Carrying kayaks on top of truck while towing 5er

[nremtp143]

Hello again guys! I took several of your ideas and copied them to be able to carry my kayaks while towing the 5er without having to go in two different vehicles. A Curt hitch and Rhino Rack T-Loader on the front with Thule crossbars on the roof of the truck does the trick. Thanks for the ideas! Oh, here are some pics.




The first trip went well. Need to adjust a couple of straps to better location, but it worked just like I wanted.

[brussie]

I have a question about hauling 2 12' kayaks on the cab of my 2011 ford truck with the use of the thule goalpost , has anyone done this and if so any problems with the cross bar holding up, because I worry about the holes drilled through the cross bar braking.

[wanderingbob]

The real advantage to me of carting yaks on top of cab is the cab stays a heck of a lot cooler all summer . my wife locks me in there while she is shopping !

[ependydad]

nremtp143 wrote:
After about 5-10 miles, I was not noticing them as much.

And that was the part that I forgot to add. When you first put the bow lines on, you're like "holy eff, these things are terrible". And a short time later, you completely forget they're there.

[nremtp143]

ependydad wrote:

That said, the picture shown seems a little excessive. There appear to be 2 blue lines and the bight (ends of the rope) aren't yet secured. So it would declutter it a bit.

You are correct sir... I just took the pics long before I was finished. Kind of just trying to get them situated at first. The yellow kayak is a lot lighter than the green one and wants to lift badly at 55mph. I ended up with the two blue ropes and the red one was relocated to stop the lift. After about 5-10 miles, I was not noticing them as much.

[ependydad]

Lantley wrote:
Nice job. But are the ropes required. The ropes would bother me. Too many things impeding the field of vision.

They're strongly recommended. Their real purpose (as it was explained to me a long time ago) is to fight the natural upward pull of the kayaks to the roof rack. In some cases, they can also stop sideways wiggle of a kayak (I have a long homemade kayak that doesn't fit cradles well and will wiggle without bow & stern lines).

That said, the picture shown seems a little excessive. There appear to be 2 blue lines and the bight (ends of the rope) aren't yet secured. So it would declutter it a bit.

[nremtp143]

The kayaks have a space between them so stop lights really aren't a problem. I load them using a small plastic step stool for my son to step up on in front of the truck while I step up on the side step of the truck. It can be done by just me, but Hardee to do. The ropes are just added security and to help stabilize the hitch while moving slow as the truck bumps a lot more moving at slower speeds. No problems at higher speeds.

[wanderingbob]

We have a hitch on front and upright , then a crossbar as wide as needed for two yaks . Our yaks have full length , deep recesses in the hulls . We made sorta ladders or tracks the same width as the recesses that run back to a rack on top of cab . I call it a rocket launcher . We stand the yaks up from the ground and position the keel recesses on the track and slide em up .Works well, before we put the tracks on there the yaks slid all over the place

[PFitt]

Here's What we do with ours. My son and I built the hitch and carriers, they bolt on and are removable when not in use.

[goducks10]

Nice setup. I really wanted to do something like that but my Kayaks are only 10' and are two short to span a front mount rack and the 1st rack on the roof.

I load mine the same way. Start in the bed of the truck and push forward.

[Lantley]

Nice job. But are the ropes required. The ropes would bother me. Too many things impeding the field of vision.

[shepstone]

Wow Nice setup and beautiful rig, I'm envious !! could the same be done with a canoe?

[rtate]

How do you get the kayaks on the rack without dropping them on the roof without anything joining the goal post to the roof rack?
I just built a rack for my kayak and wrestled with that problem. Mine has a front goal post mounted on the tow hooks on the front of my Ram. I also have a rear goal post mounted just behind the cab with rails joining the front and rear goal posts. There are three crossbars joining the two rails.

I load mine by bringing the kayak into the bed and setting it on the rear goal post and then shoving it up over the cab. Itr rides onthe crossbars connecting the two rails. Rock solid front to rear but slight sway side to side with the rails, but the front and rear goal posts have no side to side sway.

I am on my maiden voyage with it right now. Seems to be working pretty well, but there are a few modifications I will incorporate into my design whem I get home.
.

[rtate]

How do you load the yaks without dropping them on the truck.?

[oughtsix]

How do you see stop lights with your setup? It seems like stop lights would be blocked by the kayaks?

[nremtp143]

mbopp wrote:
Nice!
But I'm curious - does the front rack sway side to side?

It does very little as the rack comes with an anti-rattle bolt. Some have taken ratchet straps and taken all of the sway out of it, but more stuff in field of view. However it only sways when pulling off of main roads. VERY little in forward motion. But mentioning field of view, the lines are so small they aren't noticeable after the first 3-4 miles. Going to try it a couple of different ways to see which works better. I was really torn between the Rhino Rack and the Thule Goal Post Rack. Both serve the same purpose, but this one can tilt forward in case you need to load something from the very front.