Ski racks

erik.wahlstrom

Well-known member
It snowed in CO last week, and while I'm stuck in smoke land (WA) it has me thinking about the coming winter. My Espar arrived this week and the only thing left to do is figure out how to transport skis. I'd like to avoid a rack and being 10' off the ground gives me vertigo.

What creative methods do you all use to transport skis either inside or outside?
 

klif01

Member
I am building a permanent platform bed in my 144 and have plans to hang them from the bottom of that inside my garage so they won't just be bouncing around. My ski's will have to be slightly angled and my wifes will be able to be straight. Should be pretty much out of the way!

I saw another rig that had a rack on the back door to hang the ski's vertically. Kind of all depends on your layout!
 

45Kevin

Well-known member
I`ll be building a full length box directly under the bed for skis in the winter and rods in the summer. It will be on the pass side over the wheel well.
Nobody has skis that are longer than the bed anymore. The water tank filler tube and vent will go in it as well.
I haven`t measured my skis yet but think about 4" deep and 10-12" wide will get two sets of skis and 4 rods.
 

nickbokhoven

Active member
Some ideas I am looking at building on a swing hitch. I don’t want my skis adding more moisture in the van than necessary and hopefully will limit the number of times my kids open the door.
 

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T town

Active member
I’m looking for the same thing in a ski box for the rear. You would think that Yakima or Thule would see all these vans and provide a vertical box and rack. So much effort to make boxes for roofs of cars, trucks, etc... and nothing for the back of a van. I’m not about to climb a ladder in snow and possibly boots every time I need to retrieve or store my stuff. That’s just too dangerous. I’m thinking of retrofitting the Yakima box I already own to a vertical location attached somehow to a prime design ladder. Maybe I can cut down some roof bars And a fix them to the ladder or attach directly to the ladder. IDK. I’ll have to rig something together once I get the van and all the principle parts.
 

ENMeyer

Well-known member
I keep them vertically in the back strapped to a piece of 80/20 with spacers (width of each pair of skis). I like this method because:

- inside - no theft
- minuscule amount of real estate taken up

For a high roof like mine, you can easily fit 188s or longer:

 

Beer30

Member
LOL Not quite, 178's but cabinets will make my garage slightly shorter than the ski's. I'm okay with ski's being at a little angle in order to have a couple extra inches of living room space.
Klif01 I’m interested in the mattress you posted in classified section, please check there.
sorry for the hijack, now back to your regularly scheduled program.
skis are too much trouble, I’ll stick with snowboards. Much shorter, plus I’m the world’s worst skier.
beer30
 

DanAzon

Active member
I keep them vertically in the back strapped to a piece of 80/20 with spacers (width of each pair of skis). I like this method because:

- inside - no theft
- minuscule amount of real estate taken up

For a high roof like mine, you can easily fit 188s or longer:

ENMeyer I really like your ski storage set up. I have a similar platform bed in my build. I also like the bike suspended from the bed frame. Is that because it's a fat tyre bike and it does not fit the fork mount?
 

ENMeyer

Well-known member
ENMeyer I really like your ski storage set up. I have a similar platform bed in my build. I also like the bike suspended from the bed frame. Is that because it's a fat tyre bike and it does not fit the fork mount?
I just put two loops of paracord from the bed platform which is quicker than a fork mount. The loops go on the handlebar grips and are very quick. But you are also right - I have multiple bikes - some are thru-axle, and some are quick release, so the loops work on any bike!
 

DanAzon

Active member
I just put two loops of paracord from the bed platform which is quicker than a fork mount. The loops go on the handlebar grips and are very quick. But you are also right - I have multiple bikes - some are thru-axle, and some are quick release, so the loops work on any bike!
I'm modeling my build after this picture:image.jpegThis guy has the bike facing the wrong way. I have a two seat bench from a transit going in the space between the galley and the platform bed s-l140.jpg
 

jacobejay

New member
Not sure this is what you're looking for but thought I would share. I built this rack to hold 4 snow boards and 9 skis. In the winter I use my sprinter as a shuttle to and from our cabin and the ski resort. It's a swing out hitch that I bought. Then built on top of that with 80/20 1inch, PVC tubes and diamond plate I had laying around. Simple project, not too pricey and has held up really well. Probably overkill for most folks though. Let me know if anyone wants more details.
 

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JIB

Well-known member
Erik,

I'm looking at hanging PVC/ABS tubes under the bed and using a hole saw to provide ventilation for travel time. Day to day at a resort, I'm thinking they will just stand up in the corner of the shower to dry.

Jack
 

solovam

Active member
Not sure this is what you're looking for but thought I would share. I built this rack to hold 4 snow boards and 9 skis. In the winter I use my sprinter as a shuttle to and from our cabin and the ski resort. It's a swing out hitch that I bought. Then built on top of that with 80/20 1inch, PVC tubes and diamond plate I had laying around. Simple project, not too pricey and has held up really well. Probably overkill for most folks though. Let me know if anyone wants more details.
Very very nice build! How did you attach the diamond plate to 8020, simply slide-in? Any rattles? Is this 1010 or 1515? What anchors, did you have to cut out corners to allow for space for anchors?

I am also interested in a way to carry skis on the outside, ideally a hitch carrier. I need to carry 3-4 pairs (GS, SL and backcountry skis, plus sometimes wife's and kids). I normally pack skis in a thin sleeve and then hang on a ski rack to keep them clean.

Amazon has this:


Anybody got this on a Sprinter?
 

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