Wanted: ski/snowboard builds

[EruptionEnvy602]

In the winter, our bronco is our snow vehicle (our AWD prius does well too!). I've got a rack on backorder, and will be installing a tailgate table for parking lot lunches.
I'd love to see builds that are ski/snowboard minded. Racks, boxes, storage for gear all are important. I'm wondering what other items are off my radar.

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[Molly&Moby]

In the winter, our bronco is our snow vehicle (our AWD prius does well too!). I've got a rack on backorder, and will be installing a tailgate table for parking lot lunches.
I'd love to see builds that are ski/snowboard minded. Racks, boxes, storage for gear all are important. I'm wondering what other items are off my radar.

We have a 4-door Badlands Sas with the Soft top. I have been looking for a ski rack solution that does not involve the hitch so the tailgate door is easily opened without any hassle. No one makes a spare tire rack anymore it seems. My garage door header is relatively low sow a soft top roof rack won't work either as there would not be enough clearance. So I came up with a solution for inside. I got a 4 ft by 1 inch square piece of aluminum. Spray painted it black and attached it to one of the headliner mount locations just behind the front row seats with a screw/bolt on each end. A strip of velcro on it and the rear roll cage, and patches on the top of each ski. Works great!! I am 6-4 and my skis are 185 length, the 2nd pair of skis are much shorter than mine. The skis fit perfectly, the velcro prevents any movement and/or rattling. The soft top clears everything when opening/closing. The skis are easily loaded and fit into position without having to open the top. Interested in anyone's thoughts. Pics attached.

 

[Mainer]

The only thing to consider is how much snow is going to be melting off them on the ride home and dripping all over everyone.
Otherwise, it’s pretty good.

 

[mikes781]

Interesting @Molly&Moby . Might have to steel that idea for hanging fishing rods in my Bronco. I don’t know about your skis my mine are caked with snow at the end of each day and would be getting dripped on the whole way home. I general clean them off before getting on the road but there is always some snow caked into the bindings that I needs to clean up once I get home.

This will be my first ski season with a Bronco after coming from a pickup with a cap. Pickup was very convenient for hauling ski gear. For my Bronco I have a cargo box for longer trips when I’m hauling several pairs of skis. For quick day runs when it’s just me or me and my daughter I’m putting the back seat down and will throw a pair or two back there.

 

[Molly&Moby]

Interesting @Molly&Moby . Might have to steel that idea for hanging fishing rods in my Bronco. I don’t know about your skis my mine are caked with snow at the end of each day and would be getting dripped on the whole way home. I general clean them off before getting on the road but there is always some snow caked into the bindings that I needs to clean up once I get home.

This will be my first ski season with a Bronco after coming from a pickup with a cap. Pickup was very convenient for hauling ski gear. For my Bronco I have a cargo box for longer trips when I’m hauling several pairs of skis. For quick day runs when it’s just me or me and my daughter I’m putting the back seat down and will throw a pair or two back there.

I too am moving from a truck with a garage door style rolling & locking bed cover. It is so convenient for hauling ski gear but the Bronco certainly drives better in the winter conditions.

My skis, which are 185 don’t fit well inside the Bronco with the seats down, too long. So I was looking for a solution that secured them while driving and was easy to get them in/out.

I hadn’t even thought of the melting snow issue, thanks for that reminder! The bindings rest behind the front row seats and 99.9% of the time it will be just my wife and I in there so that should not be an issue. I suspect binding covers could help.

 

[mikes781]

I haven’t really missed my truck yet but do have to think about what I can fit in the back of the Bronco. That issue never came up with the truck.

If I put the narrow back seat down I can get my 188s in the back if I angle them. Not ideal but can make it work. My 165s fit straight in no problem. Think anything much longer than them will have to be angled. Only concern with hauling them in the back is that they turn into a projectile if I’m ever in an accident.

 

[EruptionEnvy602]

Really cool solution I'd never have considered. As cold and windy as it often is when we get to the mountain (our base elevation is ≈9000ft) I'm not sure I want to need to open the bronco to access gear. However, I applaud the ingenuity.
My goal is definitely to optimize the Bronco for ski trips and camping. Saw the heated seat add-ons people have done fir the back. I like that.

 

[Durangatan]

Only concern with hauling them in the back is that they turn into a projectile if I’m ever in an accident.

I have a locker at our ski hill and several pair of my ski’s general live there.

Every week however a pair comes home for a tune (I typically teach 5 days per week). In those cases a padded ski bag lives in the back of my winter driver (Audi - not my Bronco). I don’t rock the ski bag for projectile protection, but rather to keep the interior from being scuffed up. That may be a solution for you.

 

[Durangatan]

I too am moving from a truck with a garage door style rolling & locking bed cover. It is so convenient for hauling ski gear but the Bronco certainly drives better in the winter conditions.

My skis, which are 185 don’t fit well inside the Bronco with the seats down, too long.

They don’t fit diagonally? My FIS GS skis fit fine in a 4 door.

 

[RagnarKon]

I'm in the middle of working on a build right now. It's primarily for winter skiing, but also with camping in mind.

I will probably do a video on it eventually, but for now still a work in progress. So far:

• Trailrax TSMR (roof rack)
  • More geared for camping/overlanding than skiing, but overall the best Bronco roof rack in my opinion
• Old and crusty early-1990s Yakima ski racks
  • These will get replaced eventually, keeping my eye on holiday sales
• Outback Adventure Trailgater (tailgate table)
  • Pricey, but one of the better options
  • Got a video on it.
• Dometic CFX3 55 (fridge)
  • More for summer camping than winter skiing. But it can still get toasty in the Bronco during a sunny summer ski day
  • Powered by an Anker Solix C1000, with solar, and pass-through charging to the Bronco.

The fridge consumes about half of the floor space in the cargo area (probably about a fifth of the overall cargo space). So currently figuring out solutions to better organize the cargo area. Also trying to figure out a solution for the ski poles (although lately I've been snowboarding more than skiing). So I'll be keeping my eye on this thread.

 

[mikes781]

I have a locker at our ski hill and several pair of my ski’s general live there.

Every week however a pair comes home for a tune (I typically teach 5 days per week). In those cases a padded ski bag lives in the back of my winter driver (Audi - not my Bronco). I don’t rock the ski bag for projectile protection, but rather to keep the interior from being scuffed up. That may be a solution for you.

I have a couple of bags laying around and that was my plan. My problem is I to drag too many skis along not know what mood will strike me that day.

 

[Spicygb]

I’m in the process of putting my snowboarding build together. Oem roof rack, Thule box, JCR Tailgate table for additional setup space. Some extra lights wouldn’t hurt either.

 

[Molly&Moby]

They don’t fit diagonally? My FIS GS skis fit fine in a 4 door.

Most of our Ski trips are to Mammoth which is a 4-5 hour drive, so it is almost always a 3-4 day/night trip. Too much other “stuff” in the back, so the skis ride high on top of the “pile” in the back. I am wary of them being projectiles should I have to break quickly. came up with this solution to solve that/those issues. 99% of the time it is just two of us with just two pair of skis/poles. I would not recommend my solution for any more than that. I don’t think it would work for more than 3 pair of skis and a tall driver(like me). Ski season is upon us, will see how this works out.

 

[harpo]

I'm in the middle of working on a build right now. It's primarily for winter skiing, but also with camping in mind.

I will probably do a video on it eventually, but for now still a work in progress. So far:

• Trailrax TSMR (roof rack)
  • More geared for camping/overlanding than skiing, but overall the best Bronco roof rack in my opinion
• Old and crusty early-1990s Yakima ski racks
  • These will get replaced eventually, keeping my eye on holiday sales
• Outback Adventure Trailgater (tailgate table)
  • Pricey, but one of the better options
  • Got a video on it.
• Dometic CFX3 55 (fridge)
  • More for summer camping than winter skiing. But it can still get toasty in the Bronco during a sunny summer ski day
  • Powered by an Anker Solix C1000, with solar, and pass-through charging to the Bronco.

The fridge consumes about half of the floor space in the cargo area (probably about a fifth of the overall cargo space). So currently figuring out solutions to better organize the cargo area. Also trying to figure out a solution for the ski poles (although lately I've been snowboarding more than skiing). So I'll be keeping my eye on this thread.

I've got the old crusty 1996 Yakima ski racks too. They were quite at home on my 96 Impreza outback. I put them on the bronco and suddenly the racks looked old and decrepid.

I'm pondering a roof box. The Thule pulse alpine looks like it would work. I've got a 2 door and big long skis. The skis only fit if between the front seats in the bronco.


I still have the old Subaru and last year drove it half the time but the clutch is going so if traffic is bad (stop and go for and hour on a 6% grade) I took the bronco. This year I want to retire the Subaru so am looking at options.

Either way, box or old rack, I need to add a step or something so I can reach the box or rack.

So few skiers on this forum, was hoping this thread would be full of good options....

 

[SkiSquatch]

On a related note, this is my first winter, I’ve got Sas. Any recommendations for winter tires? Like most that hit the mountains in the winter, we’re frequently driving in winter storms and immediately after.

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