How do you haul stuff on cargo bars on a car?

[masraum]

I've had a few SUVs that had rails and bars on the roof that were OEM. For those, the rails were front to back and the bars could be slid forward/backward so you could get a decent distance between them.

What about this sort of thing? This is not our car, but it's almost identical (down to the color). 2018 Outback.
How would you strap something (or would you) like a sheet of plywood or a box spring to something like this? The bars are in a certain position as dictated by the installation instructions. I would hesitate to move them to the extreme ends since I assume there is a purpose behind the measurements made in the installation instructions. I am not that comfortable strapping something long to such a short base.

[jyl]

If the bars can be adjusted fore and aft, and the load is light (like a mattress), I wouldn't have much concern about temporarily repositioning them.

[Scott Douglas]

If the rails are anchored to the roof at the ends, moving the bars to the furthest fore/aft positions will give them the least amount of leverage on the rails.
One thing to keep in mind is the aero loading from driving at speed.

If I were moving a bed (box spring/mattress set), I'd load the box spring on first and be sure to tie the mattress down to it at the leading edge to keep it from being bent up by the wind pressure.
I also wouldn't drive over 55 mph either, but that's just me not wanting to litter the highway with my stuff.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

If the rails are anchored to the roof at the ends, moving the bars to the furthest fore/aft positions will give them the least amount of leverage on the rails.
One thing to keep in mind is the aero loading from driving at speed.

If I were moving a bed (box spring/mattress set), I'd load the box spring on first and be sure to tie the mattress down to it at the leading edge to keep it from being bent up by the wind pressure.
I also wouldn't drive over 55 mph either, but that's just me not wanting to litter the highway with my stuff.

Right, when moving stuff like mattresses, plywood, etc..., I've always tended to hang them more forward and tried to angle them down a little bit, and then ensured that the front was strapped to try to keep wind from getting under it and bending it up.

What the missus wants to move is a queen sized box spring, and the drive would be 55 miles from the nearest store. We could probably avoid the interstate for 25 miles and use a state highway. I could maybe stick to a feeder/frontage road for more. But there's also a ton of construction so that might force us onto the highway.

Right, I've seen the results of folks that did a crap job of tying a mattress down. I've seen people driving with the front of the mattress standing straight up with the mattress bent at a 90º angle. I've seen mattresses on the side of the interstate. I've seen mattresses that looked like they'd been run over or dragged. And I've seen pics of cars on fire with a mattress wedged underneath or with what looks like mattress springs wrapped around a drive shaft.

[Scott Douglas]

Box springs don't tend to bend so much, like mattresses do.
Investing in some good tie down straps would be wise. Think of them as more than a one time use item and it's easier to spend some money on nice ones.
I've got some Ancra straps I got when I moved my motorcycle from CO back to CA a long time ago. They are still my go-to straps to this day.

[Scott Douglas]

Don't forget there's going to be a lot of air coming off the windshield too so I wouldn't go too far forward. A strap going around the back and up over the corner to the other side should keep it from moving backwards.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Box springs don't tend to bend so much, like mattresses do.
Investing in some good tie down straps would be wise. Think of them as more than a one time use item and it's easier to spend some money on nice ones.
I've got some Ancra straps I got when I moved my motorcycle from CO back to CA a long time ago. They are still my go-to straps to this day.

Right, I used to have some good tie down straps. We'll have to get more. I'll have to look around for spots that I can tie off. I knew that eventually we'd end up hauling something on the outback. I haven't been looking forward to it.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I would spread the bars the extreme fore/aft positions and worry not a bit about that.

Worrying about the aero loading of plywood/etc is a different story, but you've got pelican smarts, so you should be fine.

Here's my racks taking advantage of the whole length of the bars.

[masraum]

How about actually strapping the load down? I can't imagine, especially something like a mattress or plywood should just be strapped to the rack. It seems like it would be better to open the windows and strap around the entire roof. But then there's the issue of closing the doors if there's a frame around the windows or strapping around the frame (can't open the doors until you remove the straps).

[masraum]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

I would spread the bars the extreme fore/aft positions and worry not a bit about that.

Worrying about the aero loading of plywood/etc is a different story, but you've got pelican smarts, so you should be fine.

Here's my racks taking advantage of the whole length of the bars.

impressive. That's a bunch of bikes. your roof looks nice and long.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by masraum

impressive. That's a bunch of bikes. your roof looks nice and long.

yeah, that's one nice thing about that make, extra long length.
If I were hauling a mattress/springs on your car, I'd spread the bars as far apart as possible in the rails, put the box springs down first, then the floppy mattress on top, and pull down on the mattress with numerous cargo ratchet straps mounted off the front and back of the car from under the bumpers.

The box spring section would give a backbone the mattress could be pulled down against.
If I were hauling 4x8 plywood, I would lay them on some 2x4's to give a similar amount of support to the flimsy plywood. In the past, I have even made rudimentary "frames" from 2x4's to support plywood/drywall.

I would run the straps from front bumper over the top to back bumper, to pull it tight against the frame, and some across from side to side. Something like that. You just don't want to depend on the rack for fighting lift of any object overhanging off the front of the rack.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

yeah, that's one nice thing about that make, extra long length.
If I were hauling a mattress/springs on your car, I'd spread the bars as far apart as possible in the rails, put the box springs down first, then the floppy mattress on top, and pull down on the mattress with numerous cargo ratchet straps mounted off the front and back of the car from under the bumpers.

The box spring section would give a backbone the mattress could be pulled down against.
If I were hauling 4x8 plywood, I would lay them on some 2x4's to give a similar amount of support to the flimsy plywood.

I would run the straps from front bumper over the top to back bumper, to pull it tight against the frame, and some across from side to side. Something like that. You just don't want to depend on the rack for fighting lift of any object overhanging off the front of the rack.

Agreed. Now to see if there's anyplace solid enough on the front and back of the car to strap to. The back probably isn't too bad since we've got a hitch. The front is probably another story entirely since most of the front of the car is probably brittle plastic and fiberglass and flexible plasticy bits.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by masraum

Agreed. Now to see if there's anyplace solid enough on the front and back of the car to strap to. The back probably isn't too bad since we've got a hitch. The front is probably another story entirely since most of the front of the car is probably brittle plastic and fiberglass and flexible plasticy bits.

LOL- been there done that! Fwiw, you could install the front bumper tow hook on the passenger's side bumper, which would solve that side, but you'll still have to get creative on the driver's side, unless there's a tow hook mount there as well

[Scott Douglas]

I would concentrate on strapping the box spring to the bars. Two ratchet straps over the top should do that just fine. Then put the mattress on top and strap it to the box spring. Three straps, front, middle and rear should do that. Then I'd add one more going from the right rear corner bar over the top of both mattress and box spring and around the back then over to the other bar at the left rear. That shouldn't move at all. No need to go to the front bumper or rear for that matter. If I had a spare piece of plywood I wanted moved I'd put it on top of the mattress to sandwich it with the box spring. The mattress is going to be the big 'problem' since it is 'soft' and will compress/move on you as you tighten the straps.

[A930Rocket]

My first inclination was to put the boxspring on first and the mattress on top. But thinking about it more, would it make sense to put the boxspring on top, to help prevent the mattress from bending up while driving?

As mentioned, spread the bars as far forward and aft as possible. Strap the mattresses together and run ropes fore and aft. When we kayaked, there was a type of knot we would use to keep the kayaks on side side and front to back. In the front, you could probably find a tow hook or something underneath the front bumper for your rope.

[masraum]

Fortunately, we've already got the mattress and are just getting a box spring. So the mattress isn't a problem because it's already here. We just didn't get one when we got the mattress, but the missus has now decided that she wants one.

[MysticLlama]

Why not just get a taller metal base and throw it inside the car?

Unless you mean something with actual springs, I haven't seen a 'box spring' with actual springs in it in years, I thought they were all platforms for the most part now.

We had one of those bedframes with the wood slats that just never was that great. Got the same metal platform as in the other rooms, tossed the slats, and dropped it right inside the bedframe, so much better.

[jyl]

There should be a tow hook or other place under front valance. Use something to pad the strap or rope where it touches the hood leading edge.

[look 171]

i used to haul two full sheets of 3/4 plywood on top of my 1980 Celica with the help of a bike rack and four large C clamps. I even clamped saw horses on top of the plywood and go to work. Those were my early years of working right out of high school. Hey, gotta to make money, now, not so much because if something falls and damage something or hurt someone, I have too damn much to lose.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by MysticLlama

Why not just get a taller metal base and throw it inside the car?

Unless you mean something with actual springs, I haven't seen a 'box spring' with actual springs in it in years, I thought they were all platforms for the most part now.

We had one of those bedframes with the wood slats that just never was that great. Got the same metal platform as in the other rooms, tossed the slats, and dropped it right inside the bedframe, so much better.

Yes, box springs these days are really just a box with a cloth covering. That's actually something that I'm going to go check in a bit, how much, if any give is in the top of the box springs. We have 2 identical mattresses other than that one is a full and one is a queen. The full has a box spring, the queen does not. The missus is uncomfortable sleeping on the queen, but not the full. The only difference should be the smaller size and the fact that one has a box spring. So the theory is that a box spring may somehow help.