traveling with soft racks = problems with board?

by **jackscolon** » Wed May 19, 2004 8:06 am

Hey guys, so I'm going to be traveling with an 8'2" mini longboard and the best way I can think to do it in my Nissan Altima is to get soft racks but I'm worried about the wind resistance on the board bending it. Does anyone know anything about this or have a novel idea to prevent it? I've checked out other forums and I've only found one that has a thread about it, but not many ideas. Also, are you supposed to load the board with the fins in the front of the car or the fins in the back? This site says "Always remember - the front of the board points to the front - you don't want to take off now do you!" but the other forum i was reading said the instructions for one set of racks says to put the fins forward. I'll be traveling mostly on freeways at 65 mph.
This is a link to the forum I was at:
http://www.surfingsandiego.com/cgi-bin/ ... 4&t=000123

Thanks.

**Sponsor**

by **jonny** » Wed May 19, 2004 8:12 am

as long as your soft racks are fitted properly you have no worries at all.

I've driven all over the place with two 9'6" on a soft rack no problems.

The other thing you can do - is once th board is loaded on the roof and secureed, get some rope and tie the end of your board bag to your front bumper or tie-eyelet. This will counteract the widn resistance pushing it upwards.

If you are worried though - why not invest in a proper set of roof bars?

by **SingleFin** » Wed May 19, 2004 8:27 am

Go with fins forward - if the straps become too loose, your fin *should* stop the board slithering off the back of your car :lol: :lol:

by **trevor** » Wed May 19, 2004 11:16 am

sorfracks should be fine, just make sure its secure and place them as far away from eachother as you can. this doesnt work too well if your car is 2 door... fins go in the front because the rise in the tip is too steep and can get in the way if its in the front. the fins must be pointed up. i go 75 with my 8' gun (and sometimes even a 6' shortboard on top of that) on my car and it shakes and sometimes scares me but never comes off.

by **PapaW** » Wed May 19, 2004 11:18 am

As everyone else have said secre everything correctly with as much width between the front and back straps so as to maximise the hold on each end of the board.

by **Guest** » Mon May 24, 2004 10:42 am

...Hi guys !!...I'm Igor form Italy (is true !!! :wink: ) and I am searching on web some way to put my board 7'3'' in my car...too small ..new mini... :shock: and I would like to know more info about soft racks...pics for example and if is dangerous driving with this solution !?!?!

...thanks for your help!!!

Aloha !!!!

by **PapaW** » Mon May 24, 2004 12:38 pm

lol no sorf racks do the job fine. Idea for your mini situation..

just look about in surf shof online or on the street if they are good they will sell them

by **freaky_welsh_chick** » Mon May 24, 2004 1:37 pm

umm i feel stupid, but... what exactly do you guys mean by a 'soft rack'??? lol

Ky x

by **jackscolon** » Mon May 24, 2004 5:00 pm

it's a rack for surfboards, but it's not like the hard bars you have installed onto your car. It's just 2 straps that go through your windows and around your roof. It's basically 2 expensive pieces of rope.

by **GremmieOuttaControl** » Mon May 24, 2004 6:36 pm

I bought a soft rack when I got got my surfboard on saturday (7'10 minimal, I'm so chuffed! :) ). I was pretty worried driving it back cos it did seem to rise quite alot. I pulled the front strap forwards, almost as far as it could go, and this improved it somewhat. I may try tieing some rope to the front next time (hopefully a trip to wooly on Thurs if the surf picks up - I'm desperate to give it a proper go!)

by **freaky_welsh_chick** » Mon May 24, 2004 8:55 pm

ah ok i know what you mean now, lol. i bought hard racks... the 1s you get from ikea and theyre pretty cheap. put sum padding on them and they work really well

Ky x

by **PapaW** » Mon May 24, 2004 10:28 pm

Just you guys wait till it rains...
it all comes in on the straps and lands in ur lap.

by **SingleFin** » Tue May 25, 2004 10:36 am

I've just bolted eyelets and foam pipe lagging on the roof of my car.... works a dream!

by **PapaW** » Tue May 25, 2004 11:20 am

aye pipe insulation is the best!...

anyone who buys special rack cushioning is a fool!

by **Guest** » Tue May 25, 2004 2:24 pm

PapaWoolacombe wrote:aye pipe insulation is the best!...

anyone who buys special rack cushioning is a fool!

what it mean ??...sorry for my bad english !!!

I would like to put hard rack...but I would have to drill the top of the car....too bad for me.

anyway I understand that is not a fine solution....

Aloha...Igor.

by **SingleFin** » Tue May 25, 2004 2:32 pm

It's those grey foam tubes with a slit down one side to put round water pipes to stop them freezing - also ideal for putting over roof bars to cushion your board. Get them from hardware shops for a handful of loose change...

by **PapaW** » Tue May 25, 2004 2:35 pm

Anonymous wrote:
I would like to put hard rack...but I would have to drill the top of the car....too bad for me.

Aloha...Igor.

Why wud u have to drill your roof? surly there are clamp racks in shops near you...?

by **beachbumuk** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 7:49 pm

ok, again SO MANY variations on a theme! lol
i have a big beasty Volvo 940 estate and i own a 9'6 and 7'2 boards, boards faceing forwards, noses equal so the curves in the rocker fit nicely against each other, but....there is about 16 inches of nose infrount of the frount rack (as far forwards as i can go) at 60-70 mph is this going to do damage to the baords as the air flows over them and pushes them down?

also the shorter board doesnt reach the back rack, so should i just tie it to the bigboard at the back and the big board to the rack!?

i just dont want to ruin my prize possessions! :-(

thanks guys!

by **behindThePeak** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:15 pm

beachbumuk wrote:ok, again SO MANY variations on a theme! lol
i have a big beasty Volvo 940 estate and i own a 9'6 and 7'2 boards, boards faceing forwards, noses equal so the curves in the rocker fit nicely against each other, but....there is about 16 inches of nose infrount of the frount rack (as far forwards as i can go) at 60-70 mph is this going to do damage to the baords as the air flows over them and pushes them down?

also the shorter board doesnt reach the back rack, so should i just tie it to the bigboard at the back and the big board to the rack!?

i just dont want to ruin my prize possessions!

thanks guys!

i think it's less important to match the rocker as it is to get the top board under both racks. I fold up a beach towel or two between the boards and adjust so they have enough space between them. i wouldn't worry about the air flow as long as the boards don't start bouncing. i also always rack fin first.

by **beachbumuk** » Mon Apr 25, 2011 8:40 pm

cool thanks, and there seems to be a devision about fin or nose forward, i dont think ive seen anyone Fin forward a board here in UK, and if you strap nose and tail, board in a bag, then i cant see how it can slip out os the fat bits in the middle!?

traveling with soft racks = problems with board?

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