Kayaks carried vertically with a TC
I've asked this question before: how do those who haul kayaks do so? Most haul them on the TC roof, of course. I just discovered a vertical kayak rack that mounts in a receiver hitch. Looks like...
Forum Discussion
wintersun wrote:
The RV Kayak company makes one rack that will work with a truck camper with a rear entry and it works as it has a swing away mechanism. It will support 2 kayaks along with 2 bicycles so it is a complete solution. No need to climb up on the roof to haul up a 70 lb. kayak or to have a bike rack in front of the radiator.
DOT regulations provide for vehicle maximum heights of 14'6" so that is affects the height of a camper or anything on the roof of that camper. My camper on the truck has its top at 11'6" and the top of the AC cowl is at 12' 6". My EVDO antenna goes up to 14' above the ground when it is vertical.
A vertical kayak rack that is going to place the end of the kayak closest to the ground at a height of 18 inches can have a kayak with a length of up to 13 feet and the top will be at the 14'6" maximum. To be conservative one would use only kayaks with a length of 12' and have 12 inches to spare.
Both the RV Kayaks rack and a trailer can provide the means to carry both a couple of kayaks/canoes along with a couple of bicycles. My Yakima trailer its cross bars 27" above the ground. The cross bars on my truck which also has kayak saddles are84" (7 full feet) off the ground. Needless to say it is one hell of a lot easier for me to put our two 71 lb. kayaks on the trailer than on the roof rack.
The 7 foot height of the truck cap mounted rack is my outer limit for hauling our kayaks around for fun. Hoisting them up to put them on a rack that is 11 feet off the ground seems far from being fun or even sane.
Federal regs for height clearance are 13' 6"...anything less that that MUST be marked.
Would love to see a pic of your rig with yaks loaded...thanx.
