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Old 03-29-2021, 10:04 AM   #1
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Boat Hauling - Tried my New Setup

I decided to get a new tow vehicle last fall, settled on the diesel Colorado for a number of reasons and I'm happy with it so far though I have not had a chance to do much towing nor hauling with it.

Winter is finally breaking and so I'm going to go out for an all day paddle tomorrow. This was my first chance trying out the boat carrying setup. It's a ditch mounted Rhino rack on the front carrying ~ 105 lbs (including itself) and a Yakima on the back carrying ~ 120 lbs (including itself). I have the second Yakima stanchion as well for when I have a mixed load - say a canoe and two bikes.

This is tangentially related to Escape, but it is my tow vehicle and I'll be pulling the 19 with this truck once my RV is built. I found with the space around the truck, the steps, and the ability to work from the bed, this was about as easy a load-out as any over-top system can be (short of mechanical lifts).
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Old 03-29-2021, 10:15 AM   #2
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Don't have a solution for you, but, if you tie the boats down to a rack on the back and one on the cab, the boats will be twisted when you transit uneven terrain. The box and the cab can rotate in the opposite direction.
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Old 03-29-2021, 10:42 AM   #3
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Don't have a solution for you, but, if you tie the boats down to a rack on the back and one on the cab, the boats will be twisted when you transit uneven terrain. The box and the cab can rotate in the opposite direction.

That's true, framed vehicles are a lot weaker / more flexible than unibody. I hadn't thought about that, I should look into how much movement there can be as I do traverse some awful roads to a few put ins.

I could probably check it just driving one wheel up a ramp and seeing how much things flex.

The kayaks are not gripped well for a torsional input, but the canoe is. On the other hand, the canoe sits on foam blocks.

Interesting. If the flex is high, I could just put the other stanchion on and not use the ditch mount rack. That leaves the boats with a lot more overhang, which I never liked the look of but this doesn't really matter.
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Old 03-29-2021, 01:08 PM   #4
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Don't have a solution for you, but, if you tie the boats down to a rack on the back and one on the cab, the boats will be twisted when you transit uneven terrain. The box and the cab can rotate in the opposite direction.
I think those boats can handle the little bit of twisting they will get. If it was my carbon and kevlar boat (although mine is not that long) I might worry a bit more as they are much more rigid than those rotomolded ones. I assume the kayaks are rotomolded(if the kayaks are fiberglass I change my vote) and I seem to remember the canoe is royolex. Both have some give....it seems like you would have to do some pretty extreme stuff to put in enough twist to be a problem.
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Old 03-29-2021, 01:23 PM   #5
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And, don't build yourself a 17' cedar strip...
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Old 03-29-2021, 01:46 PM   #6
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I haven't tried to carry more than 1 boat on my pickup, but I have carried a 17.5' canoe. I have a canopy with a Thule rack. Where the canoe hangs above the cab of the truck, we inserted rigid foam to support it. I think the foam gives enough that the boat isn't subjected to any torsion from being strapped tightly to the Thule frame. It's worked pretty well, even on rough roads.

The canoe is heavy, and it's become hard for even 2 of us to lift it up onto the top of the truck, so we recently made the decision to go to inflatables only. That means a fishing pontoon and an inflatable kayak. The pontoon's frame rides on top on the rack, and its tubes and the IK go in the bed of the truck. Much easier on aging backs!
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Old 03-29-2021, 03:07 PM   #7
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Where there is a will, there is a way.
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Old 03-29-2021, 04:39 PM   #8
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You may run out of payload capacity before you run out of ingenuity.

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Old 03-29-2021, 06:17 PM   #9
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A mere trifle....you're fretting

Now here's a fellow who moved his boat from the USA to Mexico.
Not something I'd sign up to do, but he did it.
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Old 03-29-2021, 06:46 PM   #10
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I use a a thule 'ditch' mount rack on the cab and an aluminum headache rack on the box of a x-cab 2500 Silverado- Carrying a 17' and 12' kayaks. The yaks are tortured mahogany. CLC designs.
I drive a fair amount of beat up forest service roads with that set up. I stop after about 30 minutes and re-tightening the various tie-down straps. I think it's the vibration that loosens things- once I do the second re-tighten, that's all I need.

This set-up works with my 5.0ta.
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Old 03-29-2021, 07:27 PM   #11
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...and I seem to remember the canoe is royolex.
Speaking of Royalex...my Mad River canoe dropped the other day and hit the hitch of my utility trailer resulting in a small gash through the side. Do any of the experienced boaters on here know what I should use to fix it? I found this on Old Town’s website but wasn’t sure.
https://oldtowncanoe.johnsonoutdoors...ound-ship-only
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Old 03-29-2021, 07:47 PM   #12
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Speaking of Royalex...my Mad River canoe dropped the other day and hit the hitch of my utility trailer resulting in a small gash through the side. Do any of the experienced boaters on here know what I should use to fix it? I found this on Old Town’s website but wasn’t sure.
https://oldtowncanoe.johnsonoutdoors...ound-ship-only
If you have just a small tear or deep dents, the methacrylate is the stuff to use. Try not to breath the fumes.

Bigger damage, or if you want to build up a keel guard, use something like their skid plate kit. You can get the same materials at a NAPA for less.

Post repairs, or any time your boat gets skinned up enough to start seeing the white inner layer, you should repaint. Various rattlecans of spray paint that specifically say they are for plastic seem to work just as well as anything else IMO. The goal is to keep the inner layer of ABS out of the sun.


On the truck, I had to run out for an errand today with the truck, boats on. I was pleased overall in a mix of city and highway to get 22 mpg with all that junk up in the air. My last SUV would get 16 mpg with the boats on it.


I'll be interested in how this rig pulls the Escape. My last SUV got around 10.5 mpg pulling my hybrid, and 9.5 mpg pulling the hybrid with a canoe on the roof.
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Old 03-29-2021, 08:07 PM   #13
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My mileage with two pontoon boats was miserable.
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Old 03-29-2021, 09:18 PM   #14
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Where there is a will, there is a way.
That is the first time I've seen a car with a rear spoiler of that design...
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Old 03-30-2021, 12:11 AM   #15
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If the flex is high, I could just put the other stanchion on and not use the ditch mount rack. That leaves the boats with a lot more overhang, which I never liked the look of but this doesn't really matter.
That leads to adding longitudinal beams, cantilevered over the cab, with the boat racks on them. It will still twist somewhat (as the box twists just as much as the portion of the frame to which it is solidly bolted), but not as much as having the front on the rubber-mounted cab.
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Old 03-30-2021, 08:26 AM   #16
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For minor gashes in Royalex that go through the outer layer and exposing the white mid layer, I have done "color matched" cosmetic repairs by dissolving Lego blocks in acetone to form a slurry and then painting the slurry over the deep scratch or gouge. The resulting repair will dry and harden, and if you had picked the correct color or mix of colors of the Lego blocks, the repair will match the color of your boat. These repairs are a little brittle relative to the original Royalex. But if it cracks or pops off over time, it is very easy to mix up another batch of Lego slurry and repeat the repair. My repairs have lasted about 7 years now.
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Old 03-30-2021, 12:06 PM   #17
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We have the same Yakima Overhaul HD rack on our Tacoma for our two kayaks. We have used his setup for the past two years and really like it. Our kayaks are only 10' so they fit quite nicely on the racks with a bit of overhang over the cab. They are rock solid and dont move, even when offroad. The canoe might be a different story! I don't have a picture on the computer, but here is a link to one on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1KIs-Yh..._web_copy_link
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Old 03-30-2021, 01:08 PM   #18
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Is that a 6 foot bed?
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Old 03-30-2021, 01:23 PM   #19
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Nice mirrors, an I love the color. We went gunmetal because we already have a blue car.

Did you install the mirrors?
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Old 03-30-2021, 03:29 PM   #20
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I have done "color matched" cosmetic repairs by dissolving Lego blocks in acetone to form a slurry ...
That'll teach the kids and grandkids not to leave their LEGO bricks on the floor.
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