How To Tie Lumber To A Roof Rack

My car with roof rack with cross bars installed.

How to tie lumber to a roof rack.

Second trip 16 2 x4 x6 boards on my roof rack. These are great for a lot of reasons but mostly because they give you something solid to anchor to so that your roof mounted load. But once you hit the road turn encounter bumps and dips or slow down inertia multiplies the weight of your load by four to five times. Racv s ernest litera shares some practical tips on roof rack safety loading.

In the case of a naked roof you should be looping the rope through the car through the doors not the windows and around the object on the roof and a towel or blanket should be used to protect the roof of your car from the object. Make sure your ro. 4 web ratchet straps in a pair of x formations to hold down the board to the cross bars. A pair of 20 web ratchets used as a fail safe in case the board slides to the rear of the vehicle.

By using proper methods you can haul your cargo safely to your destination. A roof rack s load rating is based on a static load the weight of the load when the vehicle isn t moving. My car with 4 x8 mdf board on the roof rack. Sporting equipment when it comes to sporting goods it s worthwhile to invest in custom built roof equipment leanse says like a dedicated rack for bicycles snowboards kayaks or surfboards.

Then i use the nylon web tie downs i ve got in the photos of below. Remember to place a distance of about 3 to 3 foot in between. Tie down the boards lengthwise and widthwise similar to how you d secure a mattress. Oh and remember to prepare two other pieces of wood for later use.

For plywood i put two 2 x 4 s on the roof rack and place the plywood on top of those to stiffen the plywood otherwise it flops up and down at highway speeds. Load your sheet of plywood on the roof rack. Place 2 pieces of wood about 8 foot long on the roof rack on the lengthwise. Bring your own tie downs.

It s important to use the right tie downs and place the item correctly on the roof rack if you want to avoid damaging your cargo or causing an accident. Learn how to safely secure items to your car s roof racks. Secure it to the roof rack. Wood says side rails and crossbars are ideal but you can move whatever you you need to without them.

I use 4 hand clamps at the corners to hold the plywood to the 2 x 4 s.