Boy, I thought buying the canoe, PFDs and paddles was the end-all. Now I’m looking at truck racks for my '99 F250 Superduty shortbed and am surprised at the variety, accessories and prices for everything! This is starting to look expensive.
Anyhow, I’d like to hear opinions on what to buy–or look out for–from other truckers out there. Living in the Sacramento, CA area, are there any good dealers with quality products I should visit? I looked at the Tracrac products website. It had cradles for kayaks listed, but I didn’t see anything specifically for carrying canoes. Is this rack really worth close to $800?!
yakima rack
I have a F250, crew cab, short bed, diesel and I use the Yakima rack system. We got the long bars so we can haul 2 canoes if needed.
I have had this rack system about 9 months and we travel everywhere with our canoe. We just leave the rack system on when not in use.
Jo
One option
Kinda depends whether you plan on carrying the canoe solely over the cab, the bed or both. In any case all you need is a system that provides you with two crossbars Probably the simplest is a pair of foam gunwhale blocks to cushion the canoe on the roof and a Thule Goalpost to fit into the receiver hitch, assuming that the truck has one, and a set of Load Stops. Probably looking at about $220 that way + straps.
(ps: the Fit Guide states that there is no fit for your truck but there is a Thule#445 foot pack that is made specifically for a F150, never used it so I’m not sure of it’s applicability in your case.)
$300
I bought a set from U.S. racks for $300. Been reasonably happy with them.
http://www.usrack.com/
Thule?
Didn’t you say in your other post that the canoe you’re buying comes with a car-top Thule rack? YOu may not have to buy as much as you think. You could find out just what components the guy has and figure out what you need from there.
Go to the junkyard, Check ebay
check autotrader and get a lumber rack or a shell with bars. Then pad it with pipe insulation, pool noodles… and you have a superior rack.
yakima for me too
I have a Roll N Lock bed cover and it’s hard to get to my rear stake pockets so I went with the Yakima rack on the cab and the Yakima drydock in the receiver hitch. It’s been great.
F250
I have a 97 F250 ext. cab, long bed. I got a Fulton goal post and put on a front receiver and my canoe just comes over the back of the cab. I also have a 5th wheel trailer I tow. The Fulton is around $100.00
If the 250 has stake holes, build a rack
out of 1 1/4" emt conduit, thin wall for uprights. Use 1" right angle conduit for braces at the rails, drilling into the conduit and the top rail on your bed to secure. U-bolt 1 1/4" conduit to the uprights for your crossbar. If you want to reduce side-to-side play, use the 1" right angle conduit to brace the bars to the uprights. Total cost should be under $75. Paint it to match the truck if you want, but be sure to clean the conduit first, as they may have a filmy coating.
Good options
Thanks for the help and suggestions. If I might query, are the rack posts that use a truck’s receiver hitch steady? Seems like that design would rock n’ roll since it relies on a single contact point. But I could be all wet.