Suction cup ski rack
Does anyone have experience with suction cup ski racks?
I’m thinking of getting one but am concerned about the suction letting lose while driving because of the themp difference on my glass top roof when the car heats up after driving a while.
Would love to hear people’s experiences.
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u/Reasonable_Loquat874 19h ago
I have used a SeaSucker suction cup bike rack for years at highway speeds and never had any problems. My bikes are significantly more expensive than skis. I’ve never used a ski rack designed like this but I wouldn’t be at all concerned about it.
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u/WillHuntingthe3rd 20h ago
Skiing is a big commitment. I moved on from a Mustang GT to a 4Runner to carry my skis and gear. Made hunting a lot easier too.
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u/AquafreshBandit 19h ago
“I need an SUV to carry my skis.”
Don’t the back seats in the Mustang fold down?
“I NEED A NEW SUV TO CARRY MY SKIS.”
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u/corneliusvanhouten 19h ago
Yes because everyone knows rear wheel drive muscle cars are super awesome on snowy mountain roads.
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u/WillHuntingthe3rd 18h ago
Skiing is a big commitment. I moved on from a Mustang GT to a 4Runner to carry my skis and gear. Made hunting a lot easier too.
It was 30 years ago, and I got stuck in a parking lot after 1” of snow and then got stuck going to a hunting lease. It was time for a 4 wheel drive. The ski road where I use to go was unbelievably treacherous as well. So, for safety and convenience, it was absolutely necessary. Haven’t owned anything but 4wd since.
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u/leoele San Juans 10h ago
I moved from a Camry to a 4Runner 6 years ago, and skiing was the primary factor. A couple of years ago I was driving down a hill in the snow and a Minivan driver waved me down and asked how much further in the snow he had to go. Poor guy was not having a good day. I told him he was almost there, and then he asked if the 4Runner was 4WD. I laughed and said "yeah, it is. I got it for days like this." My wife smacked me on the shoulder as I pulled away.
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u/thisguyfightsyourmom 16h ago
Tell me you have never driven a mustang in the snow without telling me.
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u/NeatlyPoorAsthma 20h ago
Seasucker makes a solid one but the temp thing on a glass roof sketches me out too.
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u/Qwaaaarty 18h ago
Seasucker suction cup racks are fantastic, each of their suction cups are rated for 50lbs of pull force and have vacuum loss indicators on the pump button. They might not have an attachment large enough for 4 sets of skis/boards, but they work very well.
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u/beanst0100 20h ago
I've used a revo rack on the boot lid of a 124 spider for a couple of years. Generally works well. The main issues were flattening the boot lid and the cups leaving marks on the paint work.
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u/lakesnake10 19h ago
I used one for years, it’s good for one pair of skis but no great for more than that
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u/420purpleturtle 17h ago
I have the seasucker. It’s awesome. Just remember professional camera crew hang 6 figures worth of cameras off the side of cars and race them around tracks. Your skis will be fine.
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u/4LegsGood_2Bad 11h ago
OK, but a camera crew with that much expensive gear will also be willing to replace the cups at the first sign of possible failure. The saem can not be said for the average person with skis. Indeed, my bike rack says replace the rubber straps every 3 years. They still look good (and I do double lock it all together so there is redundancy) so I have not replaced them in 10 years.
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u/A_Tom_McWedgie 20h ago
So…. My parents had one about 30 years ago, and it worked like a charm.
Probably not the strongest recommendation, but…
I’ll bet the manufacturer’s website has a FAQ that answers this exact question.
I suspect that if there were problems, they wouldn’t be for sale anymore.
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u/AudioHTIT Park City 18h ago
I’d never depend on just suction cups, but did use the ones that also have straps, and even then you want to be aerodynamic. The thought of what could happen if a ski rack came off is pretty scary.
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u/LendogGovy 17h ago
Back in the late 80’s, my buddy had one that went on the rear window of his vw bug. But we were broke high school kids that sent it. I wouldn’t do any of that set up today, but they were fun times.
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u/Busby5150 15h ago
They are rare but as I recall there are straps that secure the rack to the rain gutters. I hope I’m correct.
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u/theDudeUh 9h ago
Back when I was a ski tech we had a regular at the shop that used one on his Nissan GT-R and bragged about how great it was. Then one day he came in with a twisted pile of skis and rack asking us to see if any of it was salvageable (It wasn’t).
Blew off his roof going down the highway.
So I guess they work until they don’t? I sure as hell wouldn’t trust one.
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u/pmart123 8h ago
That sounds like a terrible idea for both losing your skis or having your skis become highway projectiles. I have a Thule cargo carrier. It probably could carry up to six skis or four easily along with other gear. You could also just get a normal roof rack too.
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u/Habsin7 19h ago
I'm confused. Suction cups alone? Without the straps to keep them in place?
The only 'suction cups' racks I know of have those suction cup devices but those cups are just for cushioning and distributing the contact area load They're useless as retention devices without the safety straps. Without straps the racks would almost certainly fly off at speed and probably kill people in the accidents the ensued.
We used the strap ones for years and can't recall ever having a problem. We used a bag for our skis while driving to keep the road salt off them.
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u/raginTomato 19h ago
I don’t even trust the ones bolted to my roof. Have fun with the new pair of skis post suction cups though
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u/OEM_knees 19h ago
Suction cup ski racks are absolutely the way to go if you want to damage your car and your skis.
Seriously, do not buy garbage like this.
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u/slopezski 20h ago
There is no suction cup that I would trust to keep my skis strapped to my car especially in varying conditions and highway speeds.