After looking into the various ski boxes on the market, I narrowed my decision to the Flatline Ski Box and the Owl Alpine Box. I chose the Flatline box as I felt the proportions of the Owl box were too large on the back of a Sprinter (I also don't need to carry 205 skis). My rear door carrier is an Owl B2 Classic and as such, I needed to use the Flatline B2 brackets to mount the ski box (more on this later). I spaced the brackets so my mounting holes would be placed 30" apart. This spacing required that I drill two new mounting holes in the ski box. Mounting the brackets to the B2 and getting the Ski Box on the brackets was easy enough.
My needs for this box are to carry two snowboards (162 and 165) and two pairs of skis (144 and 110). The product description mentions that the box can accommodate up to 4 snowboards or 4 pairs of skis. Two of each should be easy, especially with such small skis, right?
This is where the fun began.
Even though the description says the box will hold 4, none of the gallery images actually show 4 of anything in the box. The left slot of the ski holders cannot accommodate a snowboard. There are metal brackets covering the door latches and this bracket will hit the edge of the board, preventing the door from closing. I tried numerous times to get the latch to clear the board and was unsuccessful.
After puzzling with it for well over an hour, trying various holder heights and board/ski positions, I eventually figured out a way to get everything inside and adequately spaced without any rubbing. The various attached pictures show some of my other attempts.
Pros:
- The box itself is very well constructed and the welds are clean
- The hinges are stout and snug.
- The weatherproof seal looks to be very durable
Cons:
- More thought might need to go into the design of the ski holders and/or the sizing/spacing of the slots. Maybe something modular? I'm already looking at ways to modify the left most slot to keeps skis on a diagonal.
- I'm used to Thule/Yakima lock cores and by comparison, the locks on the ski box feel cheap
- The latch/bracket takes up way too much space inside the box and prevented me from placing a snowboard in the left slot. Surely there must be a different style of lock (bolt?) that can be used
I mentioned that the size of the Owl box as the reason I didn't purchase it. I think the height of the Flatline box is perfect. I also think that after trying to stuff 2 boards and 2 skis into the box, another 1-2" of width would be beneficial and offer just a bit more space for both ski and board bindings.
Another thing I want to mention is the use of hex bolts for mounting the box. In a Flatline video that discusses the features of their rear boxes, it is mentioned that they chose hex bolts over carriage bolts because if you attempt to loosen the nut on a hex bolt from behind the box, the bolt will spin unless you have access to the inside of the box. This is a security feature. If you are using their B2 Brackets, the bolts securing the brackets to the B2 are not enclosed inside the box and are easily accessible. Something to keep in mind if you are also shopping for a carrier to mount the box on.
Overall, I'm happy with the Ski Box and I feel it will meet my needs. I definitely feel there is some room for improvement.
Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTcw9GxHsf0