My brother’s truck decided to stop working and I was looking for any excuse to get a van of some kind. So I gave him the keys to my Lexus. I began the hunt for my perfect river surfing mobile. All my friends have sprinter vans. So that’s where I started.

It is going to take me to all the best waves I can think of.

I looked at full size sprinter style vans and cargo vans. But they all felt empty. They just didn’t seem to fit my lifestyle. I needed something I would be able to balance between my home life and river surfing. Finally I found a mini van that was perfect for what I needed.

DIY river surfing camper

A Car that Fits your Lifestyle

This may not be the van everyone had in mind for me. But it is mine and it is perfect for my life. It gets better gas mileage than a sprinter or cargo. Has just about as much room as a cargo (4 ft X 8 ft). Oh yeah, and the seats fold into the floor! So I can take the bed platform out and easily accommodate passengers. Best part of it is that it is going to take me to all the best waves I can think of!

When I converted the van I made sure everything could easily be taken out and put back in! It’s like a transformer van that is super stealth. I mean who sees a mini van and thinks someone is camping out in it?! Take a look at the video to see my transformer conversion!

The post How to Turn your Vehicle into the Ultimate River Surfing Mobile appeared first on Riverbreak.

Website:

meetsurfers.com

The post Meetsurfers.com appeared first on Riverbreak.

Have you ever prayed at the baggage claim for your surfboard to arrive at the airport in one piece? Finding your precious board smashed or cracked comes to no surprise for everyone who knows how airport stuff usually handles (oversize) luggage or sports equipment. The same worries are true for everyone who ships surfboards via post or private couriers (UPS, DHL, FedEx).

Treating and handling a surfboard is an extraordinarily delicate thing which only its owner understands best. Many river surfers are hesitant to lend their boards to friends let alone to a stranger. But once your board has left your hands for shipping, there is not much you can do.

If you do not want to leave the success of the shipment of your surfboard up to chance, you may find our surfboard packaging tutorial helpful. Here, we have put together a step-by-step guide how to properly pack your board.

Material

To package and protect your surfboard you will need a few simple things (paid links):

• a box that fits the size of your board
• filling material, e.g. bubble wrap, blanket, towels
• bumper, e.g. polystyrene
• duck tape / packing tape
• permanent marker

Get a box

First things first — get a proper box. This may sound like an easy thing, but cardboard boxes that fit a surfboard are rare. Ideally, you would use a box that has already been used to ship surfboards to surf shops. You’ll figure these boxes are hard to come by, but make sure to check at your local surf shop. If you’re not lucky, check with some local shapers who may have some (spare) blank boxes to give away — offering a six pack may prove helpful.

If you’re still not lucky, you’ll need to fabricate or cut your own cardboard box to fit the proportions of your board. When creating your own box, make sure you only cut one end of the box to keep one set of folding flaps. On the other end, cut out a new set of folding flaps that can be folded over. If you can’t manage to find a box big enough, get two bicycle boxes and put them together to make a single box that fits the size of your board.

Create a cushion layer (I)

There are numerous things that can happen during shipping, so you really want to keep your surfboard protected. It’s absolutely crucial to make the best defense around the most vulnerable areas of your board. Use your imagination to figure which of the things you have at hand would make best as padding material. Note: Take out the fins and bubble wrap them separately. If your board has glassed in fins cut a piece of cardboard to cover them.

Here, I used a combination of different materials to create a thick and robust cushion layer in between the surfboard and the box. The first layer is created through the use of a thin board sock or a padded board bag (preferably). The sock wouldn’t actually protect the board from sharp bursts, but  it does protect the board’s surface from scratches by adding a thin, extra skin.

Create a cushion layer (II)

I used bubble wrap (#ad) to create a second layer. Simply wrap the bubble wrap around the board and use some duck tape to fix it. In surfboard shipping, the ideal way to create an air barrier is to use bubble wrap which is known for its well protection and little weight. Don’t be stingy with bubble wrap — the rails, nose and tail are the most vulnerable areas and deserve extra-padding if you have some spare. Also, make sure that the deck and bottom are well padded to withstand intrusion dents from other boxes or cases.

Create a cushion layer (III)

This “quilt-layer” gives your board some extra padding but also extra weight — if adding these extra kilos won’t cause your shipping rate to skyrocket, do it.

Then, carefully place your board into the cardboard box.

Add extra padding, bumpers & stability

After taking care of the overall protection of your board, it’s time to move on to protect two very specific and fragile parts of your board: nose and tail. First, fill any open space and the sides with bubble wrap or towels to prevent the board from moving around in the box. Second, your surfboard package needs two “bumpers”. Cut out two small bars of polystyrene (styrofoam) and place one bar at the top of the box (nose) and one at the bottom (tail).

Polystyrene (#ad) is extraordinarily lightweight, robust and shock-resistant. It does not add much weight to your package, but lots of stability and further protects nose and tail from sharp bursts and deep drops (e.g. from conveyer bands onto baggage cars).

Seal the box

Once your surfboard is padded and placed into the box, seal it with packing tape (#ad). Don’t be stingy on packing tape either — it’s important that the entire box is well sealed and that the padding stays in place during shipment.

True to the motto: tape the hell out of it!

Make sure it rides rail up

Either print out a bunch of fragile stickers (#ad) and put them on the cardboard box or simply use a permanent marker (#ad) to write “Fragile” in big letters on the sides and add an “Up” pointing to the top of the box. Write “This Side Up” on the top of the box as large as possible (marking the box so that it rides rail up). Do not forget to put your name, address, e-mail and phone number in case it becomes lost!

To risk or not to risk?

Many river surfers are particular about the board they ride and that’s why they risk shipping their precious board abroad. If you are not too picky on the board you ride, it may turn out to be easier and cheaper to buy a used (or new) board at your destination. If you do care about the board you ride and want to take it to a remote place, efficient packaging is essential. The key to surfboard shipping is sufficient packaging and padding, a robust cardboard layer and proper labeling. And if you still worry about your board: get some insurance too.

Note: Riverbreak is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.

The post How to Package and Ship a Surfboard appeared first on Riverbreak.