Jerry_NJ
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2010
- Messages
- 250
My long owned 17' foot Grumman aluminum canoe has always been carried on a small SUV with a factory root rack. I have never had a problem with using that transport with the canoe tied down front and rear... maybe a rope over the top of the canoe tied to the anchored roof rack.
I no longer have the transport car and purchased a one-man loader for use with my Colorado pickup truck. This gives me a rear end tie down and now the question: The truck does not have a roof rack.
I have an after market roof rack that is too narrow to reach across the cab of my truck. But, it has nice feet to put on the top of my truck and a nice surface for the upside down canoe to rest against.
My plan is to use the recommended rear tie down on the receiver hitch connected rear post and 'T", and to tie the front of the canoe to over the hood of the truck to the bumper with two ropes, each ran to the bumper about 2 feet apart and centered. This is the approach from the past.
Next I plan to use a ratchet type tie down just behind the cab connected to the front die down rings in the pick up truck bed. With the ratchet I can generate significant pressure, downward pull on the canoe which is transferred to the unfastened roof rack cross bar. I believe this will put enough pressure on the "feet" of the roof rack bar to hold it stationary on the roof. I note that another approach would be to buy the soft Styrofoam (really something much more flexible and tough) pads one can put on the gunwales of the canoe where it meets the roof of the carrying vehicle. But, why not just use my roof rack bar. Neither has a screwed down connection to the roof and depend on the tie downs to hold the canoe in place.
Any ideas, suggestion, criticisms?
I need to carry the canoe aboue 35 miles and I'd like to some on an Interstate where I can get by at 60 mph, but not much slower.
I no longer have the transport car and purchased a one-man loader for use with my Colorado pickup truck. This gives me a rear end tie down and now the question: The truck does not have a roof rack.
I have an after market roof rack that is too narrow to reach across the cab of my truck. But, it has nice feet to put on the top of my truck and a nice surface for the upside down canoe to rest against.
My plan is to use the recommended rear tie down on the receiver hitch connected rear post and 'T", and to tie the front of the canoe to over the hood of the truck to the bumper with two ropes, each ran to the bumper about 2 feet apart and centered. This is the approach from the past.
Next I plan to use a ratchet type tie down just behind the cab connected to the front die down rings in the pick up truck bed. With the ratchet I can generate significant pressure, downward pull on the canoe which is transferred to the unfastened roof rack cross bar. I believe this will put enough pressure on the "feet" of the roof rack bar to hold it stationary on the roof. I note that another approach would be to buy the soft Styrofoam (really something much more flexible and tough) pads one can put on the gunwales of the canoe where it meets the roof of the carrying vehicle. But, why not just use my roof rack bar. Neither has a screwed down connection to the roof and depend on the tie downs to hold the canoe in place.
Any ideas, suggestion, criticisms?
I need to carry the canoe aboue 35 miles and I'd like to some on an Interstate where I can get by at 60 mph, but not much slower.