utahcarver Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 I've been using 30 year old Barrecrafter ski racks for the past 3 or 4 seasons to transport boards to the mountain. Before that, I had old Yakimas (K towers?) that I couldn't get parts for to keep working. Then, I found eBay and realized I could have bought parts and racks there after I had thrown the Yaks away. Duh. Anyhooo, I'm going to purchase new racks so that I can be more secure when I leave the car with boards attached. I like Yaks but, I don't need all the flexibility to carry bikes, kayaks, and totem poles. Same with Thule. Is there any other rack that will just carry snowboards (and maybe skis) and would be secure? I'm not concerned about price as much as I want my boards to be secure and aren't going to get stolen. What have you been using and why? Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxguitarist Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 my board usually goes in my car ('95 honda accord wagon/soon to be '07 mazdaspeed 3), but as far as racks go, i use a thule set for bikes/kayaks/windsurfing/surfing/christmas-tree-carrying/lumber-yard-runs/ etc. they lock, just like yakimia, but attachments that only use one bar dont twist (square vs circle cross section) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patmoore Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Thule has a Fit Guide that will determine what each car needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Really, an exposed racking system is going to tempt the thief. Even if they don't get the boards/skis, they're gonna mess up your car, boards or rack in the attempt. I don't transport in anything but a rooftop box. I don't even leave my boards in the back of the truck because I don't want some dirtbag smashing a window to get them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utahcarver Posted June 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Yep, I agree that racks are going to be an invitation to dirtbags. At this point, I might consider a box. Boxes seem to come with a 'rack system' and I wanted to avoid buying a 'system' but as I've been searching the web I'm finding that's exactly what's out there. I could transport most of my boards inside the cab of the car. But, for the Tanker 192 and 200, it might be a bit more difficult if not unsafe to do. I'm not very keen on carrying boards inside the car. Wasn't there a rack mounted to a cars' window/door assy available a few years back? Anybody seen those? A note about racks: About 10 years ago our neighbor was really into mountain-biking and carried his bikes everywhere on his Yakimas mounted on a Honda Accord. One night he and his wife pulled into a fast food joint for a burger and forgot the bikes were on the racks. Splash 2 new bikes, rear window, trunk lid, both rear windows, and a week of body work on the Accord. He said he was going about 10 mph when the bikes hit the roof of the restaurant. His car insurance paid for everything (including the bikes) except for the deductibles. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 My Thule box fits on my Yakima rack or on my factory rack (Toyota 4Runner). You just have to make sure the crossbars for the rack fit into the clamps of the box. For instance, the factory crossbars for an Acura MDX are too wide for the clamps on my Thule box. I guess you could call it a system but you have to buy a crossbar of some sort for your car anyways since Camrys don't come with factory racks. The universal racks that fit on windows and/or gutters are usually pretty crappy. I had a Bic rack for my Honda that left wear marks on the roof because it had a rubber contact patch on all four corners. Plus, you could remove it with a pair of scissors since it used glorified bungee cords as a retention mechanism. Try your Toyota dealer to see what they offer. You might be surprised. The racks at my BMW dealer were way cheaper than Yakima or Thule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skategoat Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 About 10 years ago our neighbor was really into mountain-biking and carried his bikes everywhere on his Yakimas mounted on a Honda Accord. One night he and his wife pulled into a fast food joint for a burger and forgot the bikes were on the racks. Splash 2 new bikes, rear window, trunk lid, both rear windows, and a week of body work on the Accord. He said he was going about 10 mph when the bikes hit the roof of the restaurant. His car insurance paid for everything (including the bikes) except for the deductibles. My old business partner did the same thing with the bikes on his Subaru. My brother trashed his Yakima cargo box the same way. I destroyed a Yakima cargo box when it opened at 120km/hr on the highway. Bits of cargo box all over the highway. Good thing I had my equipment strapped down inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pebu Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 We've got saris load bars that clamp on to the gutters. They're nice cause you can lock the rack down to the car and lock the boards into the rack. We didn't get the clips specifically for the camry, but with the clips we had it fit on my dads 04 camry. I'd imagine with the right clips it'd fit like a glove. They do have quite the profile though and can be fairly expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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