Loaded Racks or Empty racks when trailering

[MidnightRider]

I feel nervous about putting all boards and skis (I have install some ski racks on the tower) in the racks while trailering. I feel like I should be able to leave them in the racks while trailering at 60-70 mph, but something makes me take them all out and secure them in the boat while trailering. What do you all do?

 

[mrmeaniemeateaterman]

I have a topper (camper shell) on my truck. I put them in there and they can't fly out. I used to put boards in the boat but had a wakeboard get airborne once. Didn't come out of boat but I'm pretty sure it scared the guy tailgating me as much as it scared me. I just saw the flash of it and thought it had come out.

 

[swatski]

I feel nervous about putting all boards and skis (I have install some ski racks on the tower) in the racks while trailering. I feel like I should be able to leave them in the racks while trailering at 60-70 mph, but something makes me take them all out and secure them in the boat while trailering. What do you all do?

Absolutely no boards in racks while trailering! No matter what speed and how far.
No way. Too many things that can go wrong.

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[Ronnie]

I don’t have racks installed anymore but my vote is for not using them until the boat is on the water especially if the boards are held in place by bungee cords. With each board valued at least $300 I simply can’t trust a bungee cord or two hold the board(s) in place while traveling down sometimes rough roads at 70 mph for a few hours at a time.

Another thing to consider is your possible / probable liability if a board breaks free and causes damage or injury to others on the road.

 

[MidnightRider]

Absolutely no boards in racks while trailering! No matter what speed and how far.
No way. Too many things that can go wrong.

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I don’t have racks installed anymore but my vote is for not using them until the boat is on the water especially if the boards are held in place by bungee cords. With each board valued at least $300 I simply can’t trust a bungee cord or two hold the board(s) in place while traveling down sometimes rough roads at 70 mph for a few hours at a time.

Another thing to consider is your possible / probable liability if a board breaks free and causes damage or injury to others on the road.

This is how I feel but I see boards in tower racks all the time on the highway and also know the boat is at 48-49 mph on the water and not a hint of an issue. So I start wondering if I'm being unnecessarily cautious.

 

[swatski]

This is how I feel but I see boards in tower racks all the time on the highway and also know the boat is at 48-49 mph on the water and not a hint of an issue. So I start wondering if I'm being unnecessarily cautious.

Yes and no. Drag increases as the square of the velocity, so a difference between 48-49 vs 60-70mph is not trivial.
But most important difference would be risk and liability (if something were to come loose over the water vs highway).
Good topic!

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[Mainah]

Perhaps it was bone headed but I trailered from SC to FT Lauderdale with one wakeboard it the factory pivot racks. Lower forks which are very snug to the board and bunge wrapped tight. Board did not move and I did break 75mph. My thinking here it that the rest of the boat was full for Bimini and did not want it sliding around in the boat. No room in the tow vehicle either.

With my previous racks on a different boat there is no way I would have tried this as the forks were not as deep and were not snug to the board. I would also never try that with a surf board or knee board. Where is the YMMV or it depends voting option?

 

[Ronnie]

This is how I feel but I see boards in tower racks all the time on the highway and also know the boat is at 48-49 mph on the water and not a hint of an issue. So I start wondering if I'm being unnecessarily cautious.

I would rather be wrong and overly cautious in this and similar scenarios instead of being in a position of having to explain (with check book in hand) to another motorist, LEO and / or judge why i didn’t take the time to put the board in the boat or tow vehicle. At which point the board is probably a total loss, the time it takes to resolve the matter/it’s aftermath will exceed the time it would have taken to stow the board elsewhere and I would be losing time on the water.

For context, as an attorney and contract negotiator I know my position on this is skewed, as I was educated to be very risk averse. With that, to each his own, I just hope that I never read a webline indicating that any member of this forum or anyone actually, caused damage, injury or death as a result of an insecure load.

 

[MidnightRider]

Thanks guys, you all reinforced my gut instinct. With all the boards I see in racks while on the road I wondered if I was missing something but I think its a consensus here that the old adage "better safe than sorry" applies.

 

[WetWillie]

Mine stay in the racks but we are only on 45-50mph roads to our waterways... for longer/higher speeds would definitely store for travel...

 

[Whisky]

I leave them in the racks when heading to the lake (racks swung in), but it’s a 3 minute drive with a speed limit of 25 MPH. I also have the ropes tied off and everything else in the boat ready to go. I would take them off the racks if headed anywhere high speed or great distance.

 

[Jameson Clark]

I store my boat about 5-10 minutes from the lake and have considered leaving my wakeboard in the rack with it folded in but I have always figured the moment I do, will be the moment I'll regret it when it somehow slips out.

 

[Jgorm]

I'm 3 miles from the ramp. 40mph max. I leave them in. Any faster or farther i would remove them.

 

[Moose]

There is a lot of wind force acting on the boards and skis at 60 plus miles per hour and straps can fail. Both for the safety of others on the road and the cost of replacement I always remove them and store them in the boat

 

[TOGA]

Never trailer with boards in the racks. I put mine in the back of the truck under roll cover.

I don't trust bungee cords against that much wind resistance. And while more secure clamp models really hold well, I wouldn't trust them on the road either.

Boards are expensive, liability of a flying object on the highway would cost even more.