How To Tie Down Lumber On Roof Rack

Plus the tiedown to the trailer hitch.

How to tie down lumber on roof rack.

Tie down sizes ranging from 1 inch up to 4 inch wide. But you can also haul items on the roof of your car or suv if you ve got a roof rack obey the rack s weight limits and properly tie down the load. By using proper methods you can haul your cargo safely to your destination. A pair of 20 web ratchets used as a fail safe in case the board slides to the rear of the vehicle.

The complete tie down company. Then i use the nylon web tie downs i ve got in the photos of below. My car with roof rack with cross bars installed. 25 years experience building tie downs.

Second trip 16 2 x4 x6 boards on my roof rack. We use the highest grade products and components. 4 web ratchet straps in a pair of x formations to hold down the board to the cross bars. Don t know if i d carry much lumber on that short front to back rack but i would definitely use at least two good ratchet straps ratcheted very tight around the lumber bundle so nothing could slip out.

If you have side rails and crossbars the straps can be looped around those. I use 4 hand clamps at the corners to hold the plywood to the 2 x 4 s. In house testing equipment to ensure our products meet their strength ratings. 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.

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. For plywood i put two 2 x 4 s on the roof rack and place the plywood on top of those to stiffen the plywood otherwise it flops up and down at highway speeds. 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. That s in addition to then attaching the bundle securely to the rack.

With anything you plan on tying down you ll need three preferably four solid points of contact stability. Here i have the bicycle s handlebars firmly planted on the roof rack s cross bar in the.