personally I like my tangled mess
of straps, all in a dry bag, If I want to get really fancy I leave them loose in the van to dry out. Most important thing about strap management- writing your name on them so you can accuse your boatin’ buddies of stealin’ them when you find them months or years later holding their boats to their car.
that’s what I’ve always done
I’ve always done that with my straps, fold them in quarters and do an overhand knot. Same with my braided lines with cam locks that I use for bow and stern lines. Always keeps them from tangling. I have a battered medium square cordura duffel bag that I have always kept the straps in, along with a couple of coiled cable locks, a couple of bungee cords and a red nylon flag for the tail-end of the longest boat on the roof. The bag has a small outside pocket in which I also keep extra keys for the locks and the roof rack and a skein of braided cord and a small multitool. This bag never leaves my car, except if I grab it to go in another shuttle vehicle.
As to straps, I have two pairs of Thule straps that are going on 15 years old. Still good as new with no corrosion or deterioration of the webbing despite being used hundreds of times (including to haul a car out of a ditch on one occasion).
Disappointing!
I got 4 of these in the mail yesterday.
Although the price is very good, be aware that they have neither the rubber boot OR the extra tab of webbing that usually is sewn on to protect the boats from the metal cam.
I’d return them, but it t’aint worth the cost/trouble. I’ll keep them for the lumberyard run.
Ya get what ya pay for with these.
NOT such a good deal.
When I Got the Time
I’ll roll them up, but the 20 footers take longer than the 6 footers and then store them in a Ziploc gallon freezer bag. Once or twice a year, I grab the whole bunch of them and toss the crumpled bunch into a tub full of sudsy water from a capful of whatever laundry detergent that’s availabe and let them sit for a couple of hours or until I get around to stirring and shaking them around a bit. Empty the tub and rinse the whole lot with fresh water from the garden hose. Hang them out to dry in the sunlight or wind, then lubricate the cams with whatever lubricant is available.
Always carry spare straps, because you never know when the spring will wear out or the straps will fray or show strain marks. After 2 to 4 years, straps left outside to sun exposure and salt air will become brittle and you can tear them like paper.
hard to release
I’ve got a couple of those with the rough ends, they hold very tight but are VERY hard to release, not worth it.
The Thule or Yakima straps are the best, yes you pay extra for them, I’ve got some that are over 10 years old that still are fine, can’t say that for cheaper ones.
Bill H.