Roof Rack or Cargo box?

Rich Heimlich wrote:

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 15:39:31 -0500, "Marty" wrote:


I've had mine over two years - no problems at all. It's made two trips out
west, several camping trips, and it's used locally for the ski season.


Thanks for the vote of confidence. The only things I see on the Yakima
that potentially could be better deal with the possible material used,
the latches and the locks.

The latches on the Yakima Pro series look very good but also appear to
be shaped in such a way as to pretty much mandate the use of their
rack. Based on the diagrams I've seen, those latches won't fit around
my factory crossbars. Thus the cost becomes higher.

The material on the Thule is very...flexible, thus I have to jiggle it
a bit to open it and close it (though it opens a LOT easier on the
roof than off it.) Perhaps the Yakima just pops right open but the
directions make it sound the same and the ones I've seen on cars look
to be made of the same materials.

The lock system on the Yakima looks better than what is on the Thule
Evolution. This lock system looks POTENTIALLY fragile, but may not be.

Forget the locks - use duct tape.

Take a good look at the overall strength of these boxes: are you going
to put 30 or so $100 bills in one of these boxes, in broad daylight with
dozens of unknown people watching, then park the car in a motel parking
lot over night? Hell no - except that's the cost of the skis in the box.
You'll bring your skis into the room every night, if you want to keep
them. The locks on the box are to discourage petty theft in the coffee
shop parking lot while you have breakfast, and to keep the box from
popping open at freeway speeds, not to protect the contents in any
serious way.

The quality of the respective locks matters zilch.

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 15:18:28 -0700, lal_truckee
wrote:

The quality of the respective locks matters zilch.

Well, I basically meant that they seemed like the type of locks that
flat out would break with use in a short period of time.

I did think about the issue of leaving skis in the box overnight and
clearly that didn't seem like a very good idea.

Rich Heimlich wrote:
On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 15:18:28 -0700, lal_truckee
wrote:


The quality of the respective locks matters zilch.


Well, I basically meant that they seemed like the type of locks that
flat out would break with use in a short period of time.

I did think about the issue of leaving skis in the box overnight and
clearly that didn't seem like a very good idea.

Well, not in a public parking area, perhaps. I do it in my driveway all
the time.

"lal_truckee" wrote in message
...
Rich Heimlich wrote:

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 15:39:31 -0500, "Marty" wrote:


I've had mine over two years - no problems at all. It's made two trips
out
west, several camping trips, and it's used locally for the ski season.


Thanks for the vote of confidence. The only things I see on the Yakima
that potentially could be better deal with the possible material used,
the latches and the locks.

The latches on the Yakima Pro series look very good but also appear to
be shaped in such a way as to pretty much mandate the use of their
rack. Based on the diagrams I've seen, those latches won't fit around
my factory crossbars. Thus the cost becomes higher.

The material on the Thule is very...flexible, thus I have to jiggle it
a bit to open it and close it (though it opens a LOT easier on the
roof than off it.) Perhaps the Yakima just pops right open but the
directions make it sound the same and the ones I've seen on cars look
to be made of the same materials.

The lock system on the Yakima looks better than what is on the Thule
Evolution. This lock system looks POTENTIALLY fragile, but may not be.

Forget the locks - use duct tape.

Take a good look at the overall strength of these boxes: are you going
to put 30 or so $100 bills in one of these boxes, in broad daylight with
dozens of unknown people watching, then park the car in a motel parking
lot over night? Hell no - except that's the cost of the skis in the box.
You'll bring your skis into the room every night, if you want to keep
them. The locks on the box are to discourage petty theft in the coffee
shop parking lot while you have breakfast, and to keep the box from
popping open at freeway speeds, not to protect the contents in any
serious way.

The quality of the respective locks matters zilch.

When I use the Jeep roof racks, with the skis held on with bunjee cords, I
put the cable lock (the same one I use on the base lodge ski racks) through
the bindings and around the rack crossbars.

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 10:29:31 -0400, Rich Heimlich
wrote:

On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 22:52:46 -0600, AstroPax
wrote:

Big, big mistake! You should have gone with a Yakima instead.

Whatever. But you'll see why in a few months.

What's the reasoning? I also have a very good relationship with the
retailer so if there is a problem, they'll address it including a
refund. The problem I ran into with the Yakima is that no one had one
in stock of the right size and shipping it would have added $75 to the
cost.

Sorry dude, I'm pulling your leg...couldn't resist.

I'm sure that nice new Thule of yours will be fine...at least for a
few years snicker.

-Astro

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 20:18:33 -0600, AstroPax
wrote:

Sorry dude, I'm pulling your leg...couldn't resist.

hahahaha. You really got me on that one. Believe me when I tell you, I
did really think the Yakima had some better things about it but that
latch concerned me (though the ease of use of it impressed me) and I
do like the (likely insignificant) aerodynamic, wind-tunnel-tested
shape of the Evolution.

I'm sure that nice new Thule of yours will be fine...at least for a
few years snicker.

If it makes it that long, I'll be very happy. My biggest concern now
is trying to explain why we spent all the money on it when the first
thing we're going to do every time we reach our destination is to take
them out and bring them into our room and then drag them out again
each morning.

I'm actually thinking it'd be easier to just put an alarm on the box.

However, I can't think of anything worse on a skiing trip than to have
all your skis and bindings stolen.

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 16:33:43 -0700, "Richard Henry"
wrote:

When I use the Jeep roof racks, with the skis held on with bunjee cords, I
put the cable lock (the same one I use on the base lodge ski racks) through
the bindings and around the rack crossbars.

Hmm, that's not a bad idea. What are the odds the thief is a) packing
a heavy-duty cutter or b) likely to leave the scene to go get one and
return? In my case, putting it on the crossbars would be a bad idea
because the crossbars are easily removed. Putting it on the main bars
would make it really tough. Of course then I'd have to cut holes in
the box.

Granted the safest solution is to just remove the skis. Short of that,
I wonder if perhaps just wrapping a longer cable around the box itself
to keep it closed would be a good idea? Of course that also adds to
the "Hey, what's he got in there that he keeps it locked up that way"
factor.

I suspect I could drill two small holes in the box, run a cable
through both holes (I'd use rubber insulators once the holes are
drilled) and then wrap the cable round the bars and through the
bindings.

Perhaps just putting an alarm stick on both sides of the box near the
keyhole would do it?

It's funny...Thule ALMOST came up with the perfect solution on their
own with two failings. The Evolution comes with a Quick-Snap latch
system that also features a thread for the load straps to run through.
Those could be used, along with the load straps to thread a cable lock
through and secure the gear. However, first, the snap is all plastic
so it would be easy to tear away. Second, all a thief would have to do
is unsnap a latch or two (depending on how many you run it through)
and he can take the skis, cable lock and snaps all in one trip.

I'm liking the idea of drilling two holes in the bottom of the box
(near the center length-wise but on the outside bottom edges
width-wise) and then feeding a cable lock through that. It'd really
take a dedicated thief to sit there and try and pull the cable lock
through 30 inches of THICK plastic. If I were really concerned I could
even take the time to thread the cable lock around the factor bars
that are permanently mounted to the roof instead of the snap-off
crossbars.

For the sake of argument, is anyone aware of anyone else who has had
their skis stolen out of a cargo box? I'm sure it happens but how
often? You're talking to someone who also doesn't really believe in
locking their doors at night and I'm still here to talk about it. (I
highly doubt there are too many people walking around whose decision
to enter a home is predicated by finding an open door.)

Rich Heimlich wrote:

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 20:18:33 -0600, AstroPax
wrote:


Sorry dude, I'm pulling your leg...couldn't resist.


hahahaha. You really got me on that one. Believe me when I tell you, I
did really think the Yakima had some better things about it but that
latch concerned me (though the ease of use of it impressed me) and I
do like the (likely insignificant) aerodynamic, wind-tunnel-tested
shape of the Evolution.

I think, to be perfectly honest, that you've caused yourself far more
gray hair over this already than any of the possible choices could have
caused you had you just flipped a coin and bought one.

I'm sure that nice new Thule of yours will be fine...at least for a
few years snicker.


If it makes it that long, I'll be very happy. My biggest concern now
is trying to explain why we spent all the money on it when the first
thing we're going to do every time we reach our destination is to take
them out and bring them into our room and then drag them out again
each morning.

"Because we're at a ski area, and because any potential thief knows that
that's where the goodies are, so we can either leave the skis there and
say, 'Oh well' if they get stolen, or we can haul 'em into the room and
not have that problem."

That being said, no one ever broke into my roof box, which sat in the
parking lot at Mount Snow from 7:30 a.m. until closing for many days
last season, and in a lot of other parking lots too. But then, my car's
not a shiny new expensive van.

I'm actually thinking it'd be easier to just put an alarm on the box.

No. No. NO. STOP. Just CUT IT OUT, all right???

Look, there are two rules that make any sense WRT car theft. One is,
"Lead them not into temptation." Don't leave the goodies out where the
larcenous can see them, right? Don't leave $100 bills, or wallets, or
bags looking like they might contain wallets, or cameras, or the like,
sitting on the front seat in plain view. PUT THEM IN THE TRUNK. OUT OF
SIGHT. Got it? There's a significant number of thieves who'll take a
chance on popping open your car IF they can see the reward, but won't
risk it if they can't.

The second rule is, "Better you than me." No car is unstealable or
unbreakable-into, but some are a little more trouble than others. Want
to keep your car from being stolen? Put a Club on it. Will it make it
impossible to steal? Hell, no! But it will slow a thief down for a
minute or two, and that makes it more hassle than the car right next to
it that doesn't have a club.

You've got a lock on a box that people can't see inside. That greatly
reduces the chances that someone is even going to try to break the lock
on the chance that there's something inside worth stealing. If you buy
an alarm for the stupid thing, it will do one of two things, maybe both.
First, it may _attract_ thieves who figure that there must be some
real good goodies in there, and who know that audible alarms don't
exactly bring the gendarmes rushing to foil the crime. And second, it
may end up getting your skis, box, and shiny new van thrown into the
nearest ravine by a ****ed-off skier who's trying to get some #!$*%(&
sleep and who got woken up by your stupid alarm going off every time
another SUV drives by.

However, I can't think of anything worse on a skiing trip than to have
all your skis and bindings stolen.

I can think of plenty, so don't get my imagination going. Just pray
that you never have a trip where you end up saying, "Oh well, at least
it was only gear."

What's with all the concern about the box being stolen, just gives you
an excuse to buy new skiis !!!



On Sat, 28 Aug 2004 01:28:25 -0400, Rich Heimlich
wrote:

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 16:33:43 -0700, "Richard Henry"
wrote:

When I use the Jeep roof racks, with the skis held on with bunjee cords, I
put the cable lock (the same one I use on the base lodge ski racks) through
the bindings and around the rack crossbars.

Hmm, that's not a bad idea. What are the odds the thief is a) packing
a heavy-duty cutter or b) likely to leave the scene to go get one and
return? In my case, putting it on the crossbars would be a bad idea
because the crossbars are easily removed. Putting it on the main bars
would make it really tough. Of course then I'd have to cut holes in
the box.

Granted the safest solution is to just remove the skis. Short of that,
I wonder if perhaps just wrapping a longer cable around the box itself
to keep it closed would be a good idea? Of course that also adds to
the "Hey, what's he got in there that he keeps it locked up that way"
factor.

I suspect I could drill two small holes in the box, run a cable
through both holes (I'd use rubber insulators once the holes are
drilled) and then wrap the cable round the bars and through the
bindings.

Perhaps just putting an alarm stick on both sides of the box near the
keyhole would do it?

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