# 1
Rhino-Rack Ski and Snowboard Carrier - Locking - 6 Pairs of Skis or 4 Boards
I'm completely satisfied with my purchase from etrailer. First, the company provides terrific support, from installation instructions to responding quickly to questions. Second, the carriers are great. They are easy to install and remove. I am confident they are securely installed and my skis are safe. I wasn't worried about them as I drove down I-80 in Wyoming at 80mph. Having the skis on the roof made it possible for me, my wife, our infant son in his car seat, our dog, our cat in his carrier, and our luggage to fit in our car so we could enjoy a week-long ski trip in Utah. The only reason I held back from giving a 5-star review is the noise. I might be able to reduce it by moving around the rail inserts or adding an air dam. I'll report back if either of those work. Until then, I'll happily and confidently keep using the carriers.
E trailer I have a 2019 Mazda6 and purchased the rhino rack series 2500 parts (fit kit #DK289, foot pack #RRRLKVA, aero crossbars#RRVA126B-2), and the rhino rack snowboard/ski carrier #RR576. My car does have fixed mounting points underneath the strip on the roof so I opted to add them to my roof and not use the clamp for kit that goes in the door jam. Every time I entered the year, make, and model of my car, the parts came up with the clamp fit kit part #DK387 which I did not want. But after some research, I found the correct fixed mounting point fit kit. The site of course told me that this part wouldn’t fit my car but after looking at the customer reviews, I saw them used on Mazdas. All of the rhino rack instructions were not the best. We did have to make some adjustments. One of the instruction packs tells you how long you’re supposed to cut the rubber pieces that go into the crossbars based on your car but unfortunately, the measurements were wrong for my car (picture- front 166mm is wrong). The front bar length was about an inch too short and I had to add more rubber to make it longer to fit the fixed mounting points on my roof. After some time of trying to interpret the instructions, and looking up whatever available instructional videos were online, we finally finished installing them and they do look really nice. At higher speeds on the highway I can definitely hear more noise. The actual snowboard carrier is fine, fits all 4 boards fine. It is a little difficult to close once I have my boards in there because you have to push the top bar all the way down and hold it down to be able to turn the key to lock it. I’m just happy I don’t have to shove the boards in my trunk. I do like that all the parts in this series come with locks and keys. So far no problems. Overall good product.
# 2
Thule Tram Ski and Snowboard Carrier Adapter for Hitch Bike Racks - 6 Pairs of Skis or 4 Boards
This rack works well. I did however need to manufacture a rubber wedge to go between the lower cross bar (TH9033) and the bike rack so the attach point would lay flat against the bike rack. Many thanks to Cathy at etrailer.com for the excellent customer service she provided.
I just used the ski carrier. I had to get used to the small amount of movement as I drove. I checked it out several times and every thing was fine. I just put 1100 miles on it , along with the bike rack and the new hitch.
# 3
Yakima FreshTrack 6 Ski and Snowboard Carrier - Locking - 6 Pairs of Skis or 4 Boards
Looks great on the vehicle. Had a little struggle tightening onto the cross bars but adapted and overcame!
It's a ski rack so its not all that exciting. I like that it is small for storage reasons when not using it. The fastening system to my Toyota Highlander factory rack is secure but a little cumbersome to apply and take off. I like to take it off when not using it to preserve my gas mileage. The boards and skis fit fine although they are stacked in order to get 4 peoples worth of equipment up there. A small price to pay for their compact size on the roof or in the garage.
# 4
Kuat Switch 6 Ski and Snowboard Carrier - 6 Pairs of Skis or 4 Boards
Excellent ski rack. I purchased because I wanted absolutely no noise. This thing is super quiet went flipped up or down. Love the looks of it flipped down. Absolutely no complaints. Easy to use and set up.
Arrived fast, easy to install on my 2021 Toyota Rav4 Limited. Love that it folds down when not in use. Haven't been to the mountain yet but looking forward to putting it to use. Save the box for storage - came with nice foam ends to protect it.
# 5
Yakima FatCat EVO 6 Ski and Snowboard Carrier - Locking - 6 Pairs of Skis or 4 Boards - Black
Just got my Yakima Fatcat EVO 6 ski carrier (black finish) and I am stoked. Note that this is different than the Fatcat 6 (non-EVO, previous generation) carrier. This is my first ski carrier, but I and/or my kids ski about once a week at Alta and Snowbird when the lifts are running, so I expect it to get lots of use. Etrailer shipping was fast and item was packed in a sturdy secondary box. PROS: 1. I love the sturdy build and quality finish of the carrier. 2. The design allows many micro-adjustments to fit to your vehicle and to fit the skis. For instance the spring-loaded hinge on one end and the lock on the other end can naturally accommodate different thickness skis. 3. Carrier has a usable width (i.e. width of skis side by side) of 32.75 inches (832 mm). For those that are not skiing on 75-mm-wide skis from 30 years ago, this carrier might actually allow you to fit 6 pairs! 4. Separate mounting brackets for aero or for square/circle cross bars. The aero brackets fit securely on my Acura/Honda OEM cross bars. The flat part of your skis will be about 3 inches (76 mm) above your cross bars. 5. A built-in lift bracket that lifts by an additional 3 inches (76 mm) the hinged end of the carrier, if you have really tall bindings (I don't think I'll need to use it). 6. The aero brackets use a rubber coated steel strap to wrap under your cross bars. This strap has a quick release cam on one end that can be operated when the carrier is not key-locked. This means you can remove or install the carrier without tools in about 4 minutes, once you've done the initial install-related tuning. While the carrier seems sturdy enough to leave on the vehicle all winter, I expect I'll only install it on ski days. This feature really sets this model apart and for me was its biggest selling point. 7. Yakima packages the carrier in a nice-looking sturdy cardboard box with a flap lid. I can fit the two parts of the carrier in the box, with the brackets/straps still installed, for convenient storage (see picture). CONS: None so far, though I haven't yet actually hauled skis up the mountain! After this ski season is over and eTrailer asks me for a follow-up review, I'll let you know. I'm also thinking about seeing if the ski carrier can be attached to my small hitch-mounted cargo carrier. That would make loading and unloading the skis easier than on the roof.
First off...you can't beat the service of etrailer.com. I was looking for a ski rack for my son's 2012 Subaru Impreza with the factory roof rack (base model not the sport). I could find no reviews of anybody installing one of these on one of those. I took the plunge and will say that I am very happy with the outcome. The installation is a bit tricky and four hands help, but after the first one was installed we had the hang of it and the second one went on very quickly. Even with the expedited shipping this rack was about $50 cheaper than the Subaru ski rack. Again the etrailer.com service is fantastic. I have purchased products here before and will do so again.
# 6
Thule SnowPack Ski and Snowboard Carrier - Locking - 6 Pairs of Skis or 4 Boards - Black
This rack easily fits 5 sets of skis for my family. It is FAIRLY easy to take on and off (could be faster if we didn't have to turn turn turn the dials). My biggest complaint is that as soon as my skis are out of it, I HAVE to remove it from my car (SUV). The noise of it empty on my roof is so loud when I am on the highway it is AWFUL! It's like it vibrates my whole car and is super loud. It only does it when there are no skis in it. It is frustrating since it would be way easier just to leave it on all winter taking my skis on and off when we need to, not the entire rack.
Just put this snowboard rack on my 2011 4runner mounted to Thule Aeroblade roof rack. Easy to install and use. Quality seems good. Like the look. No noise issues when driving. No complaints so far. Overall satisfied!
# 7
Kuat Grip Ski and Snowboard Carrier - Slide Out - 6 Pairs of Skis or 4 Boards - Black
Rack works great. Slide out makes loading and unloading much easier. So far we only put five pairs of fat skis on. Might have room for one more pair if I closed the gap between pairs but we didn’t need six pairs for that trip. Only problem was the rack froze up after driving through fresh rain. We had no problems with freezing while driving through salted slush. So far we’ve used it on two longer ski trips to CO from AZ. It’s quiet and strong. We once had a cheaper rack release our top model, expensive, skis onto the highway at 65 mph. That’s why I bought a Kuat.
These rack are great, I have them on both of my SUVs all winter. The etrailer seevice was excellent as well.
# 8
Thule SnowPack Ski and Snowboard Carrier - Locking - 6 Pairs of Skis or 4 Boards - Silver
So easy to install onto Thule AeroBlade. Quality materials and convenient design. No significant noise noticeable from wind resistance when driving. etrailer provided great shipment/notification support and was great resource for how-to videos, commentary.
Better than I expected. Only comes with four core locks so be aware of that if you want six like I did. Bought two more locks from Thule with the same key #. Mounted this carrier on my Rhino Rack. Perfect fit and looks great. Would highly recommend.
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