UKH

I need to buy a new front door probably without time to arrange a man with a van. My car is a Golf Estate, it has roof rails but no rack as such - can I use ratchet straps or even rope to safely secure a front door for a 30mph journey across town? I think I can but looking for reassurance or re-education!

Hi, if you tie timber across the rails you will create a roof rack that you can then put the door on. As long as nothing comes undone, should be fine. 

Gwain. 

Put padding on the roof if you do. 

Be careful about it being front up. 

Ratchets would be better as rope can stretch a bit but I've carried all sorts on racks with rope. Lashing it front and back and side to side should see it right (hard braking is your enemy!). 

hard braking is the car in front's enemy!

Won't it fit inside a golf estate enough that you could get it home with the boot lid secured half shut?

Hmmm, possibly... I can actually have a practice with the wrong front door that's actually necessitating the quick purchase.

Mmmmm, square lashing. Scouty!

You should have no problem with a couple of towels and two ratchet straps.

Depending on the height of the driver you may be able to put the door in the car and angle it upwards, resting the door on the headrest of the driver and/or passenger seats. May not be the safest if the headrest isnt flush to the chair.

My mate got a upvc front door with frame inside his Audi A4 estate. He had to be sat forward a bit but he managed.

Don't do what I did with fence panels. Wound the windows down and ran rope across the roof and then through the inside. Really held things in place well  - proper sturdy. But of course, I'd tied the car doors shut so had to go all Dukes of Hazzard to get in.

Nice one centurion.  

I used to transport doors inside my Passat estate with the front seats forwards a bit. Surely a Golf isn't much shorter and you could just tie the hatch down? 

Lashing with rope is fine but make sure you really protect the door edges where the rope passes over.  I'd also go with the idea above and use cross pieces of wood under the door

Put it longways across the roof and pretend that you're a fighter pilot.
 

Then if you angle it slightly upwards and drive really fast ...

That would be totally irresponsible and I couldn't possibly condone that...

And remember to lock it so it doesn't blow open.

Thanks for all the suggestions, all of them incredibly practical. Turns out there's a place called "Wickes" that does "next day delivery". Who knew?

Probably best. In case anyone else is reading in future, the problem with no roof bars is you have nothing to attach the door to the car in the forward direction, only side to side and you may not be able to get it tight enough to prevent the door moving forwards when you brake which could be a bit of an issue.  

The suggestion of using wood cross bars sounds OK as long as they are properly attached. 

Some years ago now, we had a Toyota Avensis with roof rails, onto which I attached a big wooden board, with holes drilled in suitable places and ties added to make it stable and secure.

We moved an absurd quantity of stuff to France, including a probably illegal weight of stuff on the roof - certainly a comical volume! - and throughout the 18 hour journey I never once felt any reason for concern.

I was thinking about that, if using rope one can loop it around the front of the door and then anchor the door to something vertical in the roof rails to stop it sliding forwards. 

What you need is a hole in the roof board very close to the front of the rail, and another very close to the back of the rail. Tie these to the rail securely and it's going nowhere.

Edit: sp.

I've no problem with such things as long as it's well attached.  

That might work.  I think I can visualise it. 

I have in the past had a 7'6" surf board inside a Focus estate - put a strap between the front seat grab handles to support the leading edge of the door and you'll probably be ok.

Otherwise, timber cross bars secured with U-bolts would have done you - don't follow the examples I've seen of using zip ties to secure them!

I moved a double mattress across town loosly lashed to the roof (well roll-hoops and screen) of my Z3. Lucky I didn't get stopped really!

jk

Should be ok if it's a decent quality solid door.

Years ago, when living in the Lakes, I popped in to Lancaster  to buy 3 sheets of plasterboard (...you can see this coming, can't you?). Being a callow youth, I lazily lashed side-to-side and got on my way. I'd not got past Hest Bank (at a time, I admit, when the absence of cameras etc enabled you to cane it quite impressively) before the front half of the load above departed...fortunately missing a moped rider (no helmet) and a Co-op delivery van running behind me. On braking the remainder slipped through my hasty anchorages, over the roof & bonnet and was deposited in a dusty pile just in front of me.  True Brit stylee, I picked up the stuff, lobbed it in the boot, pretending it was all a carefully orchestrated event. I've subsequently always been more careful when carrying stuff up top.

Yes. You just tie the rope/run the straps from the front of the roof rails. 

Once carried  a table on the car roof for 150 miles . Piece of carpet and old rope through the top of the car windows. 

Had to climb disconnect the rope or climb out through the window but at least the table legs helped it not to slide forward when braking

Do you have a handle on it now? 

If that's how you want to frame it.

Couldn't you just jamb it in place?

It all hinges on how you want to frame it surely...