trailering w/ boards on racks? y or n

dumb question i know. i'm guessing the answer is no but. let me know thanks

The Boat ramp is only two miles from my house. I travel with mine in. I have went to another spot about 30 minutes away. If I go long distance I take take them out. In my opinion, bad bumps, and potholes in the road could cause problems with cracking maybe.

HELL no.

No No No No NOOOOO.

Well, go ahead of you want, but I know for a fact CO has passed a new law that you ARE responsible for stuff the flies out or off your vehicle and damages someone else.

I'd say negative good buddy.... but if it is a real short distance and you're not getting up to highway speeds then probably not a big deal. But I'd still probably be safe and pull them down. A board in the rack is worth two on the highway..err...nevermind.

I travel down the road with mine in all the time. It is straight for about 2 or 3 miles to the launch ramp and I go about 35 to 45 miles an hours max. I do not do it if I go anywhere else. I was looking and the boards do not go beyond the trailer. The way I see it, it is much smoother of a ride than the 15 to 20 minutes we drive the boat full speed to get to where we ride. All the chop or other issues on the water is way worse than driving the boat 2 miles down the road.

Just remember you are responsible if the boards come off though.

Can you imagine a board going through someones windshield? UGLY. I don't see how it would hurt if you are under 30-40 mph as they hold out on the lake, but NEVER at 50 or above. First of all, why would you want to anyway? I can just imagine the chunk it would take out of the boat if it fell.

I saw a guy going thru Henderson NV. with boards in his racks last W/E, and that little voice inside my head said BIG DORK.

Friends don't let friends trailer with boards in their racks.

I would say for short trips to the lake at low speeds it should be fine. Definately not on the highway.

The best possible scenario if a board comes out is you lose a lot of money spent on that board, worst....what kstateskier brought up comes to mind. Bad, bad, bad idea. It doesn't take that long to load 'em up at the ramp.

We trailer about 15 miles to the river 4-5 times a week. About 7 miles through town, and then 7 more miles on a rural highway at 55mph. We've never even considered putting them anywhere other than the racks. We have an extra bungee that wraps around the entire rack, in addition to the standard bungee chord, just for added safety.

Because they don't have bindings, I don't think I'd ever leave a wakeskate or surfboard in the rack for driving.

joe that is a little risky if you ask me

Do you guys travel with the boards in the racks when you are on the water?

For four years I have always kept boards in the racks when trailering. My boat has made several trips to and from Flordia with the racks loaded with boards. Where else are you supposed to put the boards? Inside the truck? If there was an accident what do you think has a better chance of happening? The boards flying around inside the truck and hitting someone or flying off the racks and hitting someone? There is a lot of room outside--I'm going with the outside odds.

This year Mastercraft created a sticker just for me. A big warning label about towing with boards attached. I will agree that the current board racks on Mastercrafts require additional safety straps if you want to tow with boards.

Only one time in four years have I had a board come out of the racks while driving. Clipped a tree limb and it stripped out the board. The bungie cord held the board pressed against tower.

The only reason I can think to not keep your boards on the rack is if you live in a bad area and have to worry about theives.

".........Where else are you supposed to put the boards?......"


I just put them in the back of my truck w/ all the other junk I transport. Or I put them on the floor of the boat.

I'm 25 min from lake. Boards in Flight clips always. If they can handle the ride on the lake, they can handle the road.

We dont do it anymore, but we did the first summer we had our boat and never had any problems. One time someone un-strapped the board and left it in the board rack. 20 minutes at freeway speeds and it didnt even move.

"Inside the truck? If there was an accident what do you think has a better chance of happening? The boards flying around inside the truck and hitting someone or flying off the racks and hitting someone? There is a lot of room outside--I'm going with the outside odds. "

This is a good point. Probably not a good idea to travel with the boards inside if you have a large SUV. The things would beat you to death if you rolled down one of those steep hills by Shasta or Berryessa!

I've considered putting cheap board racks in the bed of the truck, specifically for travel. We scrapped that idea when we realized that the boards don't budge at all in the regular racks.

If I used a pickup truck to pull--putting the boards in the back might make sense. But in the bed of the truck or on the floor of the boat still leaves the boards unsecured. I have more confidence the boards will not move in the event of an accident/tornado/act of God if they were secured in the rack versus resting on the floor.

Now if you are talking about putting the boards inside the suburban with you--that seems the crazy place to have the boards. There is not much room in that confined space. If an accident does happen--I would bet the chance of one of those boards flying forward and nailing someone is much, much higher than if the boards are outside of the passanger compartment.

BTW--much of this conversation is moot for me this year. I've moved to a lake so my boat lives on a lift. If I were to haul the boat to Florida--I'd definately store the boards in the boat. There is so much damn room in the new ride--tucking a half dozen boards under the hatches is a piece of cake.

Only on short trips. For long trips I put them in the boat and usually jam them inbetween camping gear or bungy them down.

Personally I put mine in the but or in the back of my ute but if your racks are solid I don't see how its that much different to driving with snowboards on the roof of a car.

sometimes there seems to be a thing in wake boarding that its not about how good you are or get its ALL about how good you look.

How about this. I had my boat docked at the lake last summer (about a 30 minute drive) and saved a lot of gas driving this.






70 MPH down Hwy 101 6 months without losing a board.

I was hauling my board in the baot flat on the floor, and was horrified when I lloked back, and saw it hovering in the boat not touching anything. I imediatly stopped, and flipped it so it was laying on the bindings, and the wind helped push it down into the floor of the boat. If I get too many more toys, I won't have anywhere to put them on the way to the lake.

Right now i carry three skies in the trunk of the boat, my wakeboard on the floor of the boat, my air chair in the bed of the truck, landlock surfer wedged between the driver's seat of the boat and the gunnel, and a tube anywhere I can strap it.

The thing about towing with boards in the rack is that although they are unlikely to come out, what if they do. On the lake, you just turn around and pick them up, no harm done. On the highway, best case scenerio, you replace the board and maybe the bindings, worst case scenerio, you have the board hit another car and do tons of damage. Just something to think about.

I always keep mine on the racks since im only 5 miles from the lake but traveling i put them in the back of the vehicle. BUT last weekend while carrying 3 boards and bindings one shifted and slid foward almost hitting me while driving. I was driving a Fullsize explorer, and theres just not enough room. I feel safer with them on the boat.