Is your car magnetic? How to check before buying a magnetic ski holder
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Powder Stash grips steel with high-strength rare-earth magnets, so the one thing worth checking before you buy is whether your car has steel body panels. Most cars do. A few use aluminum or composite panels that magnets will not hold. Here is how to know for sure in about ten seconds, plus a quick checker for common vehicles.
The 10-second test that always works
Grab any fridge magnet and press it against the side of your car. A door or a front fender is a good spot. If it grabs and holds firmly, Powder Stash will hold. If it slides off or feels weak, that panel is aluminum. This test beats any list, because even mostly-steel cars sometimes have an aluminum hood, roof, or tailgate.
Check your vehicle
Pick your make and model for a quick answer. The magnet test above is always the final word.
Steel versus aluminum, in plain terms
Magnets only stick to steel and other ferrous metals. Most vehicles are built with steel body panels, which is why a magnetic holder works on the large majority of cars, trucks, and SUVs. To save weight, some automakers use aluminum for certain panels or for the whole body. Aluminum is not magnetic, so nothing will grip it, no matter how strong the magnet. A few vehicles also use composite or fiberglass panels, like the Chevrolet Corvette, and those are not magnetic either. One more wrinkle: the Tesla Cybertruck is stainless steel. A magnet can grip its cold-worked panels, but Tesla warns against sticking anything magnetic to them, because trapped salt and moisture can corrode the stainless, so it is best avoided.
Best places to mount
On a steel vehicle, the doors and front fenders are usually your most reliable magnetic surfaces and sit at a comfortable height for leaning skis or a board. Hoods, roofs, and tailgates are the panels most likely to be aluminum even on an otherwise steel car, so treat those as test-first spots. Clean off ice, snow, and grit before mounting so the magnets sit flush against the paint.
Common exceptions to know
These are the vehicles that most often surprise people. Aluminum-bodied trucks like the Ford F-150 from 2015 onward and the Super Duty from 2017 onward are not magnetic, while older steel-bodied versions are. Aluminum-intensive luxury cars from Audi, Jaguar, and Land Rover often will not hold. The Tesla Model S and Model X are aluminum, while the Model 3 and Model Y are a mix, with steel fenders and tailgate but aluminum hood and doors. Newer Toyota trucks mix materials too, so test the exact panel. When in doubt, the fridge-magnet test settles it in seconds.
Still not sure? Start with the magnet test
If a magnet holds on the door or fender where you would mount, Powder Stash will hold there too. It sticks to any steel vehicle surface, protects your paint with weather-proof rubber, and doubles as a tuning stand when you grab two. Designed and tested in Colorado, with free shipping and a 30-day money-back guarantee.