Transporting surf and paddle boards on the side of your camper van
Introduction
The privileged amongst us who own a self contained motorhome or campervan in NZ can turn up at almost any beach and stay for a day or two, take to the surf and enjoy.
A well equiped campervan or motorhome will have roof vents, solar panels and a satellite dish, we often see the solar panels shaded by roof racks, kayaks and surfboards.
Solar panels are pretty useless when even a small part of them is shaded because the cells are connected in series, think of the old Christmas lights, if one bulb blew the whole string of lights would stop working, it is very much the same with a solar panel, if one cell is shaded all the cells that are interconnected stop working.
Carrying and storing the boards on the roof can be a problem, with regards loading and unloading too.
To keep the roof clear and maintain a fully functioning solar system and satellite system you probably need to find another place to store the surfboards. Some will store them on the bed, on the floor or under the vehicle when camping.
Storing inside brings salty water and beach sand into the living space and storing under the vehicle is a worry with regard damage or theft.
There is an alternative solution that works very well especially on the high sided panel vans. Most of the modern campers are Mercedes Sprinters, Fiat Ducatos and VW Crafters and now we also have gutter mount brackets for the Civilian, Hi-ace and Coaster. The boards can be stored on the driver side of the vehicle thus enabling the driver to watch them through the rear view mirror whilst driving, yet the boards are mounted high enough not to obstruct the view to the rear of the vehicle.
Our surf boars rack's, hang down from the roof and are firmly mounted to the side of the vehicle, making loading and unloading easy from the side of the road, no ladders required.
The brackets are also easily removed from the side of the vehicle if no surf boards are being transported, we supply a specific bracket type for each vehicle type, and we are very happy to redesign our existing brackets for other vehicle types that are not listed here.
See a video clip of the removal of the brackets
Hi do you do them for toyota hiace hightop vans