Canoe Carrying Solutions

[BayouBeau]

Hey Ranger Lovers!

I pick up my XL 4x4 STX Crew tomorrow. The one item I haven't been able to figure out how I'm going to carry is my 14 foot canoe.

I need to keep the price below $500 and I obviously want to squeeze as much functionality out of it as possible.

What do y'all recommend as a solution?

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[Deleted member 1634]

We ended up getting a set of standard Yakima roof racks for ours. Grand total of all the parts probably came out to at or just below $500. They're kind of a pain to put on and off, and they make noise when they're up there, but they work well at what they're supposed to.

I originally wanted to get the Yakima adjustable bed rack. But that doesn't allow you to have a normal tonneau cover, just their expensive retractable one, and a tonneau is a must for us. Plus that'll be more than your $500 budget as well.

 

[BayouBeau]

We ended up getting a set of standard Yakima roof racks for ours. Grand total of all the parts probably came out to at or just below $500. They're kind of a pain to put on and off, and they make noise when they're up there, but they work well at what they're supposed to.

I originally wanted to get the Yakima adjustable bed rack. But that doesn't allow you to have a normal tonneau cover, just their expensive retractable one, and a tonneau is a must for us. Plus that'll be more than your $500 budget as well.

Thanks the1mrb! I looked at Yakima but I'm confused by all the different parts and pieces. I'm not sure exactly what I need to get to go from nothing to this setup. What all did you have to buy to make this set up happen?

Also, for reference what size are your yaks?

And the truck looks great!

 

[BayouBeau]

Thanks the1mrb! I looked at Yakima but I'm confused by all the different parts and pieces. I'm not sure exactly what I need to get to go from nothing to this setup. What all did you have to buy to make this set up happen?

Also, for reference what size are your yaks?

And the truck looks great!

It looks like this Yakima system is attached with straps through the doors not with screws, is that correct?

 

[Deleted member 1634]

It looks like this Yakima system is attached with straps through the doors not with screws, is that correct?

There are a lot of little individual parts involved in the assembly, that you have to apparently buy separately, if you're starting from scratch like we were. The system basically clamps to the door frames with angled clips. I was worried it wouldn't be enough, but they are very solidly attached.

Here's a list of the things we got to make it work:
Towers: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0171A6D2U/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Clips (specific to each individual vehicle so make sure you get the right code, BC124 is for the crewcab Ranger, not sure what it would be for an extended cab if you have that): https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0196GLCCI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Crossbars - 58" (we went with round bars, but I would imagine aero style bars would make less noise and have less mpg impact): https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012SFNEW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Adapter for whichever bars you got (again for the round bars, you'd have to find the particular adapter for aero bars if that's what you want): https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0171A6IKC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[BayouBeau]

There are a lot of little individual parts involved in the assembly, that you have to apparently buy separately, if you're starting from scratch like we were. The system basically clamps to the door frames with angled clips. I was worried it wouldn't be enough, but they are very solidly attached.

Here's a list of the things we got to make it work:
Towers: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0171A6D2U/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Clips (specific to each individual vehicle so make sure you get the right code, BC124 is for the crewcab Ranger, not sure what it would be for an extended cab if you have that): https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0196GLCCI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Crossbars - 58" (we went with round bars, but I would imagine aero style bars would make less noise and have less mpg impact): https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012SFNEW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Adapter for whichever bars you got (again for the round bars, you'd have to find the particular adapter for aero bars if that's what you want): https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0171A6IKC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Awesome! Thanks. This looks fairly simple.

 

[RandomHB]

I ended up going with the Yakima Longarm. I live in an apartment complex with a low garage height - I didn't want to roof mount mine (though you can use the Longarm as part of a roof mount system, if you want). This is actually why I bought a truck to begin with. I didn't feel comfortable transporting my kayak from my hometown on the roof of my Camaro to where I live now. I was super pleased with the ease of use and stability of the Longarm. I could have gone with a knockoff for a little cheaper, but overall happy with my purchase.

 

[BayouBeau]

I ended up going with the Yakima Longarm. I live in an apartment complex with a low garage height - I didn't want to roof mount mine (though you can use the Longarm as part of a roof mount system, if you want). This is actually why I bought a truck to begin with. I didn't feel comfortable transporting my kayak from my hometown on the roof of my Camaro to where I live now. I was super pleased with the ease of use and stability of the Longarm. I could have gone with a knockoff for a little cheaper, but overall happy with my purchase.

I really like the idea of the T-bar, however, I'm not sure how well it works with a 14ft canoe. With the 5ft bed and 2ft of tailgate that still leaves me with 7ft hanging off the back. That seems like a lot of canoe hanging out back.

I was thinking of potentially using a T-bar with a roof rack and laying the canoe over both of them.

Has anyone used a combo T-bar and roof rack to carry a canoe before?

 

[VAMike]

I really like the idea of the T-bar, however, I'm not sure how well it works with a 14ft canoe. With the 5ft bed and 2ft of tailgate that still leaves me with 7ft hanging off the back. That seems like a lot of canoe hanging out back.

I was thinking of potentially using a T-bar with a roof rack and laying the canoe over both of them.

Has anyone used a combo T-bar and roof rack to carry a canoe before?

it's in their product catalog https://www.yakima.com/media/catalo...5/e/x/extension_profile_copy_1.1541530348.jpg

big takeaway: they used a lot of tiedowns

 

[Washashore]

I really like the idea of the T-bar, however, I'm not sure how well it works with a 14ft canoe. With the 5ft bed and 2ft of tailgate that still leaves me with 7ft hanging off the back. That seems like a lot of canoe hanging out back.

I was thinking of potentially using a T-bar with a roof rack and laying the canoe over both of them.

Has anyone used a combo T-bar and roof rack to carry a canoe before?

For carrying in the bed (your least expensive option).......
If you use the Yakima Longarm as a bed extender, it will give you an additional 2 1/2 feet past your tailgate with 4 1/2 feet of canoe hanging off the back of it.

I have this setup on my Ranger - only difference is that I have the 6 ft bed, so my 14ft kayak hangs 3 1/2 feet off the back. I always hang a flag off the back and have never had any problems.. It's also easier on the back .

I'm assuming that your Ranger is equipped with the required hitch?

 

[BayouBeau]

For carrying in the bed (your least expensive option).......
If you use the Yakima Longarm as a bed extender, it will give you an additional 2 1/2 feet past your tailgate with 4 1/2 feet of canoe hanging off the back of it.

I have this setup on my Ranger - only difference is that I have the 6 ft bed, so my 14ft kayak hangs 3 1/2 feet off the back. I always hang a flag off the back and have never had any problems.. It's also easier on the back .

I'm assuming that your Ranger is equipped with the required hitch?

Yup, got the hitch. That's a great point about saving your back! I hadn't considered how I was going to load it.

 

[jlarrabee104]

Hello all. Jumping in on this thread to see if anyone has any other suggestions.

I had a Yakima system on my WRX and I am not willing to sacrifice another beautiful canoe for a crappy system that will fall off at random. (SEE PHOTO).

My issue is that I use my tonneau cover on the daily so something roof mounted would be preferred.

 

[Deleted member 1634]

Yup, got the hitch. That's a great point about saving your back! I hadn't considered how I was going to load it.

What we end up doing is basically sliding the kayaks forward into the J-racks. Each carrying an end of the kayak, my wife gets into the bed and guides it in, then I push it forward into the rack most of the way until I can't reach that high anymore, and she slides it the extra bit from the bed. It was a little awkward at first, but now that we've done it quite a few times, we've got it down to a system and it works well.

Only problem is that the bed has to be mostly empty and uncovered for it to work this way. So far I've made sure that's the case without too much extra planning.

 

[Deleted member 1634]

Hello all. Jumping in on this thread to see if anyone has any other suggestions.

I had a Yakima system on my WRX and I am not willing to sacrifice another beautiful canoe for a crappy system that will fall off at random. (SEE PHOTO).

My issue is that I use my tonneau cover on the daily so something roof mounted would be preferred.

I'd heard a handful of stories where their rack disconnected from the vehicle. And I was worried about that too, especially with the essential sail that kayaks on their sides create on the roof. But the Yakima attach system is different than the old way now, so once I put it on I could basically rock the whole truck quite vigorously (more than would happen from gusty winds) and they didn't budge or even flex. So I was relieved by that. And it's worked just fine so far for us.

But you could try any of the other companies that make roof racks. I know somebody who has Thule and they like it. And my brother even has a generic Amazon brand and has no complaints. So there are plenty of options out there.

 

[khyros]

Hello all. Jumping in on this thread to see if anyone has any other suggestions.

I had a Yakima system on my WRX and I am not willing to sacrifice another beautiful canoe for a crappy system that will fall off at random. (SEE PHOTO).

My issue is that I use my tonneau cover on the daily so something roof mounted would be preferred.

Ouch. I'm looking at that carnage though and I have a few questions about the situation leading up to this. I'm going to list questions and some may come across as me asking if you did everything right, but I'm coming from the perspective of this has been something that has always worried me (especially with the potential accident that it can cause if it hits someone behind me), and I've been told that if I do everything right, that's not a concern.

1) It looks like the front bar is still attached to the canoe (based off of the fairing on the crossbar). But I can't really tell how the tower was secured to the roof. Was there any damage to your car when it released?
2) I'm assuming there was a rear bar as well. But since that's not attached to the canoe anymore, what happened to it?
3) Did you have the bow/stern tie downs? I'm consistently told that this step (which is often skipped due for convenience) is the #1 way to prevent this type of incident occurring.

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