How to strap boards to your car

• Posted on 27 September 2019
• By Robert Stehlik
• Posted in attach board to roof rack, how to strap boards to car, locking straps, safety, strap surfboard to car, tie board to car, tie down board to car, truck tail gate rack
• 4

Detailed instructions and tips on how to safely and efficiently strap a board to your car.

At Blue Planet we load boards to cars, trucks, and vans on a daily basis and we learned a thing or two that we share in this post.  Watch the video and/ or scroll through the photos for complete instructions on how to secure boards to your vehicle safely and efficiently.

Let's start with the fastest way to strap a board to your car:  The one strap "30 second" method, which is only recommended if you have solid roof racks and a good, long strap and for short trips at lower speeds.   Two straps are more secure, so if in doubt, use the two-strap method.

The one strap method uses one strap that loops around the board to tighten both front and back at once.  Caution: this method puts tension pulling the two crossbars together, which can cause them to slide closer to each other which will loosen the strap, so don't use this if your crossbars are not super solid on your car.

One strap method step 1: throw strap over the fins, place buckle end on top of the board.

Step 2: slide strap underneath front rack.

Step 3: slide strap under back rack.

Step 4: loop strap over the nose of the board.

Step 5: bring strap back under back rack bar.

Step 6: return strap back under front rack bar on the front side.

Step 7: put strap through buckle from bottom up and tighten.

Step 8: secure end of the strap inside the car door to keep it from flapping.

Put twists in the straps to prevent humming noise.

Padded tailgate racks are a good way to transport boards with a pickup truck.

The board straps onto the pad, for longer boards, add another strap in the truck bed and attach a red flag if the board extends more than 4 feet past the bumper.

If your car does not have roof racks, watch this video on how to strap boards to a car without racks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3rFSm6CXvA

Locking straps with steep cables inside the nylon strap, like the Kanu Lock straps, are a good way to secure your boards to your car.

Strapping board to car using the two-strap method.

Staggering fins to load more than one board to your car.

When stacking boards, make sure to pad any pressure points.  For surfboards, put something in between boards to keep wax from sticking to the bottom of the boards.

The strap goes under roof rack, close to boards, and back over.

Don't do this: Don't loop the straps around the end of the rack as in the photo, this allows the boards to slide sideways.  Instead, loop it around the roof rack bar close to the boards so the boards can't move sideways.

Always put the strap into the cam buckle from the bottom up, never from the top down!

Boards that are not secured properly can be dangerous, please be safe!

When loading two stacks of boards, put the strap on the roof rack before loading the boards to make it easier.

Then flip the strap over the board(s) after loading.

When driving at high speeds, the air gets deflected upward by the windshield and creates a strong lifting force on the boards, make sure your straps and racks can handle this force.

Add an "Oh sh#t" strap to secure loads on longer trips or when driving at higher speeds: loop a strap over the top of the boards and through the car to secure boards directly to car in case of rack failure.

Done right, transporting multiple boards is not a problem.

Can you transport more than 20 Stand Up Paddleboards with a Prius?  Yes!

Aloha, Robert Stehlik