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Man Devises Clever DIY System to Load Sheet Goods Onto Roof Rack by Himself

Also: How do you safely carry sheet goods on a roof rack?

By Rain Noe - October 24, 2018

in DIY

A couple months ago I foolishly purchased a roof rack for my station wagon, thinking I would use it to carry 4x8 plywood and sheetrock from the home supply center back to the farm. Then I realized how dangerous this would be--at highway speeds (which I would need to travel), the wind could rip them right off if I didn't strap them in correctly or if a connection failed. I don't want to kill the guy behind me because I was trying to save money on delivery fees.

That being said, plenty of people do carry sheet goods on roof racks, and for short trips where you can do less than 30 MPH, perhaps it's safe. The biggest hazard might be to your back, trying to muscle the sheets atop your car. So this fellow here came up with a clever way to load the sheets by himself:

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Do any of you use roof racks to transport sheet goods? If so, over what distances, and at what speeds? The tow eyes on my car are the lousy kind that are mounted off-center and hidden behind panels on the bumper, and I'm not confident that I could use them to create a robust connection front and rear.

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Stephen Hill

6 years ago

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I think the thing I appreciate the most is that he is loading sheet goods on top of a PORSCHE.

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James Stanek

6 years ago

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I carried sheet goods on the roof of my previous wagon--an E Mercedes. The Mercedes worked because the cross bars were pretty far apart, about 42", if I remember correctly. My current Audi Allroad is smaller, and the cross bars much closer together, so mostly I have sheet goods delivered now. (Still put boards on the roof, though.) Here are some rules I follow:
1) I never put just 1 or 2 sheets of 1/4" material on the roof alone. I always make sure to get at least 1 sheet of 3/4" material as well. Then I use 2 small C clamps to clamp all the sheets together at the front edge to keep them from peeling apart. Sandwiching thinner materials between thicker materials is best.
2) My cross bars have a rectangular section and are 50" wide. So I use four 6" F clamps to hold the plywood to the roof rack, one at each end of the cross bar. I have used clamps to hold lumber to roof racks for about 15 years, and never had even a hint of a mishap. I've never seen anyone else do it, so I guess this is either my greatest or worst idea of all time.
3) I avoid highways and keep to 40mph or less.

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Juan Cano

6 years ago

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I like his ingenuity and wonder if the bars he uses for sliding the sheets up and down could also be used to 'sandwich' down a load of 4x8s. No, I haven't tried putting a 4 x 8 sheet on my little Subaru Impreza. Yet.

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jazzy ux

6 years ago

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I've gotten tons of use out of Yakima loadstops, which work well for moving large furniture items, provided there is a least one side that's fairly rectangular.

The biggest negative is the load limit on my roof is 150lb. With a single sheet of drywall weighing around 50lbs, that's a lot of trips.

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