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I used to just drive my 3/4 ton diesel for trips that didn't require a truck. Now with the cost of fuel, I rigged some extra board racks for the car.
Curious what others are doing to save on fuel.
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That is sweet!
But am I the only one confused on why you need the board rack on your car? are you towing the boat with it? winching?
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I am saving money by driving my wife's car that gets 28-30 mpg every day instead of my SUV. Our schedules work out so that we rarely need the fuel sipper at the same time. We also take it any time we are out running around.
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Nice concept, but that's about at dumb as towing them in the racks on the boat going down the freeway. They are only secured with bungie cords. Better hope they don't go flying out someday and through someone's windshield.
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I don't think those are any more likely to fly off than a bike would be to fall off over a bump or a set of snowboards off the top of a SUV. At the same time I don't quite get it is the boat stored somewhere far from where you live?
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The difference is those are clamped and locked down, not strapped with bungie cords.
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My old Yakima rack had bungies and so does my sisters Thule snowboard rack.
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I've never seen a bungie rack, and wouldn't buy one.
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When I first tried it a couple of days ago I was nervous to get up to highway speeds wondering how they might react, then I noticed there is very little wind or air flow in that region since the laces for the bindings were hardly fluttering in the breeze. I took it up to 75 mph and no visible movement of the boards and the laces were just hanging and swinging a bit. The bungees are pretty tight and I will also have a cable with pad locks looped over when traveling both as extra holding and security.
The purpose for the racks is when I am not taking the boat and still going riding. When I am hauling the boat, then the truck is back in use.
(Message edited by ccryder on June 12, 2008)
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That sounds logical. You have to understand though, we would tell Tesla or Einstein how stupid they were.
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some states have a fuel credit on boat gas. in WA its about .20 per gallon. every little bit helps.
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jim those things arent going anywhere. you know how much crap ive had in the back of my truck that i wish would just blow out of there??!?!?! the bigger question is who is skiing these days??
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fuel sales include a road tax, if you can prove to the IRS that you use the gas for non-overtheroad uses you can deduct the tax from your income taxes, ex. Boats and landscaping companies, but be ready for an audit.
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bill,
here in WA you send it to the state and they send you the refund. Just keep your receipts and send them in. No tax return needed.
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Alan, obviously Jim or one of his crew is. I am too. Believe it or not, there are plenty of people who enjoy other activities on the lake besides just wakeboarding. Skiing, wake surfing, tubing, air-chair, kneeboarding or whatever. It's cool if you have narrowed it down to just one activity, but some of us like to mix it up.
Jman
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Hey Alan,
Lori started skiing now, so she is doing both.. Got to make room to carry the long skinny thing on the rack.
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I used to carry wakeboards with this all the time:
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Tim those are the one's I'm talking about..
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I'm saving money by cycling to the lake with my wakeboard strapped to a child seat on the back of the bike.
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"but that's about at dumb as towing them in the racks on the boat going down the freeway."
Not really.
Ever sit in the bed of a truck (before it was illegal)? Hardly any wind force behind the cab.
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Good job man. I think that rack is pretty trick. I have been taking my beater commuter car when my boat gets left at home. Its kind of fun to see what you can fit in it. So far...two boards, one large ice chest, strapped the tube to the top, and three people. All in a 2dr hyndai accent junker (30+mpg) wish I had a pic..we were cracking up the whole way.
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Roof racks cause a lot of drag, and reduce your mileage. Your rear rack doesn't add to the frontal area at all. Nice work.
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I got a new low profile 5 gal gas can that fits in the trunk of my car. My 138 Transcend fits with about 1/4 inch to spare. I'm golden. The truck now sits until I need to haul the boat. Usually someone else has a truck that can launch the boat.
Between that and getting 40MPG on my motorcycle I've cut my fuel use wayyy down. Gotta save cash for boat gas, right?
Nice job, Jim. Very creative. See you this weekend?
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Darren - fuel credit on boat gas? Where did you find out about this? I'm sure even if thats true, it isn't for California! Please let me know! We are up to $4.70 per gallon.
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I can't take a picture of me riding my bike and carrying my board, but you can imagine what it looks like.
One thing that is saving me money on fuel prices this year is our rivers and lakes being closed due to flooding. 
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My Prius is taking us to the lake tomorrow instead of my Tahoe... gas prices are finally changing our behavior.
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Yup.. It took a long time, but it's now happening. We're going to get the front of our Audi covered in clear bra and use it as our snow transit this year. The truck has just gotten too expensive to take to the mountains for just the two of us.
We've even started draining the ballast in our boat when we have to drive around. It takes a while, but the extra three bags make the boat a gas hog while you're driving around looking for a ride spot.
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I couldn't find any pictures of it, but my brother and his friend built a custom board rack for his moped. It was cinched down in the back and worked great. He had it in CA and used it to bring his surfboard down to the beach. Worked really, really good.
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Wes... I've been wondering if that was possible. If I could get a board on my motorcycle I'd never need to drive a car. I just don't see it working out at freeway speeds. I think I'll abort that project before I even try it. LOL!!
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I'd love to be able to take my surfboard to the beach with a bicycle, but I fear what happens when the wind catches a 10' longboard in a bike surf carrier.....
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Evan just tow a trailer behind your motorcycle with the boards on it
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All you need to do is have the board stick out behind you lengthwise on the bike. I do it all the time on my bike and have never had a problem. Even at 70-75 mph.
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Sweet rack...but isn't the inside of that Element full of useable room?
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By Hate N Pain (hatepain) on Thursday, June 12, 2008 - 8:21pm
"I don't think those are any more likely to fly off than a bike would be to fall off over a bump or a set of snowboards off the top of a SUV. At the same time I don't quite get it is the boat stored somewhere far from where you live?"
See pictures for boat storage location.
Ha ha ha ha
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By Ian Grist (daxxruckus): Darren - fuel credit on boat gas? Where did you find out about this? I'm sure even if thats true, it isn't for California! Please let me know! We are up to $4.70 per gallon.
Hey Ian,
Isn't this the same California you live in?
http://www.sco.ca.gov/col/taxinfo/gtr/index.shtml
Most states have a system setup where they will refund the tax money that is intended for streets & roads if your using the gas off-road.
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Thanks Bill - yep, same CA. How exactly does this work? Has anyone done it before?
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We have that in Texas. Did it last year and got about an $80.00 check. Dont know how it is in CA but in Texas you basically save your receipts fill out a form and submit it back.
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You basically have to save your gas receipts & submit them with the form filled out. A couple weeks later you get a check in the mail. The money your getting back is the tax dollars used for the roads, usually like 15 - 20 cents per gallon. Doesn't sound like much one gallon at a time, but when you submit 3 months worth of your gas & get a free tank or two out of it, it makes it worth your time & postage stamp!
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Make sure you read the rules carefully...I found the form for Colorado and was all excited because it looked like I could do it. I then researched a little more and found that it's for commercial use only. 
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so I was thinking about using a roof rack like the one Tim showed... Would any clamp style snowboard / ski rack work for a wakeboard? or did you have to modify it all because of it being thicker than a snowboard?
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Is a refund available for the tax paid on gasoline used in a vessel?
Refunds of the tax paid on gasoline are available if the vessel is used in the ocean beyond the three (3) mile limit. Refunds of the tax paid are also available if used in propelling a vessel operated by its owner on waters located on private property owned or controlled by the claimant.
I thought this might be to good to be true. Looks like it was designed for farmers and contractors.
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Those thules are peista shiats! we have those for our burban in the winter and they always freeze up and their just flimsy, dont like them at all.
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There are only a handful of states that allow refunds or set up a fund for waterways with the taxes. The other states, Louisiana (where half the population are boaters) included, get stiffed and it goes to the general road fund. Here are the states that allow refund on the taxes and there is more info here.
http://www.boatus.com/gov/state_taxrefund.asp
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Illinois tax refund
http://tax.illinois.gov/taxforms/misc/mft/RMFT11A.pdf
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