How To Tie Down Luggage To Roof Rack

Remove your rack when not in use to avoid the added weight drag and noise.

How to tie down luggage to roof rack.

It s important to use the right tie downs and place the item correctly on the roof rack if you want to avoid damaging your cargo or causing an accident. Roof racks have been known to fail at high speeds with lots of updraft so take the extra precaution of tying the roof rack down to the roof of the vehicle as well. To tie down a kayak place it right side up on your roof rack and center it. Here i have the bicycle s handlebars firmly planted on the roof rack s cross bar in the.

Use ratchet or cam straps to tie the roof rack through the doors not the windows. Improper tie down practices are all too common and many accidents and injuries happen because someone didn t take their time loading cargo on the roof of the car. By using proper methods you can haul your cargo safely to your destination. With anything you plan on tying down you ll need three preferably four solid points of contact stability.

After you ve selected the appropriate vehicle roof rack for your cargo it s time to learn how to safely tie down your rooftop cargo. Of course properly strapping down your load is crucial in making sure all your gear reaches its destination. Fortunately roof luggage racks save space inside your car by allowing you to utilize your roof space for your gear. In the case of a naked roof you should be looping the rope through the car through the doors not the windows and around the object on the roof and a towel or blanket should be used to protect the roof of your car from the object.

The purpose of this page is to not only to give you step by step instructions on securing cargo to your roof rack but also to educate you in the safety precautions you ll need to keep in mind as well as. Just load up the roof strap down your cargo and hit the road. Run 2 boat straps over the top of the kayak and them under the roof rack bars then bring the straps to the other side of the kayak and loop them under the roof rack bars on that side. For a video and step by step instructions on how to tie down a kayak please see our article on how to tie down a kayak to a vehicle.

If you have side rails and crossbars the straps can be looped around those.