Once I was about 20, it fell upon me to purchase the tree for the household vacation celebrations, and to chop an extended story brief, I almost ruined Christmas. With little greater than a roof rack, some rope, and a jingle in my coronary heart, I made a decision to place the tree on high of my Beetle to get it dwelling and, because it turned out, I used to be too assured in my knot tying talents. By the point I acquired dwelling, the tree had turned 90 levels and the ropes had been doing nothing to stop the tree from flying away.

There however for the grace of Santa went I, however you don’t must, because of Volkswagen, which has printed a brief video with greatest practices for hauling a tree dwelling. To start out, they advocate utilizing an SUV just like the Atlas, as an alternative of a Beetle (although I do marvel if the arching of the roof is what caught my tree, and saved my bacon).

Measure Twice, Ship As soon as

The Atlas’s beneficiant inside dimensions ought to assist these searching for a smaller tree to keep away from having to climb up and attain on high of their automobile fully. A technique or one other, the automaker recommends measuring totally earlier than you choose a tree. Whether or not you’re measuring the space out of your trunk to the entrance seat, the size of your automobile’s roof, or just the peak of your lounge ceiling, you wish to be certain you understand how a lot room you must work with.

Learn: How Quick Can An 800 HP, Hennessey-Tuned RS6 Avant Go With A Christmas Tree On Its Roof?

Loading, Defending And Transporting Your Tree

Once more, whether or not you’re carting your tree inside or on high of your automobile, it’s essential to have a tarp to wrap it in. This will both defend your inside from the branches, needles, and sap, or your paint from the identical.

Relatively than ropes, VW recommends utilizing a ratchet strap, which, from private expertise, I can inform you is a reasonably good concept. You’ll want to ratchet your tree down tight, since you don’t need it rolling across the inside of your automobile, and you actually don’t need it sliding round on high and probably helicoptering off your automobile.

Clear Up Your Automobile After

Lastly, VW means that after you get your tree dwelling, it’s a reasonably good time to wash your automobile. Pine timber might be fairly sappy, which is dangerous for all types of supplies, and pine needles get all over the place. If some sap lands on the skin of your automobile, it recommends utilizing bug and tar remover to assist clear it with out hurting your paint.

I, for one, want I’d watched one thing like this earlier than driving dwelling with my tree, as an alternative of attempting to feed loops via my home windows and chaining dangerous knots. I’m not saying that was my brightest second, however hopefully we are able to all keep away from making that very same dim mistake.