For those of you out there who, like me, do not have the advantage of a factory rack on their car here is abit of advice. Instead of shelling out $200 for a very basic Yakima or Thule rack just go to Pep Boys. I picked up a universal rack there by Hyland that will fit most cars for a mere $26. I bought some foam pipe insulation and electrical tape at a further cost of $4 at Home Depot to wrap around the cross bars to give them more grip. So for a whopping $30 I have a fully serviceable ski rack. And for those of you in doubt, it does work. Just make sure you crank down the straps good and tight. I just brought home the Christmas tree on it a week ago. All the way from Fairfax to Alexandria along 66 at about 65 to 70 mph and it didnt budge. Excellent

Good deal Kennedy! I lucked out and have factory bars on my minivan. I picked up a Thule Frontier box a few weeks ago. It's one of the lower priced ones ($229) that includes a lock and will fit most factory racks and probably your Pep Boy's rack as well. I know, not cheap, but it was definitely the low end of the scale - and now I don't have to worry about road salt on the skis. Now if it would only get cold . . .

BTW - you may want to consider replacing the electrical tape with duct tape (comes in black as well as gray). In my experience, electrical tape doesn't hold up to weather really well. Just a thought.

[This message has been edited by Jim (edited 12-08-2001).]

After my bikes fell off my Road Gear clip-on rack, I broke down and bought a Yakima system (I used to transport my skis inside the car by pulling down one of the back seats of my Chevy Prism).

I nearly fainted at the price of Yakima but now that I have the system, I must say I am impressed. With the optional wind fairing, there's almost no noise, and the Steelhead bike racks allow you to drive as if there were no bikes on your roof--dangerous when pulling into a covered parking lot! Yakima also has a neat interchangeable locking system, although after my double U-Locked bikes were stolen, I'm not sure any system can stop a truly determined thief.

For skis, I don't think the Yakima system is worth the money, but if you have to haul gear, bikes, Kayaks, etc, it might be worth the splurge. The burly racks and fairing also made my lttle Prism look a lot less whimpy. :-)

Thanks for the tip on the duct tape, I'll give it a go if we ever get some snow. As for using the rack I have for bikes, probably not, I'm not sure if it would be the best piece of kit. Its good for lugging around miscellanoues stuff but I wouldn't put it down as heavy duty and certainly not something like bikes. It will be fine for boards and skiis though. It doesnt have locks on the pedastals as it uses a nylon strap and a metal hook system to tie down onto the roof (sounds dodgy but its actually quite strong). But that said if someone is determined to have your gear very little will stop them. I usually take the rack off and either stick in the trunk or just put it in a closet until I need it.

Another note, wind noise can be a problem. Maybe its the extra padding thats kicking up resonance but once you get over 50mph it can get noisy, though for some reason when I was carrying the tree home on it there was absolutely no noise. Even if there is there's always my favourite cure to any noise my car makes. Turn the radio up.

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It doesnt have locks on the pedastals as it uses a nylon strap and a metal hook system to tie down onto the roof (sounds dodgy but its actually quite strong).
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What kind of car do you have? Does the Hyland system work only on cars with rain gutters?

I have a Volvo which doesnt have rain gutters. The pedastals have a nylon strap on the side with a hook on the end. The hook latches into the door frame then you just tighten the straps down. There is a metal clip in the strap much like what you find on a back pack that helps keep tension on the strap once you tighten it. Just make sure when your done mounting it to tie off the straps so they cant flutter around when you're driving. When you shut the door of the car it will close perfectly the hook and straps do not affect it at all