transporting ski's

How do you transport your skis? I found a roof box, is this necessary, can they not be strapped straight to the roof bars?

welcome to J2ski.....in answer to your question there are several manufacturers that make ski carriers for roof bars..go have a look on the 'bay..you will find Thule the most common but there are plenty of others ..it depends how many yu want to carry and for how long ...the cheapest are about £12 for a simple 1 pair carrier going up to over £100

looloo,
What a nice "name",,rolls out so well.

Welcome also.

The key term you use is ,,,,"is it necessary" .

In my opinion it is because you have spend so much money on thes boards and they will give you so much pleasure you want to care for them. Protect them from the harsh elements.

In my area they put salt on roads! Guess what that does to bases.

The dirt and grime that can be injected in the bindings can cause problems.

Then when you have a pair of Blizzard Cochise super powder skis that all great skiers want, you do not leave them on top of car.

Those straps,,,,hummmmm they do loosen.

As Dave mentionned get a Thule. It has many uses.

Hope this helps you.

Personally, I would carry the skis inside the car and strap one of the passengers to the roof

Seriously, the most important thing is to protect the skis from the crap which will be thrown at them. A hard ski case is great and can be securely strapped to the roof without any issues.

But also consider security, it is not nice to stop for a rest break, and a simple 5 minutes later you return to find that your prized possessions are no longer attached to your roof

Far Queue wrote:Personally, I would carry the skis inside the car and strap one of the passengers to the roof

Oy I heard that

brooksy wrote:

Far Queue wrote:Personally, I would carry the skis inside the car and strap one of the passengers to the roof

Oy I heard that

You are lucky, I can fit skis in without kicking out the front passenger

Roof Box

All your comments made me realize how important those Thule's are.
May I add some tips.

All the Thule's have a small flaw. They are great units but if you look very carefully at the articulation arms in front and back you will note that there is a ball and socket type mechanism, with the ball being metal and the socket plastic. No need to tell you what will break. Worst plastic socket in cold weather ( with wind ) often comes off. Top will rip open, tear and perhaps those skis will be lost.

I just fixed a unit that had a 1 meter crack at front because owner did not change articulating arms ( when it came off steel ball) and when wife opened Thule,,,,opppsss the lid flew open crashed agains wall.

Here is pro-active solution. Drill two small holes just above the metal brackets on the lower portion of Thule. At front and back.

Then drill small holes very carefully on the plastic articulating arm just level to where the other holes are on the Thule shell body ( not cover).

Take a plastic Tie Die ( those plastic units that have an internal fixing mechanism) Pass plastic wrapper in holes so that the plastic articulating arm is flush to steel ball, In effect what you are doing is creating a pressure point so steel ball will never come out of plastic socket. Seal small holes with glue, plumber's putty, tape.

PS Before you insert steel ball,,,,take some white lithium grease and apply small nail size portion into socket.

Voilà

One more small hint.
I always open my Thule from driver's side. Most of you have discovered that changing sides will cause you problems with those articulating arms.
Thus on the passenger side of the Thule (inside) I have placed and glued a sheet of foam to protect my skis from hitting the inside of the Thule.

Did you ever notice that opening Thule with key becomes difficult?

If you look carefully there is a sliding mechanism which tends to jam when there is cold damp weather. Again some white lithium grease in these sliding parts and in key hole will do wonders.

Hope this helps some of you.