Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Carrying a canoe while towing a TT?

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Topic: Carrying a canoe while towing a TT?

Posted By: jungleexplorer on 07/27/17 08:29am

I am looking for ideas on how to carry a canoe while towing my TT. I know there are some other conoers out there. How about share some pics of how you carry your canoe while towing your TT.

1999 Minnie Winnie WF322R

Posted By: normal_dave on 07/27/17 08:39am

Add a front receiver hitch to your tow rig, then front riser bracket and same for the bed.
[image]

or just use a van for your tow rig...
[image]

Sorry, the original pics fell prey to the photobucket fiasco

1995 Ford E-150 Club Wagon Chateau Van
2012 Cargo Trailer Conversion Camper/Hauler

Posted By: campinia on 07/27/17 08:40am

I carry fishing kayaks and tow my TT. I have a Yakima Outdoorsman 300 rack system that I put over the bed of my truck and it has a high enough capacity that it would easily handle canoes. The racks can be bought for about $375 online and it goes on and off in about 10 minutes. The only downside is that you cannot use this rack and a tonneau cover.

2017 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab LT 2500HD Z71 4X4 6.0 Gasser
2018 Keystone Passport Ultra Light 175BH
Champion 3100W Inverter Generator
2018 Pescador Pro 10 Fishing Kayak
2018 Old Town Topwater 106 Fishing Kayak

Posted By: mbopp on 07/27/17 09:20am

I use a pair of Yakima Outdoorsman racks. Our 17' canoe just overhangs to the windshieid edge, plenty of room for turns. Sorry, no pics due to Photobucket.

2017 Grand Design Imagine 2650RK
2019 F250 XLT Supercab
Just DW & me......

Posted By: BizmarksMom on 07/27/17 09:23am

I have a tonneau cover with a ladder rack, similar to this;

Clicky

2019 F350 towing a Nash 22H

Posted By: justALnow on 07/27/17 09:30am

You can see a photo in my profile.

Posted By: SpeakEasy on 07/27/17 09:35am

If money were no object, I would have done what BizmarksMom did. However, funds were limited so I went with a removable ladder rack. I use it successfully with a kayak, but it would work with a canoe.

Here

It's just Mrs. SpeakEasy and me now (empty-nesters). But we can choose from among 7 grandchildren to drag along with us!

2014 F-150 Super Crew Short Bed 3.5L Ecoboost
2014 Flagstaff Micro Lite 23LB

Posted By: wowens79 on 07/27/17 09:38am

I bought a ladder rack for $100 on Amazon Prime. Just drill 4 holes in the bed rails and you are good to go.

I carry 4 kayaks on it, and it works great.

2022 Ford F-350 7.3l
2002 Chevy Silverado 1500HD 6.0l 268k miles (retired)
2016 Heritage Glen 29BH
2003 Flagstaff 228D Pop Up

Posted By: bobndot on 07/27/17 09:48am

justALnow wrote:

You can see a photo in my profile.

Posted By: ADK Camper on 07/27/17 10:09am

I mount my 17' Grumman standard on roof racks similar to bobndot. For us the biggest problem was raising the 75 lb canoe to the height of the truck roof. I solved the problem by constructing a roller system for the rear roof rack using a length of metal electrical conduit inside a length of PVC pipe. Before hitching the trailer we support the front of the canoe on the raised tail gate while DW supports the back. Then I climb into the truck bed, lift the front of the canoe to the roller. Then we walk the canoe forward until it is centered over the roof racks. Then I remove the roller and secure the canoe to the rack. Centered on the roof, the canoe does not overhang the rear of the truck so hitching the trailer is no problem.

Posted By: ppine on 07/27/17 10:56am

Carry your canoes on the roof of your tow vehicle.

Posted By: DutchmenSport on 07/27/17 11:34am

First Travel Trailer with our Suburban:

[image]

First duly pick-up truck with foam supports under the canoe on the roof of the cab:

[image]

First duly pick-up truck with my own home made ladder rack, made out of chain link fence pipes, a few long screws, 2x4 wood planks, and wire:

[image]

Then we got a real shell, but it did not have a ladder rack. So I made one myself out of chain-link pipe, lots of flattening, and lots of drilling holes for self-tapping metal screws and such. I found lots of uses for those pipe too, but it did carry the canoe just fine!

[image]

Then we got a different truck and we got a different construction style shell with the ladder rack already installed. Now we finally arrived:

[image]

This shell has been on the last 2 trucks we've had. Unfortunately, I had to take the ladder rack off the shell, because the newest truck bed is over an inch and a half higher that the previous truck. With the ladder rack on, it's now too tall to fit inside my garage door. So I've removed the ladder rack.

We're also getting older and have not used the canoe in the last couple years. It's getting too heavy for me to left now. We've had it 13 years now!

Posted By: jungleexplorer on 07/27/17 12:11pm

I use to carry my Mad River 16 on my Silverado 1500 using the foam blocks. Like in this picture.

[image]

But this only worked for short trips because after a while the foam block would compress down and the canoe would end up on the cab and the camper shell and that resulted in scratches on both. The canoe also slide around in high winds no matter how tight I strapped it down. I don't what to use that system on my new truck. I need a much better system.

Posted By: WolverineState on 07/27/17 01:28pm

I use the Reese hitch mount for my Scanoe. I mounted the pivot post to my trailer hitch under the sway control ball. This made it easy for me to load/unload without my wife's involvement. I found the wind would move the canoe to much at highway speeds so I added the Malone Big Foot Pro to my Expeditions roof racks and that took care of all the sway. I can provide pics if you PM me your address.

Reese one man hitch mount

Malone Big Foot

Posted By: HuckleberryHunter on 07/27/17 01:32pm

I just bought a TracRac ($300 at Home Depot) for my Silverado so we can haul our kayaks on our next trip. I've tested it out with two #60, 11' kayaks on top and they seem to ride nicely. Getting up there is a bit of a challenge if I'm doing it alone, but still manageable.

2019 Outdoors RV 21DBS
2016 Silverado 2500 Duramax
Equalizer 4-point WDH

Posted By: 1stgenfarmboy on 07/27/17 02:45pm

I built a ladder/pipe type rack using unistrut, so I can dismantle it quickly, I use the foam blocks on the rack and carry my 13.5ft kayak right side up along with a motorcycle in the bed of the truck.

If I was going to haul it across the country I would build some V blocks rather than using the foam blocks.

1993 Dodge W350 Cummins with all the goodies
2014 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn 2wd 395hp
2017 Forest River Surveyor 243 RBS
2001 Super Sherpa & 2012 DL650A go along also

Posted By: jungleexplorer on 07/27/17 07:24pm

The problem I have with the racks that go on the bed of the truck is that my canoe is 16 feet long and my bed is only 6 feet long. This means that I have 10 feet of canoe outside the rack. So I either have to push way back towards the trailer or hang it out over the cab with no support. I need something on the front of the cab to secure it too. Is there some kind of temporary rack that attaches over the cab of a truck?

Posted By: 73guna on 07/27/17 07:27pm

bobndot,

Are those custom made tie down brackets on the fenders?

2007 Chevy Silverado Crewcab Duramax.
2016 Wildwood 31qbts.

Posted By: BizmarksMom on 07/27/17 07:43pm

ADK Camper wrote:

That's a good idea. My kayak is 45#, and I have a hard time getting it up onto the rack. I'll have to play with some wire and pipe.

Posted By: rbpru on 07/27/17 08:34pm

I have an F-150 with a cap. I use a Yakama rack on the front and a home made rack on the truck cap. The canoe overhangs the back of the cap about a foot which makes for a nice tie down. The front is tied to the bumper over the hood.

The center is held to the front and rear racks with ratchet straps.

The front Yakama bar has an internal extension bar that extends out past the cab; so you can set the front of the canoe on the bar with the back of the canoe on the ground, then lift the back of the canoe up onto the rear rack, then scoot the front over to the front rack. Then extension is pushed back into the Yakama front rack tubing.

I have never notice any gas mileage deference when towing my TT, with or without the canoe. The frontal area of the TT is so large it never sees the canoe in front.

Good luck

Twenty six foot 2010 Dutchmen Lite pulled with a 2011 EcoBoost F-150 4x4.

Just right for Grandpa, Grandma and the dog.

Posted By: seaeagle2 on 07/27/17 11:34pm

Google Tinnie racks. (That's what Australians call aluminum car top boats, they have a ton of different products and home made racks for transporting boats/kayaks/canoes while towing. For what its worth, I have a 12' Porta bote. We have a short bed F150, I have a canopy (topper). I put roof racks on the canopy and one on the cab of the truck to support the Porta Bote.

2014 F 250 Gasser
2019 Outdoors RV 21RD
"one life, don't blow it", Kona Brewing
"If people concentrated on the really important things in life there'd be a shortage of fishing poles" Doug Larson

Posted By: bobndot on 07/28/17 03:34am

73guna wrote:

bobndot,

Are those custom made tie down brackets on the fenders?

Custom made and imported - [emoticon]

Pop the hood, then use two 15" web straps ( i used an old dog leash and cut 2 lengths) I tied them to a support brace under the hood. When i need to tie anything to my roof racks, i pop the hood and pull the straps out. It saves the paint on the front of the trucks hood.

BTW, someone was concerned that the aluminum truck hood would bend, so I kept a close eye on it. In 7500 miles of hauling, all is fine.

Depending of what you tie-down, the rope will sometimes be in your line of vision. Not that it blocks your vision, (it's just a thin rope) but I can see some people being annoyed by it because they would allow it to annoy them.

amazon sells 'Sherpak, Seattle sports quick loops' $15/pr.
You dont have to tie these ones, they have a round stopper sewn to the end that holds under the hood when you close it.

Posted By: DiskDoctr on 07/28/17 09:06am

Great thread and pics!

How about something that allows you to open the rear hatch, say on an Excursion with a Mad River 16?

Some kind of pulley system will be a must. It's just over 7ft to the racks and my health and lifting ability is headed the "wrong direction" to lift it up there [emoticon]

Posted By: Jackfate on 07/28/17 09:58am

I put Yakima track rail on my roof and my cap. Then use my Yakima system that I've had for 30 years. ( requires drilling holes in roof ) can carry boats up to 24' and bikes too

Posted By: RedRocket204 on 07/28/17 10:07am

campinia wrote:

I see some others have posted some ways to do racks with a tonneau cover installed. An advantage on my DiamondBack ATV cover is I can also walk on it to make it easier to load my 12' kayaks. Where there's a will, there's a way.

Single Yakima Outdoorsman rack mounted to a bracket I created and bolted on my tonneau cover. Single frameless Yakima rack on the cab.

I would have no issue supporting 16-18' canoe as I still have about 4' behind my kayaks to the end of the truck.
[image]

I love me some land yachting

Posted By: Downwindtracker2 on 07/28/17 12:55pm

I have used a Loadmyboat, a boatloader , with one of the canoes. I put it up by hand. Usually it's just the tinnie. But my canoes only weigh 60-65#, one is cedar strip and the other Kevlar. When I bought the Kevlar freighter, the company owner said about Kevlar "How else are you going to feel 20 years younger? "

Adventure before dementia

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