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Old 08-04-2015, 11:50 AM   #1
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Toting A Kayak

After seeing Padlin's picture in the "Seriously...Why" thread I want to ask those who carry two kayaks on their roof what works best.

That picture of a Ford w/5th wheel shows a front receiver and rack which seems like a very stable setup and perhaps that was needed as the 5th wheel intrudes too far onto the bed for the kayaks to sit on the roof rack alone.

My concern is stability on extended trips & have seen folks with ropes tethering the bow down to the front bumper, yet imagining two lines going across our windshield is giving me pause.
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Old 08-04-2015, 11:55 AM   #2
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If you use cradles or saddles do you still need bow and stern ropes? With the canoe specific roof rack feet I don't use ropes.
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Old 08-04-2015, 12:04 PM   #3
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One of the things I consider with carrying a canoe should I ever get a 5.0, is one of these front mount racks, Not sure how much length of boat you could carry, but I imagine that differs with every different tow vehicle, and how long they are from bumper to hitch.

Does anyone here use this setup with a 5.0TA, and if so how long of boat could you carry with what you tow with?

http://www.amazon.ca/Thule-997-Hitch.../dp/B0001HACGE
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Old 08-04-2015, 12:07 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by padlin View Post
If you use cradles or saddles do you still need bow and stern ropes? With the canoe specific roof rack feet I don't use ropes.
I use canoe racks too, they certainly stabilize the load, and always tie the front of the boat down. You never know when a strap may break or come loose, as rack come loose, or any other problem happen.

Ask any canoe repair shop what the most common repair is, and it is always repairing boats that come loose when mounted on a vehicle. I have never had this happen, but have seen it and heard of it many times.
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Old 08-04-2015, 12:20 PM   #5
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Considering our age, and consequently our backs, we moved to Thule Hullavators on top of our Honda Pilot. There's no way we could easily reach the top of the Pilot to load even a light kayak. With the Hullavators, no problem. The two front ropes not interfere with our vision at all. In fact, they give me some comfort in knowing I can see the ropes, front and rear.

There is a convenient loop in the center of the Pilot front for clipping the front ropes. The rear ropes attached to the empty holes on the Andersen.

A friend recently had a beautiful wooden kayak fly off, making me doubly thankful for our Hullavators.
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Old 08-04-2015, 12:23 PM   #6
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Klaus- saw this picture of your rig before and wondering if you travel long distances with them.
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Old 08-04-2015, 12:25 PM   #7
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Yup, flying off! Amazingly, the kayak sustained only minor, repairable damage!

Yes, you would need either two sets of Hullavators or two sets of the Hull-a-Ports for two kayaks.

I agree: you don't notice the ropes in your line of sight and I also agree that it would be dangerous to travel at anything over 40 mph without them. Well worth the price. Thule makes excellent products.
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Old 08-04-2015, 12:28 PM   #8
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Klaus- saw this picture of your rig before and wondering if you travel long distances with them.
If you consider Missoula to Chilliwack and back as a long-distance, then yes, we have traveled long distances. In Montana, anything under 350 miles is considered a day trip.
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Old 08-04-2015, 01:15 PM   #9
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I thought I was a pretty good man until I tried to drive across Montana in a day in Highway 2. Had to stop
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Old 08-04-2015, 01:59 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by Jim Bennett View Post
Does anyone here use this setup with a 5.0TA, and if so how long of boat could you carry with what you tow with?
As I've said, I don't own all the parts as yet but here's what I come up with.

F150 Supercab, 8' bed

A Yakima front boat rack protrudes about 12" beyond the bumper with the Bodiak front end receiver. Bumper to the rear of the cab is 11'6". Thule makes a foot for their roof racks specifically for the F150. I have about 3' of play on the roof to move it forwards or backwards giving me between 8'6" and 11'6" the racks. I have a good 5' from the back of the cab and the front of the trailers loft. An educated guess is I could easily carry a 20'er. if I had one.

I'm not going to get the Thule feet till spring, can't give you exact till after that.

From what I saw on my hitch install instructions, the fifth wheel hitch is a fixed distance from the rear of the bed irregardless of the bed length. If you had the 6'6" bed you'd have 3' 6" clearance between the trailer and the cab etc.
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Old 08-04-2015, 02:46 PM   #11
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I thought I was a pretty good man until I tried to drive across Montana in a day in Highway 2. Had to stop
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Try Texas sometime. 879 miles from Anthony to Orange, all on the same highway. Anthony TX is actually closer to Santa Monica CA than it is to Orange TX, and Orange TX is actually closer to Jacksonville FL than it is to Anthony!
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Old 08-04-2015, 03:24 PM   #12
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Try Texas sometime. 879 miles from Anthony to Orange, all on the same highway. Anthony TX is actually closer to Santa Monica CA than it is to Orange TX, and Orange TX is actually closer to Jacksonville FL than it is to Anthony!
And then there's Crescent City CA to El Centro CA at about 965 mi.; and you can kayak about 3/4 of the route.
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Old 08-04-2015, 03:24 PM   #13
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Try Texas sometime. 879 miles from Anthony to Orange, all on the same highway. Anthony TX is actually closer to Santa Monica CA than it is to Orange TX, and Orange TX is actually closer to Jacksonville FL than it is to Anthony!
Follow the highway from the Montana/Alberta border north to the Alberta/Northwest Territories border (on the Mackenzie Hwy) and the distance is equally large, about 950 miles.
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Old 08-04-2015, 03:38 PM   #14
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We solve the problem of toting a kayak differently. We have a folding kayak, a Folbot Greenland II and it fits in two bags that we pack inside our tow vehicle. No concern about exterior ropes.
Greenland II - Folbot
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Old 08-04-2015, 04:24 PM   #15
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I learned at a young age, carrying a 16' canoe on a small targa top, with lots of canoe out ahead of the windshield, to tie down the bow. Amazing how a cross wind wanted to turn it into a helicopter rotor

On our kayaks, with a well spaced roof racks on the canopy, I haven't seen the need to tie the bow down. But, at some point, I'd like to find an easier way of getting them up there. For some reason, as the years go by, they seem to be getting heavier and heavier.

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Old 08-04-2015, 06:10 PM   #16
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Old 08-04-2015, 06:49 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by ice-breaker View Post
Follow the highway from the Montana/Alberta border north to the Alberta/Northwest Territories border (on the Mackenzie Hwy) and the distance is equally large, about 950 miles.
Right, but it's not a single highway. I-10 in Texas is the "longest continuous highway under a single authority (TXDOT) in North America". Used to be 401 in Ontario.
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Old 08-04-2015, 10:23 PM   #18
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Right, but it's not a single highway. I-10 in Texas is the "longest continuous highway under a single authority (TXDOT) in North America". Used to be 401 in Ontario.
The moral of This story is "don't argue bigness with a Texan". They're gonna win, and the facts bear them out.

Nice job, Robert. I learned some important trivia today.
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Old 08-04-2015, 10:47 PM   #19
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and US 20 is the longest highway in US, approximately 3350 miles and Route 6 is the longest contiguous highway of 3200 miles...anyone for a road trip
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Old 08-04-2015, 11:47 PM   #20
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Right, but it's not a single highway. I-10 in Texas is the "longest continuous highway under a single authority (TXDOT) in North America". Used to be 401 in Ontario.
It is farther from Houston to El Paso, Texas than it is from my home in Florida to Houston. And you can stay on I-10.
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