Has anyone ever had their roof top box broken into?

**365wp** · 11-20-2006, 10:02 AM

I live in Boston near the Dorchester/Roxbury line. My wife had her CD player ripped out of her old Civic, then somebody tried (and failed) to steal the car. No problems with my Thule box.

It's not like it would be hard to break into, I just don't think many people know what it is and I don't think the street value of a pair of skis is that high around here.

**Dromond** · 11-20-2006, 11:37 AM

I've been wondering about this. I've never used a roof box much but will be roadtripping across the country this winter with a Yakima box packed with skis for a month. It looks kind of flimsy. Is there any kindof extra padlocks or chains that I could/should add to it? I'm realizing that that might draw a little extra attention to it. It will be mounted on a '96 subaru so that won't catch much attention.

**Benny Profane** · 11-20-2006, 11:47 AM

Well, after having this up for a few days, and never hearing anything about it on the board for years, I'm beginning to think it rarely, if ever, happens.

**Speedfreak** · 11-20-2006, 03:32 PM

When I was working at Mammoth (Main Lodge) I left the rack unlocked (and empty) one day and walked out around lunchtime to get something from the car. Found a guy up on the bumper of the Jeep with the rack open checking the inside out...maybe looking for my skis that weren't there? I decided to have some fun with him so I snuck up and kicked his legs out from under him for a nice long fall to the frozen-over pavement.

As I'm laughing my ass off I got a "Hey! Fuck you!"
Then he looked up, saw me and the logo on the jacket, heard me ask what the fuck he was doing in my rack, and he bolted. Got a "Sorry!" as he ran away. Fuckwad. It was so fun just to watch him eat shit that I never bothered to report it.

Anyhow, that's the closest I've come to having a "break-in." I'd imagine it doesn't happen all that often.

**Woodsy** · 11-20-2006, 03:43 PM

I asked a similar question a while back on this or the Powder boards (rip) and got similar responses. 2 pages of people telling me how easy they are to break into and no reports of it happening.
I and many visiting couch surfers left $1000's of dollars in skis & such in boxes on the street in an urban area of SLC (near Pioneer park) overnight with no problems.
A dude down the block from me in Hell's Kitchen has a box that I have never seen broken into on his subie, but unsure if he ever leaves anything in it, or if its a guy, or even if he lives on my street doesnt just park there.....

**Buzzworthy** · 11-20-2006, 03:53 PM

Wonder if mine is safe in the area I live in?

**Hutch** · 11-20-2006, 06:08 PM

I think the TGR stickers are thief-repellent.

**Benny Profane** · 11-20-2006, 07:25 PM

Originally Posted by Woodsy

I
A dude down the block from me in Hell's Kitchen has a box that I have never seen broken into on his subie, but unsure if he ever leaves anything in it, or if its a guy, or even if he lives on my street doesnt just park there.....

Nice test. I've been living in Shangri La up here when it comes to B&E and car break-ins. It just doesn't happen, which is kinda suprising, because of the large quantity of dumb ass white trash I live around. I just remember how people used to fuck with my beater VW Golf in Manhattan. Like they were going to find something.

Off street parking is a big priority of my life when I move back. So, obviously, I'm not even thinking of the five buroughs or Hoboken.

**powderripper** · 11-22-2006, 12:31 AM

My box was stolen with my van 2 yr ago. Got back from a midnight bike ride and all that was left was all the glass from a 15 pass. van on the ground.
My 95 Fords loose ignition let them start it, but it was below empty so they wouldn't have gotten far. The Police think they put it in the Mn river as we parked by a boat ramp and it was never located. Nobody wanted to check the river. Probable half way to Iowa in a deep hole. Lots of barge traffic.
At least we had good insurance. Box only had a few fishing rods and snorkling gear as it was summer, no ski gear missing thank goodness.
Box was on old Sears that pryed open easly but ontop of a 1 ton van you needed a small ladder to reach it. Never had an issue with someone triing to get into it though. I miss my box and want another someday for my new 96 van.
THEVES SUCK BIGTIME

**Arty50** · 11-22-2006, 01:43 AM

Originally Posted by uglymoney

The beauty of a box is that its pretty much impossible to tell if something is in it or not - so I have always assumed that the convenience thief is probably going to look elsewhere. Anyway, so far thats been my experience.

Exactly. You don't see broken boxes because even the dumbest of thieves isn't going to chance it. What if they get caught breaking in, and worst of all the damn thing was empty anyway. So now they're not only caught for attempted buglary, but also for destruction of property. And on top of that, they don't even have the satisfaction of almost getting away with it cause there was nothing to get away with.

The number one rule in preventing a thief from stealing stuff out of your car is "out of sight out of mind."

**PC Ski Culture** · 11-22-2006, 02:03 AM

Somebody peeled all the stickers off mine once,it didnt look very cool after that.How could I look cool w/o stickers???The one I miss the most is JH.The one I miss most after that is "if it where easy they would call it snowboarding" that K2 sticker.But aside from that, no problems.

**Ripzalot** · 11-22-2006, 02:05 AM

Originally Posted by Arty50

Exactly. You don't see broken boxes because even the dumbest of thieves isn't going to chance it. What if they get caught breaking in, and worst of all the damn thing was empty anyway. So now they're not only caught for attempted buglary, but also for destruction of property. And on top of that, they don't even have the satisfaction of almost getting away with it cause there was nothing to get away with.

The number one rule in preventing a thief from stealing stuff out of your car is "out of sight out of mind."

i don't know about that, it attracts attention too. especially if you are parked at a hotel or somewhere in a ski resort town with out-of-town plates. then the likelihood is that it's stuffed with loads of gear.

i had a friend have his entire rack + box stolen many years ago. the thieves just climbed on top of his car and worked the racks back and forth by hand until the entire rack came off, and took the entire setup. his rain gutters were fuucked up after that. and all he had in it was a wetsuit and some towels.

**Benny Profane** · 11-22-2006, 11:34 AM

I would have to say that it would be 99% impossible to "work" my rack off. And it would take an awfully long time.

**72Twenty** · 11-22-2006, 12:41 PM

I have an old, really big Thule 600 and it does not have locks.

However, I do not leave skis in it over night. At the ski hill, I leave skis in it, which is probably bad. It is on my Explorer though, and you have to do some climbing to even see what's in it. I also live in Wyoming and usually ski at a small local area. When I go to bigger areas or travel, I put my skis in the cab to lock 'em up.

**beaterdit** · 11-22-2006, 01:40 PM

I'd have to say that they're pretty safe. My rack WILL NOT COME OFF without removing the factory rails from the car. That said, on top of a 98 subie with a fugged up grill, I don't think it attracts much attention. I constantly leave stuff in it and I've taken lots of roadtrips that've led to funky parking arrangements with no problems. Parked on street on Wilshire in LA for days, various trailheads, Vegas, ski town lots, hotels, etc.
That's what makes the box so sweet, out of sight...
I drive a wagon but I'll fill up the box before putting stuff in the back just so it's not on display.

**TheDon** · 11-22-2006, 01:47 PM

Props-
That is a great story! Pretty balls-ie! I think I'd just reach for a concealed weapon (don't worry its cool in Idaho)...jk I would have pussed out and ran to get a my some bro's.

Originally Posted by Spdfrk43

When I was working at Mammoth (Main Lodge) I left the rack unlocked (and empty) one day and walked out around lunchtime to get something from the car. Found a guy up on the bumper of the Jeep with the rack open checking the inside out...maybe looking for my skis that weren't there? I decided to have some fun with him so I snuck up and kicked his legs out from under him for a nice long fall to the frozen-over pavement.

As I'm laughing my ass off I got a "Hey! Fuck you!"
Then he looked up, saw me and the logo on the jacket, heard me ask what the fuck he was doing in my rack, and he bolted. Got a "Sorry!" as he ran away. Fuckwad. It was so fun just to watch him eat shit that I never bothered to report it.

Anyhow, that's the closest I've come to having a "break-in." I'd imagine it doesn't happen all that often.

**Ripzalot** · 11-28-2006, 01:34 AM

i'll bet the roof box had nothing to do with this one.

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=68708

btw, whether racks willl come the car is a function of the clips that attach your rack. i had my yakima racks fly off, the clips (gutterless) bent outward by the force of wind under my sailboards. 60mph car speed, a bridge, a 40+mph headwind from the other side, hit apex of bridge - boom! the entire rack, boards and all flew off, over the car behind me and landed square in the middle of the bridge. it does and can happen.

**Jim S** · 11-28-2006, 09:58 AM

Devils advocate:

1. What's your alternative to a box? (open season for innuendos)
A rack is more exposed.
2. If you are worried, bring your gear inside at the end of the day

**IrieRon** · 11-28-2006, 07:14 PM

I had a rocketbox for 10 years & lived in CO, CA & NV, in both urban & mountain areas, and road-tripped across the country countless times with the thing packed full with gear. I stupidly left my skis in the box overnight, and for weeks at a time.

No one ever broke into it. And the locks were broken on it. Dumb luck I guess, coupled with the fact that it was atop a van, so it was way too high up for a casual peak inside.

My car is probably being broken into right now, as I jinx the hell out of myself.