Ski pass through, anyone?

So you're saying you want to haul skis while having two passengers in rear seat? That sounds like more of hassle than just flipping one seat down and only having one passenger in backseats. But if someone hired me to do it, I'd buy a used rear seatbackb from a wrecked and strip the upholstery off them and cut out the hole and weld a new reinforced seatback frame to compensate for the hole, then put modified seat upholstery back on. It'd be expensive and not worth the effort.

Alternatively if the length of your skis aren't too much longer than the width of the car, you could install a trailers hitch and a hitch haul to carry your skis without too much aerodynamic loss of MPGs.

 

Roof rack.

 

I've easily fit 4 large adults with luggage and skis (ski gear for 2 owned, rented 2 others) in the Prius.

Fold the 60% seat flat. Insert skis from the hatch into the passenger compartment footwell behind the driver and infront of the not-folded down 40% seat. It will fit with the bottoms on the floor and the tops between the headrest and the wall of the vehicle in a slanted upright. I have 180cm skis and they stick out into the hatch area. But when I close the hatch, they barely touch the glass. No problem. Then the void made between the skis and seatback can be used to store boots which are the right angle and poles go in with skis but can be loaded via the side door. luggage and ski clothes fit in the hatch. 4 adults in, done.

If you're going with 3 adults or 3.5 people you can just fold the seat down. It is usually just the 2 of us going up skiing so we just fold the seats down and throw the stuff in the back. Hatch closes with the skis lying flat.

 

I was thinking along the same line, then thought "two kids", yeah maybe a good idea: you gotta keep 'em separated...

 

Yes, but why not just use the space above the seat backs instead of spending big money to put a space between the seat backs?

 

As an Alpine snowboarder I put the right seat down and lay the board-boards on the right side, one is 202cm, it sticks into the front alongside the front seat, 4 sets of skis would fit, the two rear passengers on the left in the rear, boots and gear wherever.
A roof pod ( closed, keep the salt out) would be a good move.

 

I've found that on most good skiing days it's cold enough even at the foothills that the snow doesn't melt or get "wet" on the skis. So before we pop them in the car, I just run my gloves over them quickly and all the snow/ice buildup just falls to the ground. Sure there is a bit left in the bindings and stuff but meh. If you're worried about it I'm sure a little tarp would protect it.

When we start skiing late season and the boots become muddy, I just layer the back with extra cardboard boxes from all my Amazon crap.

 

In the past, when I did not have snowboard racks. I usually have either 4 adults or 3 adults and a teenager in the car along with 4 snowboards (2 are owned and 2 are rented at a nearby rental place to the ski resort). Most of the time 3 boards would lay across the middle part of the rear seats and the other board would be held by the rear passengers or put on the floor of the back seats.

After boarding, I would rinse the boards and dry them as much as I can with microfiber towels and just store them in the snowboard bags.

 

I would put bags in the middle seat and stack them as high as the height of the seat and then do the same in the trunk and just lay the boards over the bags and middle seat. Two rear passengers would have no problem sitting or putting seatbelts on at all.

 

Pretty much that's what I did back then. But now I got racks, it's so cool looking and better for long drive as well.

 

Until a ski flies off the top at 80mph! I've seen way too many boards and skis work themselves loose from above and fly towards me to know my skis will never ride on the roof.

 

Oh what ?! maybe they didn't secure the racks properly.

 

Between user error, fatigue of the rack, and dirt/ice/whatever making it appear tight when you start but as it warms due to driving friction it becomes loose. And a ski or board at 80mph makes a great sail, there's quite a bit of lift force there waiting to break something.

With the skis in the car, they aren't going anywhere.

 

I never liked the idea of having my belonging outside the car, but with 4 people plus the gears...It's definitely a must for the racks. I just have to make sure the racks are in good condition and use them properly.

 

Why not just play it safe and put a trailer hitch on with a hitch-haul on the back of the car? That way in the unlikely event the load isn't firmly secured the 75mph winds won't have such an easy time of prying it loose and you'll get much better MPG than having it on the roof?

 

MPG is definitely not my concern at all. So, I went racks because of the look and it looks more stable when the boards are in compare to the hitch with stuff sticking out of the car. Also without the trailer hitch I can access the trunk easier. This is just my preference.