SUP Dawg? Why are you whistling at me?? [Yakima SUP Dawg rack on Rivian Crossbars whistle and I want it to stop]

[RivJob]

Anyone have a fix for the whistle sound caused by the Yakima SUP Daw surf board rack when mounted over the cab using the Rivian Crossbars?

Some context: I have the Rivian Cross Bars and I already owned the Yakima SUP Dawg surf board rack before I took delivery. I was using the Yakima SUP Dawg with my Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid which is already very quiet - I did not experience whistling or significant added road noise when the Yakima rack was on top of the Pacifica thanks to its aerodynamics (funny to say about a minivan).

When driving my R1T with only the Rivian Crossbars on top of the cab, I do not experience the significant air noise that I have seen others complain about in other threads on here. Sure, it's not silent; but I'm not about to wrap my crossbars with paracord to try and eliminate what little sound it adds.

When I add the Yakima SUP Dawg board rack to the Rivian Crossbars, that's when it gets bad.. At 30/33 mph the whistle starts. It gets worse as I accelerate to 45 mph. The whistle goes away over 50/55 mph and turns into more tolerable albeit not ideal air sound.

Before you start I'm not concerned about efficiency (I'll remove the racks when I am) or taking the racks off when I'm not headed to the beach. I'm 6'4" and while I wouldn't say it's difficult to remove the Rivian Crossbars with the Yakima racks attached, it's definitely not so easy that I want to take them off and put them back on only when they're needed. In fact installing the crossbars on my own has me concerned I'm going to have an error in depth perception and put the crossbar mount right through the top of the glass roof. Having put the crossbars on a few times already, I am certain someone else has caused damage to their glass roof by now.

My surfing/SUP brothers and sister, PLEASE, tell me you have found a configuration that eliminates the whistling!

Initially I had the Yakima rack placed as far to the driver's side as possible but that caused even more whistling than I'm experiencing now. Today, I moved the Yakima racks a little towards the center (pictures below) but still on the driver's side and that definitely helped but did not completely mitigate the problem. I'll try centering them another time and let you all know the result but that's not really practical as you may well know.

Thanks in advance for your help.

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[RivJob]

Something I noticed that I forgot to mention above. Did everyone already know that the spacing on the cab rack brackets are not identical?

I measured about a 7/8 of an inch difference between the two cab bracket widths. The front brackets have the wider width.

 

[W1SE]

Something I noticed that I forgot to mention above. Did everyone already know that the spacing on the cab rack brackets are not identical?

I measured about a 7/8 of an inch difference between the two cab bracket widths. The front brackets have the wider width.

Correct. And to really get you going, if you draw a horizontal line on top of those cross bars from the front one to back one the level is not parallel with the horizontal line on the bed points.

basically My bed rack is shorter on the more front points on my bed to make this level with the roof

 

[AustinWheeler45]

Did you ever resolve this?
If not maybe try giving the straps a half turn

flat straps will resonate with wind and can even cause abrasion/ cutting on the webbing
Adding a half turn to your cargo straps will eliminate the smoothness, and natural desire for tight chords to start singing

 

[WSea]

The bed for a 12.5' board but I only have about a 2 block drive

 

[RivJob]

Did you ever resolve this?
If not maybe try giving the straps a half turn

flat straps will resonate with wind and can even cause abrasion/ cutting on the webbing
Adding a half turn to your cargo straps will eliminate the smoothness, and natural desire for tight chords to start singing

I'll try that.

I have had improved success with the noise/whistling by having the SUP Dawg positioned more towards the center of the Rivian crossbars. I'll take pictures tomorrow for show and tell. Still... the noise is too much for me to keep the rack on my vehicle at all times. Looks cool with it on and I would prefer it that way. I still keep having visions of plunging the rack through my windshield every time I attach and detach the rack between sessions

 

[RivJob]

The bed for a 12.5' board but I only have about a 2 block drive

2 blocks from the perfect spot? What a life, but everyone hates you

 

[RivJob]

Current set up, but it still whistles... Placing them closer to center of the cross bars helps at highways speeds, but 37-55mph it whistles so I take them off during the week. I'd rather keep them on at all times. Anyone using these yet and found a way to keep the sound?

 

[opnwide]

The SUP Dawg on my wife’s BMW whistles like crazy as well for many years. It’s not a Rivian rack issue. Obviously doesn’t whistle when boards installed. I’ve tried to troubleshoot it with my hand out of her sunroof but I can’t quite pinpoint it. I put velcro around the strap that sticks up but it didn’t help much.

 

[RivJob]

The SUP Dawg on my wife’s BMW whistles like crazy as well for many years. It’s not a Rivian rack issue. Obviously doesn’t whistle when boards installed. I’ve tried to troubleshoot it with my hand out of her sunroof but I can’t quite pinpoint it. I put velcro around the strap that sticks up but it didn’t help much.

When I rolled around in my Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid (the Mona Lisa of minivans) the ride was no different with or without the SUP Dawg. Maybe the minivan isn't the vehicle we all want, but it's the vehicle we deserve...

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