How to transport skis safely in Model Y

[Frizzle Fry]

Hello skiers!

My preference is to transport skis inside the vehicle rather than to use a roof rack or hitch rack like a normal person.

Pros:

• Skis stay clean
• Skis are less likely to be stolen
• Less equipment to buy, install, maintain
• No getting covered in road grime when reaching up to the roof
• No issues of backing up too far or parking garage clearance
• No rear visibility issues
• No impact on vehicle drag

Cons:

• Skis could fly around in a collision
• Takes up space in the cabin (not an issue for me)

How can the safely be improved?

I noticed BMW/Audi have pass-through ski bags that anchor securely:

How could this be replicated for Model Y? The rear middle seat in the Model Y is approximately 11 inches wide (I wasn't able to find dimensions for the BMW bag above). Does anyone know if the child seat anchors on the back side of the rear seats (similar to the BWM above) could be used effectively? I've also seen solutions involving a mini seatbelt crossing over the middle seat to keep skis tied down (where can you get a shorty seat belt that fits — are buckles universal?). Ideally, a padded ski bag that has some kind of reinforced webbing loops on the outside that you could anchor with carabiners might work.

Also, this DIY ski sock is pretty great. Alas, it doesn't address the safety issue.

 

[Mtns]

Very interested to see if anyone has solutions for this. I’m planning to just use bungee cord for now to wrap around front toe piece and attach to seat back anchor point

 

[Thomas7]

Hello skiers!

My preference is to transport skis inside the vehicle rather than to use a roof rack or hitch rack like a normal person.

Pros:

• Skis stay clean
• Skis are less likely to be stolen
• Less equipment to buy, install, maintain
• No getting covered in road grime when reaching up to the roof
• No issues of backing up too far or parking garage clearance
• No rear visibility issues
• No impact on vehicle drag

Cons:

• Skis could fly around in a collision
• Takes up space in the cabin (not an issue for me)

How can the safely be improved?

I noticed BMW/Audi have pass-through ski bags that anchor securely:

View attachment 863878

How could this be replicated for Model Y? The rear middle seat in the Model Y is approximately 11 inches wide (I wasn't able to find dimensions for the BMW bag above). Does anyone know if the child seat anchors on the back side of the rear seats (similar to the BWM above) could be used effectively? I've also seen solutions involving a mini seatbelt crossing over the middle seat to keep skis tied down (where can you get a shorty seat belt that fits — are buckles universal?). Ideally, a padded ski bag that has some kind of reinforced webbing loops on the outside that you could anchor with carabiners might work.

Also, this DIY ski sock is pretty great. Alas, it doesn't address the safety issue.

So I live here in Canada and this is a must. so I plan to buy this and just slide it right down the middle in the Model Y

BAG FOR 4 SKIS / 3 SNOWBOARDS 900 - GREY - Grey - Wedze - Decathlon Canada

A compact travel bag for carrying 4 pairs of skis with poles or 3 snowboards with bindings.

www.decathlon.ca

I do have Tow hitch and plan to buy a roof rack with a cargo box but there is time I will prefer to use this bag.

 

[Frizzle Fry]

Ooh, that one's very nice! They say it's 34 cm wide (13.4 inches), so maybe it will compress to fit between the rear seats (11" wide) while lying flat? This is the situation I have with my own bag, which has a similar width.

But how would you go about securing it? The options seem to be the child seat anchors and/or a super short buckle that goes across the middle seat. Does anyone know if the existing middle seatbelt would actually just work this way? Or how to get a shorty buckle/strap?

 

[MPtje]

Has anyone tried what the maximum length of ski's is you can put in the model Y with all backseats up?

In my model S I can fit 3 x 150 cm and 1 x 165 cm by putting them diagonally.
I'm thinking about getting a Y, but don't fancy the roofbox too much for noise and lower range (and cracking the roof glass...).

 

[Killer Junior]

Instead of a roof rack I’d opt for a cargo carrier that can accommodate the size of your skis and can be secured. We’re done with carrying ski equipment in the vehicle. The Thule cargo box has been a great solution for us. I should mention that we take an AWD minivan when skiing and have no plans to use the Y for that particular activity.

 

[essaunders]

my thule box doesn't fit on the Y (not enough bar spread capacity). So, I just put a bag in the middle. I put four pairs of skis in one bag. On occasions when I want to secure it, I use a strap around the bag (though handles or whatnot) going to/through the behind-the-seat latch anchor points. but honestly, it's not going to move unless the car is badly damaged anyway.

I used to do the same thing in my prius - except there we didn't have a folding middle seatback - I 'balanced' the ski bag on top. that one I definitely tied down!!! (the prius had actual tie down points in the trunk. I miss those, actually)

 

[Frizzle Fry]

@MPtje, I tried a 165 cm ski in the Model Y and it will definitely not lie flat. Technically, I can get the ski into the trunk (see photo) but it's obviously not okay for a variety of reasons... maybe for a powder emergency. My ski is rockered at both ends and just squeaked in by stuffing one end into the storage well. I think even a 150 would be borderline lying flat but might work.

For anyone curious, I effectively solved my ski transport issue by getting a locker up at the hill. But for trips I'd prefer to have a padded bag that lays flat in the 11-inch middle seat gap that can be tied down to the child seat anchors as described in my original post.

One strategy that can be ruled out is using the seatbelts as tie-downs. When the middle seat in the Model Y is folded down it effectively blocks the seat's buckle receiver (see photo).

 

[essaunders]

found my previous post on this topic: NJ -> VT ski trip MYLR

 

[MPtje]

@Frizzle Fry. Thanks for your picture, this is what i was looking for! I think if i wrap the skitips in towels to protect the car, it might maybe work. Problem is that i have two pairs of 165's, not sure if that will fit diagonally taking the bindings into account and including towels at the end.

Unfortunately, I can't put down the middle seat, as we are with 5 people in the car.

If it doesn't fit, than a more relaxed solution is to use a box on the towbar, like the MFT Backbox. But that will cost $$ and takes storage space in the attic when not used. Although I have a roof ski box, i'm a bit anxious to use the roof bars due to higher kWh consumption, noise and especially chances of breaking the glass roof.

 

[Killer Junior]

My skis are over 170 (rockers on both ends), so that wouldn’t work for me if I wanted to use the Y for that purpose. Unless you’re solo and willing to fold the seats, there are passenger considerations that I’d have to consider. Then there’s the additional capacity requirements for additional gear you might want to haul. Hope you find a suitable solution.

 

[essaunders]

If you’ve got 5 in the vehicle I think I’d just say get a roof box.

Bar spread (front of front bar to back of back bar) is 38.5” on my Y, based on my notes. I also have a hatch clearance of 55”.
The Yakima skybox series fit the spread but have a nominal 57” hatch clearance (I set my hatch to not fully open for my garage clearance - mine stops with 57” clearance) so they might be ok with care

(edit to add: just went out to remeasure hatch clearance: I get~55.5" measured to the middle of the front bar (like the yakima graphic indicates). it's almost 57" to the front of the bar. also confirmed bar spread is just a hair under 38.5")

((if anyone really cares, the bar 'centers' are 34.25" apart))

Maybe the Yakima CBX18, grandtour lo, grandtour 18 might fit more simply. They meet both spread and hatch.

link to yakima info : Yakima Hatch Clearance

note: I had to go though all their pages to collect bar spread data

final note: this is all 'theory' and not practice. I don't carry a roof box on my Y. (my thule doesn't support the bar spread..)

 

[cusetownusa]

Hello skiers!

My preference is to transport skis inside the vehicle rather than to use a roof rack or hitch rack like a normal person.

Pros:

• Skis stay clean
• Skis are less likely to be stolen
• Less equipment to buy, install, maintain
• No getting covered in road grime when reaching up to the roof
• No issues of backing up too far or parking garage clearance
• No rear visibility issues
• No impact on vehicle drag

Cons:

• Skis could fly around in a collision
• Takes up space in the cabin (not an issue for me)

How can the safely be improved?

I noticed BMW/Audi have pass-through ski bags that anchor securely:

View attachment 863878

How could this be replicated for Model Y? The rear middle seat in the Model Y is approximately 11 inches wide (I wasn't able to find dimensions for the BMW bag above). Does anyone know if the child seat anchors on the back side of the rear seats (similar to the BWM above) could be used effectively? I've also seen solutions involving a mini seatbelt crossing over the middle seat to keep skis tied down (where can you get a shorty seat belt that fits — are buckles universal?). Ideally, a padded ski bag that has some kind of reinforced webbing loops on the outside that you could anchor with carabiners might work.

Also, this DIY ski sock is pretty great. Alas, it doesn't address the safety issue.

Did you end up with a solution? I am curious what you ended up getting as I like the ski bag idea, like the BMW one in the photo but not sure what the dimensions are for that.

We have 2 adult skis, 1 pair of kids skis, and a kids snowboard that we need to work with.

 

[Frizzle Fry]

@cusetownusa, the solution I came up with was to rent a locker up at the ski hill... But for transport elsewhere I'd really like to have a padded bag like the BMW one but haven't found one yet. For the Model Y the bag would need to be 11 inches wide or narrower. The BWM one looks good but I wasn't able to find dimensions for it.

 

[cusetownusa]

@cusetownusa, the solution I came up with was to rent a locker up at the ski hill... But for transport elsewhere I'd really like to have a padded bag like the BMW one but haven't found one yet. For the Model Y the bag would need to be 11 inches wide or narrower. The BWM one looks good but I wasn't able to find dimensions for it.

I did a locker as well but would like to still have a bag when needed. The BMW one does look perfect but like you said I couldn’t find dimensions for it. Not even sure they still sell it.

I was also trying to find the dimensions of the pass through for the BMW car that it is designed for but haven’t had luck with that either.

 

[L_Mont]

FYI, according the configurator, the ski bag does not fit in my BWM 430i. The width between the two rear seats when the middle one is down is 9 1/2"

 

[Flying Scot]

Hi all - been reading the thread (much thx for the info) - I plan on a regular ski rack on the factory (style) roof bars (currently waiting for both car + bars). I ordered the roof bars and long (65mm) T-track bolts from Amazon. Idea is that my existing rack (Thule) will locate atop the 65mm bolts with a resin spacer located between the roof bars and the ski rack. I may need to make the spacers myself. The anticipated need for the spacers is for additional height - I watched a good YouTube video where after installing the ski-rack the binding of the lower ski contacted the glass roof - thats no good - thus the spacer will give additional height and prevent contact with the glass roof. (Will probably kill aero-dynamics but I live close to slopes so not an issue for me...). Meantime, I will also look into a fast clamp system so the rack can be quickly removed, but just leave the roof bars on the car permanently.

 

[Vin MYP OD3/15]

Planning a trip to Mont Tremblant this Feb. planning to put the skis like this. I have to kids under 4 yrs old so headroom would not be a problem. Any thoughts? Will put towels at the tip so it wont hurt the roof glass in case it touches it, but still lots of room. I do have 168cm skis.

 

[cusetownusa]

Nice. We hope to make a ski trip there with the kids within the next few years.

Why aren’t you using the pass thru? Seems like that would help organize the space better.

 

[Vin MYP OD3/15]

We are 5 people (2 todlers) Cant fold any of the back seats.