Snowboard Roof Rack...

[iconoclast]

Any recommendations on a roof rack for snowboards?
All my Audi friends say to go with a roof box and the LR/RR crowd says just throw it in the trunk but I wanted to see what the X5M crowd is doing for snowboards or roof rack.

[rye_a]

My family of 5 and I ski at least 20 weekends every year, and I refuse to clutter up the lines of our vehicles (F85 and MB GLS 550) with racks. Just put your gear in the back.

[WCH]

I have a Yakima but the Thule is good too. You can either use a box or a roof holder. I went with the holder for my skis because I didn't wsnt to store the box in the garage.

[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by rye_a

My family of 5 and I ski at least 20 weekends every year, and I refuse to clutter up the lines of our vehicles (F85 and MB GLS 550) with racks. Just put your gear in the back.

kind of hard to do with passengers and luggage.

Originally Posted by WCH

I have a Yakima but the Thule is good too. You can either use a box or a roof holder. I went with the holder for my skis because I didn't want to store the box in the garage.

are either a low profile rack? i hate racks in general and the wind noise they create. i noticed the low profile ones not only look better mounted on the vehicle but also create less drag and wind noise.

[WCH]

I went with the new Yakima aero bars. Pretty quick but required me to get new accessories since I had the old round bars. These are much quieter than the round bars.

[iconoclast]

Thank you. Do you have link or model/style number?

[WCH]

I got the Yakima ridgeline towers. You need to buy clips specific for the X5. You can put the aero bars on these towers.

My friend has the Thule - looks very similar.

Just be careful if you have the black roof rails. They scratch easily if you don't seat any of the attachment points as they should be. BMW jet black paint will allow you to cover up any scratches but this is clearly an aesthetic rather than functional reason for black rails.

[rye_a]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

kind of hard to do with passengers and luggage.

Not really, we just run the skis up one side of the car. I don't know about snowboards since nobody in our family has stooped to that level .

[Roundown]

Originally Posted by rye_a

Not really, we just run the skis up one side of the car. I don't know about snowboards since nobody in our family has stooped to that level .

How do you manage that with a family of 5?

[iconoclast]

Originally Posted by rye_a

Not really, we just run the skis up one side of the car. I don't know about snowboards since nobody in our family has stooped to that level .

cant do that with boards and i do not stack anything higher than the shoulder line in the cargo area.

Originally Posted by Roundown

How do you manage that with a family of 5?

who knows but not an option for me. not something i care to explore.

the issue isn't to and from the house to the lifts but coming up and coming down back to our primary residence.

[Roundown]

I have the Yakima Whisper Bar Snow Mount 6, it matches the OE roof rack finish and can be mounted v nearly flush with the bars. Wind noise is much improved vs. the Thules that I've run in the past.

https://www.amazon.com/Whispbar-WB30.../dp/B008UQZZOM

It seems discontinued (and replaced by the FatCat 6, which is a black plastic finish) but it might be worth looking around locally/checking eBay.

A box seems like the ideal move- and if you have the place to store one... I'd recommend that route. If you don't, I'd recommend this (or the Rocky Mount equivalent).

[iconoclast]

Storage of the box is the issue... While I have the space it is a large piece to store and will most likely get damaged in the garage from the kids coming in out grabbing bikes and other stuff. Exploring all options before giving in to the box.

[KMA]

This is an old thread I am replying to, but with winter around the corner wasn't sure if you made a decision. I bought a Thule 603 Ascent 1500 Rooftop Cargo Box (~likely obsolete and replaced with newer model) nine years ago from Amazon and have used in on three X6 50i's now--and plan to use it on new X6M being delivered tomorrow for the next few winters. Fits 4 snowboards and a bunch of other stuff, as needed. What I found by ordering from Amazon, you get it in a giant box--so just save the box. I have been putting it back in there and can store it on its side in the garage, up on a suspended high shelf during summer, can put stuff on top of the box, etc... it's a pretty heavy duty box that it came in and being flat/rectangular, it's a lot easier to store the odd-shaped roof box. Use with Thule Aeroblade and although the box itself has a little noise at certain specific speeds, you forget it's up there for the most part. Not a slim, low profile look by any means, but it works well for hauling the fam and a lot of gear up to a mountain.