Active lifestyles often require a bit more cargo space for larger equipment and support apparatus. Winter sports and family summer activities, cargo carriers, roof baskets and to a hitch mounted trailer are popular ways to supplement cargo capacity. For the past 10 years we have been using Volvo’s Weekender box as our go-to solution for our XC90. Aside from a little fade on the plastic it continues to work well. However, the style does not fit the sleek profile of our V60 R-Design. After seeing a few pictures on Instagram, I tracked down a little company called Skiguard who manufacture very stylish and low profile cargo boxes. The design looked to be a perfect fit for our V60 R-Design Project.
I caught up with the co-owner Ivar Lycke to learn more about the product and the company. Within a few minutes, I knew I had found the right company as Ivar explained that his grandfather purchased a Volvo Amazon new and it remains in the family today. Ivar thoroughly explained the product and the history behind the company.
Skiguard’s Background
Skiguard started out more than 25 years ago in a small town in the outskirts of Oslo, Norway. The vision was to build ski and cargo boxes of the highest quality with aesthetics that matched the craftsmanship and material selection required do so. Inspiration, ideas, and feedback has been gathered from loyal customers, athletes, and car enthusiast over the years enabling the design and manufacturing team to continuously improve the quality, aesthetics, and usability that is so unique to the Skiguard brand.
Today, Skiguard is the leading manufacturer of ski and cargo boxes in Norway, and has still maintains close relations to the Norwegian Ski Federation, local up-and-coming athletes, and its roots in Sigdal where the manufacturing has been passed through 3 generations.
The Production
Quality has been one of the top priorities since the beginning for Skiguard. This was, and still is, the main reason why Skiguard’s are manufactured in fiberglass not ABS plastic like most of their competitors. Fiberglass is a very tough and strong material that, in combination with the correct mixture of epoxy, will withstand heavy loads and rough conditions frequently encountered when being permanently mounted on a car roof.
The production facility, located in rural Norway, has been a key factor in Skiguard’s success. The Holm family has been at the helm for three generations and are still highly involved with not only manufacturing, but also product development and quality assurance.
The process of having a Skiguard box built is not straightforward. A trained artisan is needed to hand roll the three layers of fiberglass sheets, with epoxy in between, into a mold that determines which make and model car the final product will fit. Every Skiguard is made of two pieces: a top and a bottom. The two halves are made from two different molds. After all air pockets have been carefully removed, the mold is placed in a hotbox similar to that used to bake freshly painted cars. When the curing process is finished, the fiberglass is removed from the mold and all edges trimmed to make sure they are nice and smooth. The piece is then coated with a primer that seals the fiberglass, which makes it weather resistant, before another skilled set of hands cuts out the holes for the roof rack mounting, mounts the locking mechanism, the lifters, and weather stripping. Finally, the bottom half is mated with its top half before sent off to get a fresh layer of paint.
Skiguard USA
Skiguard USA was established late in the fall of 2015 by two young Norwegians that found piece and comfort in the great outdoors surrounding Boulder, Colorado. As car enthusiast, skiers, campers, runners, bikers, you name it, they noticed early on the need for extra cargo space for their vehicles. Looking around they noticed the lack of a good-looking, high quality roof box, like they were used to from their childhood days in Norway. After a few meetings with Skiguard in Norway, they were able to land exclusive rights of the Skiguard brand with its associated products in North America. The first container load of 44 Skiguard’s of various models and levels of customization arrived in Boulder late January 2016, and the first Skiguard 860S was delivered to an anxious Tesla Model S owner in Utah just days later.
They have adopted the same philosophy the founders in Norway formed years before them, and are excited to having introduced a handmade, quality product designed to mesmerize those in search of extra cargo space without compromising on aesthetics or functionality. Within the next few years, the goal is establish strong ties with domestic and foreign manufacturers of high-end vehicles in the US, and to have customized Skiguard boxes available through local dealers as a “standard” option when purchasing a new car. To be able to reach this goal they are currently playing with the idea of moving the production to the US in order to reduce the cost per unit as well as the lead-time on a custom order.
I purchased the 830 Touring featuring a forward opening top lid providing excellent access from both sides, and a locking system mounted on the back left side of the box. Gas dampers help lift the lid and keep it in the open position. SkiGuard offers a remote controlled LED light that provides excellent illumination at the end of a long day. The 830T offers enough room to hold a folded 10’x10’ collapsible tent for those hot summer day soccer games. For our trips to the beach, we can load our chairs and folding cart, keeping the interior clean from sand. The 830T also eliminates the need to fold down the rear seats to accommodate a beach umbrella and a couple boogie boards. When winter arrives, the Skiguard 830T includes two ski mounts and tie down straps to keep skis organized.
830 Touring Specifications:
Length: 214/205cm outside/inside (84.25/80.71in)
Width: 88/86cm outside/inside (34.65/33.86in)
Height: 30/28cm outside/inside (11.81/11.02in)
Volume: Approx. 470 L (16.6 cubic ft)
Weight: Approx. 25kg (55 lb)
The Volvo cargo bars easily slide through the body of the 830T and the installation is very straight forward. If you do not purchase the Box Lift, two strong adults are needed to safely position the box into place. The cutout around the roof mounted shark-fin radio antenna aligns perfectly and terrestrial radio and satellite radio reception is not affected.
The fiberglass arrived in a beautiful gloss black but I am very tempted to have it color-matched to Rebel Blue to provide a more customized appearance. For now the gloss black matches the gloss black roof wrap and trim pieces of the V60.
The Skiguard 830T compliments the profile of the Volvo V60 like no other box on the market. If you want a high quality, stylish cargo box for your Volvo check out the line of products from Skiguard, you won’t be disappointed! Visit Skiguard USA.com for more details.
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