Ski Season is here... Where do we put them?

[NJKen]

I have the soft Tonneau cover so I can fit the skis inside the bed but then they slide around. I'm looking at trying to avoid that if possible and not spend a small fortune doing so.

Can anyone provide some pics of what they do with their ski's and boards?

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[Hosstyle]

couldn't you cut some pieces of wood to fit the "plywood loading"spots and bungee the skis/boards to them? You could even wrap the wood in a pool noodle to help protect them

 

[Tim]

I have the soft Tonneau cover so I can fit the skis inside the bed but then they slide around. I'm looking at trying to avoid that if possible and not spend a small fortune doing so.

Can anyone provide some pics of what they do with their ski's and boards?

Disclaimer: I probably invested more than you are looking to spend on this.

I installed a Diamondback SE cover onto which I mounted Front Runner load bars. I installed my Yakima ski carriers on the load bars.

For a lot less money look into the KBVoodoo load bars. They work with most tonneau covers and should accommodate ski carriers.
https://www.kbvoodoo.com/shop?category=Jeep+Gladiator

 

[AC_1960]

couldn't you cut some pieces of wood to fit the "plywood loading"spots and bungee the skis/boards to them? You could even wrap the wood in a pool noodle to help protect them

That is probably what I'll do, as I already spent $1K on a hard tonneau cover. My skis are too long (174 cm) to fit parallel to the bed, but I can just cut angled slots in the 2x4's. Nice inexpensive solution that keeps them secure and out of the road salt and dirt spray.

 

[mojocho]

I have bags for the snowboards. For a family of 4 snowboarders, I plant to just put them in the bed while in the bags. If it looks like they will get bounced around, I may casually put a ratchet strap across the to keep them more or less in place.

I don't prefer the ski or board racks as that means the boards are naked to the abuse of road salt spray and rocks or other debris. Gotta keep those bases waxed and flat.

This is one thing I'm SOO looking forward to with my gladiator. 4 snowboards with the largest being 166cm, it was a jenga puzzle putting them all in the back of a JKU.

 

[RelaxEnjoyLife]

I have been working on a solution for this as well. I was considering a half rack with a tonneau cover. I have decided for now to not worry about the tonneau for now. We typically keep our gear in the cab to keep jackets, boots, etc warm on the drive. (only 2 of us). I still plan to put a rack on the bed and a thule ski carrier. The problem I am running into is that with the rack I want (jcr half rack), the top cross bars cannot be adjusted to the width of the 2 bolts for the ski attachment (21.5"). I will most likely get this rack and then make some bars to go between the 2 cross bars on the JCR and mount the ski attachment to that. (blue line in the attached picture)

 

[Racer_X]

I've been working on this for, well, since I joined the forum. I've got a trip coming up with 4-5 people. Best solution thus far seems to be the diamondback+rack. You can do the half height as above or go with a full height to get them over the height of the cab and minimize road spray.

Then the gear goes in the bed under the diamondback to prevent thefts, snowdrifts, whatevs.

 

[Tim]

Then the gear goes in the bed under the diamondback to prevent thefts, snowdrifts, whatevs.

Exactly. With 3 or 4 people in the truck all the gear has to go somewhere.

I've made racks with 2x4s for in the bed in the past. It worked well but my old truck had a 6.5 foot bed so the skis fit in straight. Putting them on an angle makes it much harder to pack around them assuming most items are square/rectangular. The other issue with the JT is that the bed is relatively short vertically from the bed floor to the top of the bed rails so if you do run a cover you're further limited in how much you can fit in the bed. I ride bicycles as well so for me a cover with a rack above it solved issues with transporting both bikes and skis.

 

[TennesseePA]

I have the Mopar bed cross bars that were not too expensive at all. Get a set of them and add ski mounts and head for the mountains. I have a Decked in my truck now but it does not meet my needs. I got it mainly to carry my hunting stuff but there is so much wasted space that the drawers are too short for my shotguns.

 

[jrf]

If you have the hard top I would think some rain gutter crossbars on the roof might be the cheapest option...

Something like these maybe:
https://www.quadratec.com/p/mopar/removable-roof-rack-kit-jeep-wrangler-jl

Although I'll bet you can find cheaper.

 

[Jake]

On the slopes of Austria is the best place to put snow skis if you ask me. And yes that’s me, balet snow skis.

 

[Racer_X]

If you have the hard top I would think some rain gutter crossbars on the roof might be the cheapest option...

Something like these maybe:
https://www.quadratec.com/p/mopar/removable-roof-rack-kit-jeep-wrangler-jl

The issue I have with a roof rack solution is that those skis will get wind+salt+crud blasted. At least with the skis below the top of the roof, not all of it will hit the skis. I can wait for the best possible solution since I'm still waiting for the truck.

 

[5JeepsAz]

Don't they fit thru the doghead window?

 

[shrinkhead]

we had them in ski and board bags. The don't slide around. Will obviously bounce if the truck bounces. With luggage we had them straight and they were sticking out through the soft cover opening, yet they were super secure and tucked in. Without luggage we had them diagonally as they are longer as the bed. Worked really really well. So much better than a roof rack.

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