How to Make Your Own Car Ski Rack

A properly secured ski on a rack

While commercial ski racks have many extras, their core component fulfills the same need as a do-it-yourself version: To transport skis without them being damaged. If your car has a luggage rack and you require only a basic ski rack, you can make your own for a fraction of the cost.

Things You'll Need

• 2 wooden boards, 2 inches by 4 inches
• Parachute cord
• Mountain bike inner tubes
• 8 wood bolts, 2 inches long
• Utility Knife
• Pencil
• Electric Drill

Instructions

1. Measure and cut the two-by-four boards. As part of the rack, they will sit perpendicular to the luggage rack rails when finished. Measure and cut them so the boards will rest on the rails and extend past them by 2 to 3 inches on each side of the vehicle.

2. Place the boards on the ground as if they were in position on the roof. The broad side of thee two-by-four should be top and bottom face. A few inches from the edge of the two-by-four, lay one ski flat across both boards. Mark a dot in the center of the board along both edges of the ski. Repeat this process for the next ski, leaving about 2 inches between the edges closest edges of the two skis.

3. Drill a hole on each mark you made with the pencil. There should be two holes on each board for each ski, so a pair of skis would result in eight holes being drilled. These holes are where the screws anchoring the tie-down straps that hold the skis to the boards will go.

4. Cut the inner tube into sections that are about 2 inches longer than the width of the skis. First cut across the tube, creating a smaller piece of tubing. Then make two cuts along the length of that smaller tube. The cuts should be 180 degrees apart. This will create two equal-size pieces that can be flattened; each piece forms a strap, and each ski requires a strap on both boards. Place the pieces across the holes on the boards.

5. Cut a small X in each piece of tube where it overlays the hole on only one side of the ski. The two cuts of the X need be only large enough for a wood bolt to be pushed through--about 1/2 inch. Fasten one end of the tube into the wood using one of the bolts.

6. Place a ski back on the boards and stretch the piece of tubing across the ski to the hole on the other side. Stretch the tube tight enough over the ski, so the ski doesn't wobble or slide on its own. However, you want to be able to slide the ski under the rubber. Once properly placed and stretched, mark the piece of tubing where it overlays the hole and repeat Step 5. Repeat the process until all straps have been installed.

7. Attach the two-by-fours to the luggage rack using the parachute cord. Secure the boards in place by wrapping rope over and under the boards and the luggage racks. Fasten with a slipknot.

References

• Ski Mag: Build your own ski rack