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Do you uses a roof rack, or fold your back seat down?
I'm considering buying a cheap roof ski rack off craigslist so I can keep my extra seating and keep water from the snow from fucking up my interior. But people say there skis get covered in shit and it kills your mileage, which I barely get over 18mpg as is..
Thoughts? Or want to sell a roof rack really cheap?
I have a box on my car. It definitely hurts my mileage, but I drive an outback and regularly drive 5 people around so it's the only reasonable option for me. It is convenient though
Used to have a box and it broke, so I'm folding my middle seat. Its not bad since I'm usually the only one in my car going places but when I used to live with people and regularly had 3-4 people in my car to ski a box was real nice.
If you're going to get a roof rack, get something enclosed. Your skis are getting covered in filth driving down the highway, especially if its snowed (or rained). See all that salt on your car? Yeah, its on your skis too.
ahh I would love to have a roof rack but unfortunately my car doesn't have any bars so I would have to dish out massive quantities to buy the whole adapter system, so I use the whole seat down method...
I have racks but I only use them going to and from the mountain. I throw my skis in the car for the long drive from Queens to VT because they get sandblasted and as mentioned above, covered in shit and who wants to get their shit covered in shit.
If you are worried about faint traces of road gunk collecting on the skis that you will slam with all your weight against a solid metal rail all day then just cover them with a tarp, looks gehtto but if done properly will work just fine.
mostly i use racks since i'm only driving like 30 mins on back roads to and from skiing, and if you put your skis in tails forward the gunk only really builds up on the tails. although this year i never put my racks on so i've just been folding down the seat
It's all about folding the seats! Although if I was willing to spend the money on a roof rack, would be so much better. I drive a Jetta also & I always see Jettas with them
I wish I still had pics of when I went to France with some friends, he took his dad's brand new Range Rover and the ski rack only fitted 6 skis, we were with 5 guys and had twelve skis and two snowboards between us.
We just put down a long and narrow tarp and let the excess hang over the front, stacked the skis neatly based on several decades of tetris experience clamped everything down with one tie down strip in the middle. folded the excess tarp over and then used two more tie down strap to secure everything and ductaped the seams shut.
It hurts me inside when I have to put my skis in a roof rack. They're just OUT THERE, collecting road salt and grimeing up my spring packs and compromising my grease, etc. Ever seen a pair of skis put away after a long trip in a storm without cleaning them? Rust city on the edges. Not ideal. I like them inside the car or a box, where they're at least kept from the elements of highway travel.
If its just me and a friend, I'll put the back seat down and leave them on there. If I have more than that, they go on the racks because I don't have enough room in the car
I'll either throw them in the bed of my truck like a man, or if I don't want then rolling around I'll put them behind the seats resting on top of my subs. I only have a regular cab :(