Traveling with boards on truck when weather is really hot.

[clinto]

Im going this weekend to a lake that is 2 hours away. We will be traveling with 2 boards on the roof of my truck and im concerned about the heat. They are talking 95 degrees F when i will be driving there and back. I had them out in the sun for maybe an hour last weekend and when i took them down to rinse, the top board that had the most sun exposure was letting air out of the goretex plug when i started rinsing them. It was only around 85 that day. I live in FL so this will most likely be a normal issue. Will board socks help at all? Any tips, tricks or cautions on the subject?

[ford]

At least the plug was doing its job!

I live south of Houston so I've gone ahead and ordered a new topless bag for my touring board. I already have a sock for my other board. It certainly can't hurt and I don't want to damage my board beyond what I'll do just banging it into stuff.

[Bulky]

As a rule, I never leave my boards exposed to the sun on the roof of my truck.  I prefer the Victory Koredry topless board bags but I'm sure any cover will be fine.  If your board isn't black, you might be OK for one trip, but since the remedy is much cheaper and easier than the repair, I'd err on safety.

This issue makes me wonder why anyone ever sells black boards--I've got one and I know it looks cool to see the carbon, but I've seen them deformed in only a matter of hours in the sun.  Even with a board that isn't black, I saw a guy who kept his board on the roof rack for extended periods of time and it basically cooked it--totally discolored and completely snapped when he took it out.

With my daily routine, my board sits on the roof of my car in the sun most workdays, but under the  topless cover I've never seen it get up over 100F which is still very safe for the board.  Without a cover, the board could be too hot to touch in minutes.

[LeeBee]

I live in Colorado where the sun is very strong and have a Victory cover which makes a big difference on my BlackBox UNO (dark green). Another issue is that when the board surface gets hot it certainly loses strength and the issue of the tie down straps denting the bottom if too tight becomes another potential issue. I purchased a piece of 1/2" foam used for under a sleeping bag (inexpensive type) and cut a piece about 36" long by 26" wide to slide under the cover so the the straps compress the foam cushioning against the board surface. It also fills the concave on SUP's with that sort of bottom and minimizes strap  vibration. Another approach is to buy some foam plumbing insulation and run the straps their the center hole to spread the forces out a bit.

[SUPJorge]

This is an issue for me also, driving up Florida's east coast looking for waves. With no cover on the board, I've pulled over numerous times to touch and see how they're doing and I've always been surprised that they're not very hot -- much less than when I've left them in the Sun sitting on the beach.  Could it be that the wind flowing over the board at 65mph has cooled them off?

[Bulky]

This is an issue for me also, driving up Florida's east coast looking for waves. With no cover on the board, I've pulled over numerous times to touch and see how they're doing and I've always been surprised that they're not very hot -- much less than when I've left them in the Sun sitting on the beach.  Could it be that the wind flowing over the board at 65mph has cooled them off?

I certainly think the wind would keep things cool. The danger is when you stop for an hour long lunch with a black board on the roof. You won't be able to touch it it'll cook so hot.

[Night Wing]

I've got one question. I know when I'm transporting my sup on my roof racks on top of my truck cab, with the wind going over my sup at 70 mph, the board doesn't get hot. It only gets hot if I stop for 15 minutes and the sup is exposed to direct sunlight.

Since I live in southeast Texas (and today's high temperature is supposed to get to 96 degrees with 85% humidity), I would like to know how these topless board bags will hold up traveling 70 mph for a 2 1/2 trip. In other words, will the wind rip these topless board bag to shreds? The topless board bag I'm looking at is in the link below.

http://www.paddleboardcover.com/products/product/181

Any comments, both pro and con, will be appreciated.

[SlatchJim]

I drive through the valleys of So Cal with boards on the roof for extended periods of time  Two boards have exposed carbon rails that I used to worry about.  Nothing ever happened while driving.  Left in the sun for one summer day and both boards rails melted a bit.

Moral of the story: Driving should be fine, stationary you better find some shade.
Second moral... have your exposed carbon rails painted.  The carbon looks really cool but sucks up the sun more than a Wisconsin sorority on spring break.

[Night Wing]

@SlatchJim

My custom all carbon Hammer is going to be all painted (top, bottom, rails) with no exposed black carbon. I already thought about that when I ordered my Hammer. I'm just curious to see how durable these topless board bags are driving on the highway at 70 mph.

[Bulky]

I paddled over 180 days in 2015 which meant my board was in one of those Topless Boardbags for my daily commute at 70mph.  The bags are holding up fine.  I've got two of them on each of my 14s and they get a couple holes here or there over time but none of those are due to wind on the drive--and I don't see high speed travel making them any bigger.  I figure if they lasted me a year that's worth it as far as protecting the board and it's been longer than that.  For me, those bags are "must-have" parts of my kit.  They're also noise free which isn't the cast for a lot of the thicker zipper bags (which I have had break down and torn into ribbons).

[SlatchJim]

@SlatchJim

My custom all carbon Hammer is going to be all painted (top, bottom, rails) with no exposed black carbon. I already thought about that when I ordered my Hammer. I'm just curious to see how durable these topless board bags are driving on the highway at 70 mph.

Good call.

And as far as Bulky goes, who can say what the truth is?  A:  He's no longer bulky. B:  I think he just takes off his shirt and drives around "topless" with the boards on his car showing off his new physique. C: He's aquaman.  D: I'm too lazy to use a boardbag. E: and too cheap.

[Night Wing]

With the amount of money I'm spending for my custom all carbon Hammer, I'm going to order a topless board bag for traveling and also to use it to keep the dirt off of my Hammer when it is stored in my garage.