Can racquet stay in the trunk of car overnight?

[cg.tennis]

I am going to drive my car from east coast to west coast in December, and bring my racket bag and a lot of other stuffs with me. I just wonder if it will damage the racket permanently if I leave the racket in the trunk for several nights (It will be ice cold, that's for sure). Will that just damage the string or it will damage both the string and the frame? Thx.

 

[Gaines Hillix]

Heat, moisture and direct sunlight are the biggest killers of strings. I don't think cold will damage either the string or the frame. However, before using it in anyway, make sure it warms up to room temperature.

 

[jomiller]

Some string material will get very fragile at below freezing point
and this may result in tension on the string popping same.
Depends how fragile the string, how cold it gets and how tight racquet is strung.
Take it into the motelroom with you if you have doubts or string the racquet at the other end.

 

[Steve Huff]

Mine have been in the trunk all week. I've played 8 sets so far and haven't noticed any difference. I'm playing again tomorrow. Of course, my car is in the garage, and the weather is fairly mild now, but it has been raining. I have natural gut in 3 frames, too, and it hasn't bothered them. So, unless you have a dehumidifier in the house, and/or its really hot outside, I'd bet your rackets are just as safe in your trunk as they are in the house, especially since it's not summer.

 

[Redflea]

I'm in a relatively temparate climate and now keep my racquets in the garage and have never noticed any problems from doing that, compared to when I used to keep them in our laundry room. I use synth, if I used gut I might be a little more careful about it when it was raining...but don't know if it would really matter.

 

[joe sch]

I would recommend a thermal racket bag and then even roll it in a blanket for good layered temperature protection

 

[devwizard]

I know that playing with a racquet on a cold day vs. just letting it sit in the trunk of a car are two completely different situations. I have played on numerous occasions with the temp outside <20 Fahrenheit and blizzard conditions (yes those were pretty hardcore tennis days, but when you've got to practice, you've got to practice). The frame doesn't seem to have any issues, but the strings are definitely not designed for said temps. If you know that you're going to be using the racquet at low temps, string accordingly. But for just letting it sit in a car, I wouldn't worry a bit. Though racquets to have difficulties with weather extremes, its definitely only the warmer temps that can truly negatively affect a frame. I have even checked my frames in my Bab bag on planes, where the temp in the luggage compartment can be as cold as 20 or 30 Fahrenheit, with no issues.

 

[Prostaffer]

cold

cold weather will only make syn's more likely to break and heat will only make you run the risk of losing tension.

i leave all my teaching racquets in my car and i lose tension in them like crazy. just wrap the frames in some shirts in the bag and stick em in the trunk.