Customer Reviews

Thule 575 Snowboard Carrier Rooftop Rack

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We love this thing! No more flat models for us! It is pretty easy to install and remove as well as putting the boards up there and removing them. We bought a couple of these so we can have a total of 4 boards on our top of our van. The design of this gadget prevents your bindings from being smooshed against the top of the van like flat carriers while maintaining a space saving yet very functional design. We love it! Highly recommended!!

From the pictures you can't really tell how the rack mount works and I had to play around with it to really understand it.

In text, here's how it works:

-There are two slots that look like an "E", each slot holds one board (though it almost looks like it can hold 2 boards back to back).
-There are 2 non-stretchable cables that have a flat metal stopper on each end. One stopper goes into the back of the rack on the side you cannot see, it is rather difficult to get in and there are 3 possible "slots" for it to lock into.
-The other end of the cable goes into a clamp system that is fairly straight forward.
-The non-stretchable cables themselves have a single rubber "sleeve" that really is useless and gets bent in really weird ways when tightened down. I have a feeling it will crack and break after heavy use.

Now lets run down the pros and cons.

Pros:
-It looks cool. I'm sorry, I'm shallow, but I think it looks cool having the boards up at an angle like that
-It saves a ton of rack space. I have another flat top on the other side of my car to hold any skis if need be.
-Easy to access the boards. Because they're angled out they're easy to put on and off so you don't damage your car.
-Holds boards away from your roof. Bindings won't scratch your paint, yay!

Cons (this is going to be a long list):
-Non locking cables. Because the cables do not permanently or securely lock into the rack when there are no boards, you need to take them off and stow them, then re-attach them when you put the boards on. What happens when one disappears mid trip? You now are driving home with 2 boards only half secured on your roof.
-Inconvenient cable slots. As mentioned before, one end of the cables goes into the back of the rack. You can't see it and have to slip them in by touch. When your hands are freezing thats pretty tough.
-Does not handle different sized boards well. This is probably my biggest gripe. My board is 172cm and most of my friend's boards are around 155cm. Because our board widths are so different, the smaller board doesn't get secured and will actually slide loosely around, even though they have a stopped in the rack to compensate for that. I can't put the second board all the way up because the cables won't be long enough to make it around my super wide board.
-Does not handle different sized boards well, v2. If you have different sized boards on your rack all the time, you need to re-adjust the cables every time, and it's not that easy sometimes.
-Security bolts aren't long enough. The security bolts used to secure the 575 to your base rack are NOT long enough to fit on the Aero bars from Thule. I had to go buy several longer M16 threaded hex bolts to put in and these can be easily removed so the attachments can be stolen. This is a HUGE oversight by Thule. I will be calling them to ask for longer bolts from them soon.
-Locks freeze. There is a cover over the lock hole to keep the lock mechanism from freezing. The cover itself froze and I couldn't get my key in. It's happened on every trip so far. My flat top also from Thule doesn't have this problem so may be a defect but beware.
-Did I mention you can lose the cables easily?

This only got two stars because of the cool factor, otherwise it'd only get one. The design is very poor and is extremely inflexible. Technically I could leave the cables in when there are no boards on the rack but they may end up flailing around in the wind and damage my car which I don't want to happen for obvious reasons.

Rack installed in minutes, and I can get my boards in and out without having to lean against my car. It still leaves room for my Thule carrier on the other side for all my boots, etc. Exactly what I was hoping it would be. Wish the lock was a combo rather than a key, keys get lost to easily.

Rack installs in minutes, little tools needed. Straps are adjustable, but worried about how well it will work in mid-winter when I am tired from riding and cold ...ready to go home. Would probably have bought the flat rack for ski and snowboard if I hadn't got this rack at such a discount in a store.

I would not buy anything from Thule this is the second time I have bought a kit of theirs and half of the parts for assembly are missing - or perhaps it was a returned product????!!!!