Vans are tall - boards are a pain to get on the roof

[Belltownbikes]

Last year I depended on my minions to hop up on the roof and help tie down the boards/boats. With my extendable ladder, it worked pretty good. But, there had to be a better way. I dreamed up and built this rack. It's three pieces: the roof rack itself and 2 "trays" that the boards get strapped to. The trays have hooks on the front to hang on the back. They roll up into position and slide forward on rollers. The front of the trays are captured at the front by a "socket". When in position they are bolted at the rear by threaded hand knob. The trays are easy to pick up and slide forward because a lot of the board weight is cantilevered over the front. When not in use the trays can be left in the barn.

Works great - and it has that priceless, "what the f....?" impact at the beach.

 

[FarmerFrederico]

Nice work!

 

[volcomsurfer]

awesome. I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to get my longboard up and down. I guess I'll see how hard it is on the ladder once I get back home.

 

[BSK]

That's great, would love to see that thing in action! I have been doing the shaky one foot balancing act in the doorway of the van. I think it's pretty entertaing for people to watch at the beach. The racks I have make a roller for the back crossbar that would help. Was also looking at getting a telescoping ladder, has anyone seen a shorter length one?

 

[Bikersmurf]

Home Depot has had Telescoping Ladders like the one above in the past.
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Be Glad it's not an Ambo... Stock height is 8'3". That said, I could probably fit a board or two in the side stretcher compartment.
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BTW cool design.

Apparently they still do.. found this on HomeDepot.com for $149


10.5' Tall

 

[T.Low]

Nice work, indeed.

For a more pricey option:
http://youtu.be/LGJSDRpxubs

 

[Bikersmurf]

He link wouldn't work, but I did find the Tule Vid you were linking to... I'd need a ladder to reach the Tule rack even though I'm 6'4" and can reach to 8'+


The OPs system would work better if I needed it...