side rack for the van

[antonputman]

I am looking into building a side rack for my high roof van.
Need to decide how to space the bars for my 2 boards now, I have 4 ribs under the roof to work with..

What you guys say?
Option 1 - using roof ribs 1 + 4
or
Option 2 - using roof ribs 2 + 4

[antonputman]

The first pic of the same van as mine, a VW T5 long wheelbase with factory high roof loaded with SUP boards on both sides. Looks like he is using 1 + 4.

I'll also attach a set of photo's I found from a German commercial after market side rack for the mythical Westfalia Club Joker conversion. The front bar looks bolted more forward (it's a custom Westfalia high top, so not limited to the 4 ribs under the factory roof) but the back bar looks about the same position.

[dllee]

2 and 4.
Deck in towards van.
Tail foward.

[isobars]

I'd be very tempted to bolt on a pair of bigger/wider aftermarket outside rear view mirrors to always remind me that my rig is wider behind me than it is when I'm looking forward. On my Class C motor home (van/cab front, wider body aft), I know that since my mirrors are wider than the body, as long as the mirrors clear low or verticall obstacles, so will the body.

If your mirrors are already wider than your van and rack,
NEVER MIND.

However, even that can fail if you're parking or driving next to an object whose top is wider than its base ... a tree, a sign on a post, YOUR VAN AND BOARD, etc. I parked downtown next to a single signpost with plenty of lateral clearance, but failed to notice or compensate for the sign 10 feet off the ground. I couldn't even see it while I was parking or leaving, so I scraped and bent the sign when leaving. I heard the screech, had no clue what was causing it, and got out to find the source of the noise. Before I even looked four feet above my head, a store owner ran out, said this is not a rare occurrence, and urged me to scram quickly because the city will cite me and charge a LOT of money for the sign. I found no damage to my RV, so I chose to scram rather than fight its placement in court.

Now imagine that was your beautiful, fragile board rather than my fairly rugged RV body frame (or a solid tree limb) that impacted the sign.

[swchandler]

Just curious, why buy a van and not put your boards inside?

[cgoudie1]

Hey Steve,

In my case the wife and I are looking for a campervan. She doesn't
windsurf. Carrying the gear with zero impact to the interior of the van is
therefore rather important to me. A ladder (and top load) is a possibility,
but we're leaning towards a pop-top.

-Craig

p.s. we'll put the bikes inside ;*)

[dllee]

In most cases, tail is narrower than nose, hence...tail forward.
Deck towards van so little sticks out to catch heads, branches, or birds.

[isobars]

I realize that my 24 foot Winnebago Class C is roomier than "vans", but the same was true of my Econoline van: There are ways to stash several boards and many complete rigs inside but out of sight. Just as I see many big Sprinters and Transits with a LOT of WSing and biking gear inside yet concealed/isolated from the living quarters, I also see many one-sailor couples sleeping, cooking, and sleeping among humongous but well-organized collections of WSing gear.

OTOH, I have a wall full of about 8 boards in our nice den, there's always a helmet or wetsuit or something lying in the living room, and around swap meet time (i.e., between March and September) there's usually a board or two lying wherever. That's OK; they're bagged, so they won't get damaged if someone trips over them.

More depends on the WIFE than on the van.

Maybe you need to hire an engineer to figure all this out.

[swchandler]

Craig,

Good luck hiding your sails, masts, booms and all the other necessary gear. I've never found windsurfing to be a barebones economy sport that you can easily hide away. Needless to say, I won't envy you having to scale a ladder with boards and having to tie them down on a windy day, especially if you have a van with a stand-up interior.

You may want to take isobars' suggestion and engineer storage inside that won't interfere with your living space. Thinking things out and being crafty with your layout, I'm sure that you can hide one board inside without too much of a problem.

[coachg]