bike/luggage rack

[Roadie]

Hi all,
recently I upgraded my CLK coupe to a convertible which I think is the dogs danglies but of course I know have a luggage space issue. I can deal with the amount of space offered when the roof is up as that's pretty normal but my main issue is now trying to get my snowboard inside. I go snowboarding every month and I will be able to fit it in the passenger seat as I usually travel there on my own but in April next year myself and some friends will be going on a cannon ball style run to Austria for the 10th snowbombing event and i'm really going to struggle to get all of our kit inside, well not exactly struggle as it just isn't going to happen, so, can anyone suggest an alternative way of loading 3x snowboards to my CLK? I've looked at fleabay at the strap on rear bike racks that I could bungy cord boards to but they all seem to fit too hatch backs.
Any snowboarders/ski'ers here?

 

[imadoofus]

You should have thought about that before you bought the car

See here

 

[Roadie]

Thanks for that

 

[Mark300SL]

Personally - I wouldnt want a RWD, big tyred, automatic convertible in the snow

Thought about a hire car for the week ? I do appreciate the "cannonball" part might not be as much fun but overall it may be a better choice if you need space.

 

[Roadie]

Oh i'm not too worried about driving in the snow as it will boil down to how you drive and i'm certainly not one to show off in my car and I'm planning on fitting LPG to mine in the New Year so that will help in the fuel costs as it's around an 1,800 mile round trip. The boot space available is good as long as I keep the roof up and some how I don't think i'll be lowering it for the journey. That and the boot rack that imadoofus found and i'll be laughing.

 

[imadoofus]

The boot space available is good as long as I keep the roof up

And as long as you don't put an LPG tank in the boot

 

[A210AMG]

I would not like to be in the back....

I'm 6ft 2 and I'm guessing behind the CLK's seat there is not much room..

While I agree the event will be good, wrong car for it.

I've seen a roof rack on an SLK but its need sthe fittings that were factory specced. I'm sure a boot rack could be do-able I looked at one for a MX5 and Z3 I had.

Not much fun though all cramped up even if you can fit the stuff on a carrier?

 

[Sp!ke]

Its most probable that the roads will be clear in April, but if they are not, the clk will be a bit of a handful without winter tyres.

Last time we had snow here in the UK. I was unable to drive over a painted white line at a t-junction without backing up and taking a run up due to loss of traction. These cars are shockingly bad in the snow with summer tyres.

As for LPG... I've never seen LPG in a convertible due to boot space issues. I've also yet to hear many positive reports of people running LPG in mercs. From recollection of a few threads, most of the merc specialists strongly advised against it sighting problems due to the many vacuum controls.

I'd also strongly recommend doing the maths before going LPG as the ROI might mean you'll never recoup your investment unless you're doing very high mileages or you intend keeping the car for a very long time. Consider reduced resale values when you do your calculations.

 

[ROBB]

For occasional cargo duties - why not get a detachable (MB style) towbar and a small trailer??

 

[Roadie]

If I do fit the LPG it will be a 75 litre that fits where the spare wheel is. I will certainly be getting expert advice before I make the decission it's just something i'm looking into.
There will only be two of us doing the cannonball run so no worries about rear seating and the boot will easily fit luggage for 2 as that's exactly what I did when I drove to the Munich beer festival last year with tents included. There is just no way that 2 snowboards will fit in unless on a luggage rack.
The towbar and small trailer is a bit much for a one off trip just to hold 2 boards, oh that and snow ooh err.