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Surfboard and Roofrack questions

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Hi all.

I'm a new M3 owner and was very excited to buy the car and installed the roofrack since I surf. I have a 10 foot longboard that got about 30 stress cracks on the underside due to the wind force. As far as I can tell its because the racks are too close together and don't really support the board very well. I tried the board in several different positions at first to see what would support it. However it looks like the windward edge just has too much pressure on it from the wind while driving.
Any suggestions or workaround from other users? I feel like the only solution is to create some sort of support bed for the board on the rack.

I love the forum and am thrilled to be here with y'all.
 
Random thought from a windsurfer- what about putting your board inside the car? That's what I plan to do with my windsurf board, sail, and mast this summer. My board is 288cm, which is 9.4 feet or so. I already tested it, it fits at an angle when seats are down and passenger seat is tilted back as far as it goes. The interior is all vinyl, so it won't get damaged by salt water.
 
Could add a 2” receiver and add something like this:

 
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actually I'm a little surprised you're getting stress cracks, what kind of board do you have? I also surf with only 10' boards, all Waldens. I don't have a rack on my Model 3 (use my wife's Volvo wagon), but before my Tesla I had a few TT's, and had Thule surf racks on those. The cross bars were placed really close together, the board almost larger than the car, I drove an hour on highway to the break, never had a damage issue. My boards are typically epoxy construction, maybe this makes a difference?....epoxy boards usually a little more rugged?
 
Volvo wagon is really the perfect surf mobile......wagons are way easier to deal with than SUV's.......rack is spread out like you mention, and the roof line is much lower for lifting up those 10' boards. Honestly, I've thought about getting the Tesla rack system, but held back while we still have the wagon. I don't like to leave the cross bars on all the time, so taking them on and off the Model 3 had me freaked out that I'd break that glass.....like so many others have mentioned on this forum.
 
Curious why you would expect to take the racks on and off. There is only a 2% loss in mileage with them on. I wouldn't even think about taking them off after putting them on. I was so nervous that I booked an appointment to have the service guys look to make sure I had installed them correctly.
 
Curious why you would expect to take the racks on and off. There is only a 2% loss in mileage with them on. I wouldn't even think about taking them off after putting them on. I was so nervous that I booked an appointment to have the service guys look to make sure I had installed them correctly.
yeah I know, I live on a dirt road in NH, pretty common here, and the dust drives me insane. I have a monthly account at our local "soft wash" car wash, $29/mo with unlimited washes, and basically every time I drive by the place I just get it washed. Rack on top isn't so great for car washes.

I know I know, all the dudes on here will say don't go through a car wash....but I've babied my cars for 40 years, and now with the model 3 I've finally cried uncle, just driving the dang thing through car washes, like all the time now.

Honestly, I think the lack of proper rails on top of the Model's Y and X will keep us from getting a second Tesla in our garage. I can throw the Thule rack back on my Volvo in 5 min without blinking an eye.....and it's rock solid for surf equipment.
 
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Perhaps a terminology discrepancy here: rack is a synonym for crossbars - the factory part that attaches to the roof. This should pretty much stay on all the time - it has negligible impact on range, looks good, makes no wind noise, and shouldn't be an issue in the car wash. The mounts - for carrying bikes, skis, rooftop boxes, surfboard, whatever - attach to the rack. These should come off before going through a (non-touchless) car wash, and will have a more measurable impact on range when installed and not being used. The Yakima mounts I use for bikes - Highroad - and rooftop box - Rocketbox - install and remove quickly and without any tools.
 
Could add a 2” receiver and add something like this:

I would recommend also using some Hood Loops to reduce the wind pressure on the front crossbar.
Also, having a strap in front of the windshield is a good reminder in case you park inside a garage.

I think that the (four) j-Bolts holding the towers of the crossbar are not that big to handle all the weight and force
from the wind or shaking when passing over a bump, so using some additional Hoods Loops is a safe precaution.
 

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Just thought I would weigh in too. I'm a longboarder, and when I mount my board, I mount my 9'8" board but always slide it as far back as possible. I've carried two boards on top (9'8" and 9'6") and drove on freeway at 80mph and never had any issues yet.

For periods where I am not driving with boards, I have a t-slot Inno surf rack, and I remove the rack but keep the 4 t-slots in place (so I don't have to re-position them). It's hardly noticeable and avoids the loss in efficiency.
 
Was the original poster talking about stress cracks on his board or the glass roof?
Rack pads are the obvious way to avoid stress crack to the board or a decent board
bag . Trouble with board bags is its and extra step and they have to fit well or they will flutter. The glass roof with those racks worrys me as there have been a few reports
of roof cracking. Anybody have any data on how much range loss you get with a loaded
rack ?
 
A long board is going to stick out over the front windshield and you have a glass roof
so looking up to see how the board is doing is no big deal.
Anybody document there range hits when carrying any combination of boards on top?
Sailboard , Surfboards and or SUP's
 
Trouble with carrying the board inside and putting it up the center is if you hit the
brakes hard you could smash the Control Screen or the Windshield. You can tilt the front passenger seat back and there is way to get the head rest out . But the front passenger
seat doesn't tilt back as much as it does in other cars. It would be nice to pop the front passenger seat out but you would need away to spoof the seat electronics into thinking
the seat was still there and there was no one in it . (I think?)
 
Was the original poster talking about stress cracks on his board or the glass roof?
Rack pads are the obvious way to avoid stress crack to the board or a decent board
bag . Trouble with board bags is its and extra step and they have to fit well or they will flutter. The glass roof with those racks worrys me as there have been a few reports
of roof cracking. Anybody have any data on how much range loss you get with a loaded
rack ?
The stress cracks are on the board from the board fluttering in the wind. I don't worry about the glass on the roof cracking as the load is not on the glass if the racks are installed correctly.
Range loss is significant with the board on the roof. Around 30 to 35% for me since its highway driving.
 
Here are some pics with board mounted. You can see with two boards the bottom one sticks out quite forward but even then, I’ve never had cracking issues.

Also a third pic to show it without the rack but t-slots bolts in place.
View attachment 658289View attachment 658291View attachment 658290
I love the setup. My board looks identical to yours. 10ft Two Crows. I think the issue for me was that the tail seems to shake a lot in the wind going down the freeway.