Date:         Sun, 2 May 2004 21:29:51 -0700
Reply-To:     "P. Stanhope" <napszeerf@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "P. Stanhope" <napszeerf@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: wisdom of strapping surfboard to westy roof, no rack
Comments: To: Craig Oda <craigoda@COMMUNITYBUILDERS.INFO>
In-Reply-To:  <4095B41C.5050900@communitybuilders.info>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Sounds like it would work fine, whatever gets you and
your board in the water. FYI I have old THULE gutter
style racks attached to these bolt-on gutter pieces. I
have transported 2 longboards and 3 shortboards
stuffed inside of two boardbags with no problems. I
can still pop the top with two heavy old school
longboards attached to the racks. These racks can be
found cheap (used) Look in the classifieds. They look
good and can ad to your resale value whereas YOUR
drawer handles idea might reduce your resale
value...and will look cheap IMO. If you buy THULE or
Yakima, make sure you buy "mini towers" instead of the
super tall towers.(the lower your surfboards ride, the
better.) Trust me, you will be happier with surf racks
in the long run.

Good luck
Phil



--- Craig Oda <craigoda@COMMUNITYBUILDERS.INFO> wrote:
> I'm considering strapping a long surfboard to the
> top of my westfalia
> roof and am wondering about the wisdom of this.  I
> want to avoid the
> $200 or more cost of a Thule of Yakima racks, which
> I've heard works.
>
> Here's my idea.
>
> 1) Buy six drawer handles from a hardware store.
>  2) Drill holes in pop top fiberglass for  3 handles
> on each sides of
> the roof
>  3) Attach handles with 3/16" long-shank aluminum
> pop rivets and large
> washers to distribute rivet stress
>  4) put down foam pipe insulation rolls on the roof
> of the Westy to
> protect the board
>   5) strap the board to the roof using the handles
>
> In this configuration, the board would have three
> straps over it.
>
> Reckon I'll crack the pop-top roof or lose the board
> on the freeway or
> on some bumpy road?  The Yakima rack appears to be
> bolted right into the
> poptop and the rack supports the weight.  If I have
> the roof itself
> supporting the waiting and use the drawer handle
> tie-downs to hold the
> board stable, it might work...  You, think?
>
> Is there any other cheap solution for this?
>
> I may get a 8-10' long board.    Think long.....
> Summer is coming.
>
> Regards,
> Craig


=====
Phil
84' Westy...Tiico'ed
00' Cannondale MTB
95' S9 Skateboard
04' New Balance 705 All Terrain's




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