always flimsy. The best equipment I could put together on a large 2.5 tonnes 4x4 normally ending up about 75lb maximum. If the top box has a problem of being unable to move and have eccentricity then the system looks pretty weak to me.
(3) The skis can be held down. I prefer them naked and not warped by a loose layer. Have a second line of defence in straping it down in a second loop. Use a yam rope that has a certain elasticity and frictional resistance because the wind will try to deflect the skis and the in-build elastic force and friction of the rope can help to hold the skis in position. Rigid ties are bad ideas. Remember the skis can move longitudinally as well as transversely. Once in transit it the driver should be able to forget it otherwise loosening and dislodging from the roof bars can be fatal to other road users if not to the driver.
I would probably give priority to the skis rather than the food stuff as food is not that expensive in Switzerland if one is prepared to do self catering. I have carried a top box and ski racks together in the Alps but is was on a large 4x4 leaving one side still able to clamp 3 sets of skis.
The disadvantage of using rope is that thieves can nick them but the risk is only with the forward journey.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In my younger days and numerous day trips to resorts, I used to carry my skis facing down as per the advice received by Helen Beaumont, tip at the back...I only paired them up if I needed the space.
I would also not bother with a bag..It will be noisy at speed, and your skis don't suffer much on the roof anyway..
I would rather use ratchet straps or even rope rather than a bungee..
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Just bungee them to the bloody roof bars, will you. It hardly merits quite this much conversation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
And I have never seen a ski resort that doesn't have a supermarket . (Perhaps if it was a tiny place with one hotel and no apartments.)
You could take a few items which aren't easy to find in France, such as chile powder, bacon or baked beans (if you really can't do without them) - but why on earth take any other food with you? Totally pointless. They do eat in France, you know (generally rather better than we do I'd say).
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Tue 8-01-08 11:02; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Lizzard, Couldn't agree more. Have driven tio France a few times with skis bungeed to the roof bars. No problem
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
You're a wind up merchant!!
