Car Wakeboard/ Snowboard Rack

My wakeboard does not fit in my trunk because i have subwoofers, and when it was in the backseat it was akward and unsafe to carry passengers. So i devised a way to hold my Wakeboard on the roof of my car. It hold's it securely, goes on and off easily, and can be made (in my case) with materials that i have around the house and shop. Good luck.

Step 1 Gathering tools and materials

-drill
-drill bits.
-apropriate hardware (4 screws and nuts and some washers)
-staple gun
-old carpet
-exacto knife
-and a saw (i used a table saw, but use what you got)
-wood, i used 1/2 inch plywood for the blocks and i think a 1x3 or something for the tops.

Comments

[Allonsy]

i dont really get the amount of "why the heck did you go to the trouble of doing that" comments. its his car he can do what he wants. its not like hes forcing you to drill holes in your car. give him a break! yeesh. nice instructable btw.

[glenm]

looks like someone fell off.

[lil_brown_bat]

Here's what I'm unclear on: given that you have a factory rack, why did you need to build this superstructure on it to hold your boards? Why not just tie 'em down to the existing rack?

Also, voice of experience: tie-downs made of rubber or stretchy material are a bad idea because, well...they stretch. This can leave you with what the state troopers will refer to on the citation as an "unsecured load". Worst of all are bungees with hooks on the end. The best tie-down is rope and a little rigging know-how (knowing how to tie a trucker's hitch is real good if you carry loads on your roof). Failing that, a cam strap without hooks is best and safest -- no hooks, no ratchets, just a simple webbing strap with a cam at one end. See http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=1440&deptid=1188

[GMoney1]

I think your right, this is a neat looking contraption and you have a right to be happy with it. You could also get some expert advice on tie downs from the folks at US Cargo Control Tie Down Straps They may be able to help keep this invention secure on the rack.

[Kactapuss]

There were many reasons for building this. One, I wanted a carpeted surface to put the board on. Because there is some amount of movement of the board, tieing it directly to the metal racks would cause damage to the board. Also, i would hardly call this a "superstructure". About the state troopers, i can not comment on the law, but i can say that the board is quite secure on the roof and my bungies are just basically big rubberbands, no hooks. There are two main reasons that i did not want to use 'cam straps' or anything like that. One, i wanted to be able to quickly attach and detach the board from the roof. I do not leave the board on the roof for long trips or long periods of time, and i use the rack durring the summer going to a from the lake, and around town after that. While i agree that webing or other methods of tie down straps may be better, i like using innertubes because they are easy to use, require no adjustment and are quick, and i think this out weighs the 'possibly' safer straps.

[Visitor]

That is silly overengineering. Hacking the roof rack lowers the value of your car and driving all year round with the wood blocks on your roof reduces the MPG you get. But then again, you sound like a guy who "doesn't have to" worry about such problems. An old towel wrapped a few times around the roof rack does the padding job quite well. Then make the rubber band twice as long and attach a hook to it. Put it under the roof rack on the far side of the board, pull both ends over the board and attach the ends with the hook under the rack on the closer side of the board. It takes maybe half a minute longer to attach the board and your car does not have ugly hacked wood blocks on the roof.

[Kactapuss]

I am not sure why you seem to have taken some type of offense to this pretty docile project, but either way, I want my rebuttal.

Car value: This project requires drilling two holes per crossbar, less than 1/8" in diameter. In my opinion once the rack is removed this is pretty insignificant. (In my particular case, to defend myself further: This is a 10 year old car, these two holes are the least of any modifications that a potential buyer will look at. I mentioned i had already installed subs.)

MPG: Again, in my opinion (i am no expert) the drag created by my 'wood blocks' pretty insignificant regarding miles per gallon. Also, i would be lead to assume that the drag from any after market or "expensive" roof rack for a snowboard or wake board would create the same amount of drag if not more.
(Specifically in my case i drive a jeep, on average I get around 12 miles per gallon, the fraction of a mpg i would save is not worth the 3 rear seats that the wake board takes up).

"But then again, you sound like a guy who "doesn't have to" worry about such problems": As you probably guessed, i didn't really appreciate this either. I come from a well-to-do community to be frankly honest. But I do not appreciate being called wasteful or insensitive. I pay for my own gas with money I make working an honest job, and I do care about the value of my parents 10 year old jeep that I drive. I bought the wake board for 7$ at a tag sale, and two 12" kicker subs a 2000w amp and cap from a spoiled rich kid. I installed them myself. I am frugal and resented that comment.

Your Idea: While I in no way claim that my 'wood blocks' are glamorous, sleek, or in any way good looking, I can not imagine that old towels wrapped around the cross bars looks much better. What I did claim was that my way was quicker on-and-off which I'm glad you agree with.

I'm sorry you found me and my project so distasteful.

[jongscx]

agreed... but a ratchetting strap with the hooks well secured and tightened down enough and I'd very much doubt it will come loose. For a passenger car, they make roof racks that have hooks made from 1/8-1/4" sheet metal attached to webbing strap and it hooks into the space between the roof and the car door. not very attractive and looks like crap , but it gets the job done.

[HAL 9000]

WOW, this is the first instructable ive ever seen using Sketchup!! i absolutely love this program, i highly recomend it to anyone who is in the CAD buisiness (like myself) or just likes drawing 3D spaceships, cars, hotels, roof racks, anything. Speaking of roof racks this is a great instructable. nice work

[stevenedge]

any suggestion as to what i can do with a civic with the same problem =)

i dont havethat awesome rubber thing to screw to liek that SUV does.

[Kactapuss]

yea, i just got the program, and was itching to make something useful in it.

[mrbob1000]

did you use sketchup to do the modeling pretty cool idea and verry original