anyone carrying 12' kayaks with 5th wheel

[riven1950]

We are looking at a F250 CC 6'8" bed. Wondering if folks are carrying kayaks with this set up and pulling a fifth wheel?

Can you do it with Thule roof racks alone or would you need a goal post type support on the front of the truck?

If we order a truck it could be 8' bed but we are thinking we would prefer the 6'8" for parking etc.

We have been using a single Thule roof rack and a Yakima rack over the bed with our TT but obviously this will not work with a fifth wheel.

thanks

[TxGearhead]

I was behind a 5th with kayak a couple weeks ago. They had a cargo carrier on the back of the 5th with the bow (or stern?) sitting in a home made box, the kayak vertical against the roof ladder, and tied to the ladder. Keel forward.

[riven1950]

Thanks for all of the info and pictures. Looks like we can use the one Thule roof rack we have and a goal post type in front, or if we get a long bed maybe just get another Thule rack and carry them on top of the truck. Great info Thanks again

[4x4ord]

We use to bring two 17 foot canoes with us. We had a 6.5 foot box and pulled a fifth wheel. I built a headache rack for the truck to support the rear of the canoes and a T-bar post that bolted to the truck frame where the tow hooks mount to support the front.

[Bowti]

Works for us.

[Halmfamily]

We carry a 13' and 10' kayaks on our trucks roof. 3500 Crew cab with 8' bed and no problems pulling the fifth wheel.

[NMDriver2]

Carried a 14ft canoe and a 12 ft kayak inside across the top of the slide dinette and couch. Rode just fine although you did have to have the slide out to get the canoe in and out. Made using the dinette a little crowded but you could still sit on the two outside positions to have a meal when traveling.

I tried the canoe over the cab for a while but did not like the noise of the straps or the overhang in the front, especially at street lights.

[mhardin]

I use a F350 CC LWB to tow a FW and haul a 16' canoe on top of the truck with a roof rack and goal post. It works well.

[FF286]

I put the Yakima roof rack on my roof, and a hitch on the front of my 2500 Silverado short bed. Using the goal post in the front hitch. I am able to carry my 14’ native, and a 12’ kayak. I bought the Malone (sea wing?) for the native to sit on. Works great and can load by myself if needed. Surprisingly it didn’t seam to hurt the fuel mileage like I expected.

[phillyg]

When I had an F150 pulling a small FW, and had a 14' kayak, I installed a front receiver on the truck, to which I inserted a vertical T (amazon.com). Got a single roof rack, and that provided plenty of room front to back for the kayak. And, I was able to load/unload the kayak without help.

[daglenn1960]

We carry 2 Hobie Mirage Compass (12') kayaks on a double rack (Yakima + 1 bed rack), though 2 Yakima racks work just as well. The Mirage's carry well even with pushed forward a couple of feet off center. Just using the front hitch/bar for easy front rope tie for both kayaks.

Also recommended for Hobie type hulls, I have 4 appropriately spaced 2" PVC pipes running lengthwise, makes sliding the hulls up very easy and supports the hulls very well.



Sorry for the pic quality, apparently sharing from google/amazon photos now reduces quality when embedded. Sigh.

[Cummins12V98]

I carry mine in a bag in my basement.

[bpounds]

riven1950 wrote:

Thanks for that. Looks like one solution but man that would be tough loading and unloading I would think. My fishing kayak is 48lbs and my buddies is 62lbs empty, not the real lightweight sit in kayaks.

I'm not a kayak guy, but I wondered the same thing. I did not get to see him launch. Those are Hobie Mirage Outback, which the current model is said to weigh 99#.

[lhenry8113]

We carried 2 10ft kayaks on Thule Roof Racks on roof of our F250. If the weather got bad-we could put the kayaks inside the 5'vr--1 over the booth dinette/couch area and 1 over the camper queen bed. The racks and mounts worked great.

[riven1950]

bpounds wrote:

These are 12' kayaks, and they are the Hobie fishing model with pedal paddles. Owner says this is his second fiver with this type of rack, and that he has not had any issues. This was about a 30' fiver.

Thanks for that. Looks like one solution but man that would be tough loading and unloading I would think. My fishing kayak is 48lbs and my buddies is 62lbs empty, not the real lightweight sit in kayaks. Can't imagine getting mine up and down would be very easy.

On second look it does appear they have some sort of roller system bar on the back which would help, but still a long haul.