My truck bed barely over 5 foot and Hauled our Old Town Loon 138 with bed extenders with magnetic tail lights on the extenders.
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Why are we debating pfd’s and intelligence in thread about hauling kayaks in a pickup bed?
Some people can’t resist the urge to be heard, I guess.
Go yell at a tree, it will be more productive
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If secured well they will not fly out, that much extension out of that short a bed would make me uncomfortable though, not just from a rear end accident but I have seen issues with making turns. I am much more comfortable with my canoe on the roof though my canoe only weighs 23 pounds and I am young and tall so its easy. I have considered putting my shorter canoe in the back if I needed to haul 2, it is 12 foot, but I also have a 6.5 foot bed, would not do it with my 15 foot boat or the 12 footer if I had a shorter bed.
A used trailer can be had for $300-$400 of craigslist all day long where I live. Does not have to be a yack specific trailer, adding a rack to any trailer is easy.
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Nice pics - thanks for posting!
I had a 30# canoe and never carried it in the bed. It obviously wasn’t plastic.
you have a good plan. I only had shorter kayaks 10’ or so. my only suggestion would be to have a bed cover, or cross bars. I had a S-10, I loaded on bed cover. I used adjustable straps to hold down. I liked to see the yak, to be sure of safety. I recently got a full size truck and will be doing same. i will put added strap through carry handle to increase support.
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I use a similar set up to haul my 14 ft Jackson Cuda 14. Nice touch with the magnetic tail lights. I have a Ford F150 with a 6 1/2 ft bed and haul my kayak 100’s of miles without and problems.
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I have hauled my kayaks and canoes in a pickup bed for decades! I am on my fourth truck, but have always had long bed Fords, so with the tailgate down I have nearly 10’ of bed. With an eye-bolt on each front corner to snub them to, and straps to secure then to the back corner to prevent swishing, I have hauled boats up tp 17’ with never a problem. It is by far the easiest, cheapest, simplest, and safest way to haul them—the best way! No high lifting, no trailer, no special gear needed.
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I don’t think I’ve ever ‘trolled’ on-line. If you are rock n’ rolling in wind and waves in cold conditions without a dry/wetsuit you are going to paddle your butt off to keep up-right. You can’t roll. And, if you are good, you won’t. It’s not luck if you are good. PBR? If I’m in the boat it’s ‘Miller time’. If I’m in the water I’m not going to stay in long enough to use the PFD. If your boat has bulk heads you are holding on to a huge float.
I couldnt agree with you more. Your response is well thought out and seems based on experience, but as you expected, you are hearing anecdotal stories from people who have been lucky so far. The kayaks need to be secure and with regard to the center of gravity of the vehicle to take highway speeds.
I kayak on Long Island on the ocean and the bays and see people ignoring safety practices all the time.
They are eventually referred to as “victims”. If they are warned about it beforehand the inevitable statement is “but I’m being careful”.
I too have a pickup and haul kayaks, but not in the bed. I have one of those T - bar extenders, but use it in the upright position. I routinely haul 16 ft sea kayaks up on top. Two straps. I’m 65, the Scorpio weighs about 50 lbs or so, but it’s very easy to leverage up on top. I first put the bow up on the side of the truck bed, easily lift kayak up. Using a bit of mind over matter, a push on the stern the bow goes up on the truck cab. I have a foam pad up under the bow & padding on the T-bar. No lights, no flags, very easily secured.
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I carry up to three kayaks (longest 14’) in my camper van. Carrying two this past summer, with the top one tied through the carry handle to the back door, the carry handle rope broke when I slammed on the brakes for deer avoidance. Kayak sailed up to and cracked the front windshield. Now there’s a heavy bungee to attach the top kayak to the back. That has worked like a charm so far - it slows and stops the forward motion (and yes, I have tested it - before getting the windshield replaced!)
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And I don’r see anyone here using rollers on their rack - best way I’ve seen for a too tall system.
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall — Book of Proverbs
The old style Yakima Hully rollers tend to turn to chewing gum over time. I have not seen a viable replacement yet.
I don’t use rollers since one of mine failed and the bolt gouged my boat. I use cradles.
I ended up with a set of Malone SaddleUp carriers that kind of bridge the gap between rollers and saddles (came with a used rack I bought). They come with a set of saddle pads that slip on the rear saddles, covering the grippy rubber of the saddle with a slippery surface that allows the boat to easily slide up into place. They can be easily removed if you’d rather have 4 grippy saddle surfaces. I was a little skeptical, but they work pretty well, at least on my composite boats.
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made new post about loading