I hate the black marks they put on a white hull, and am thinking of glueing a piece of thin indoor carpet on each roller.
Has anyone else done anything like this or have any other ideas that might work?
Jack L
I use white teflon on the roller bushing
There’s enough of a gap between the actual rollers & the plastic bushings they spin on to get the lube in there & the white teflon works well. Lubed the rollers spin with very little resistance & I don’t get any marks on my white hull.
When I used Hully Rollers
I noticed that the silicone rubber picked up dirt very easily. If you are a neat freak, try cleaning the rollers often with a household spray cleaner. Makes 'em bright and shiny.
Jim
Thanks, I’ll try that first
a “neat freak” I am not, but “the bride” is (that’s why we have been happily married for 53 years) and when I read this to her she said bring them in and she would do it.
jack L
I assume that is a spray ??
Can I get it at Lowes or a hardware store ?
I’ll do that after they get cleaned.
Thanks,
Jack L
Gross aren’t they?
They seem to degrade in the sun over the years & the surface layer turns to a goo laden gum. Too much of a pain to take them off the van & clean them repeatedly, so I resigned myself to just cleaning the marks off the hull after the usual wash down. WD40 on a shop towel takes the gunk off pretty quickly.
It is a great assist for me though
I have a Ford F-150 4 x4 with a cap on the back, so you can visualize how high the roof is.
I have three sets of bars. One on the cab roof, and two on the cap.
The boat is a 100 pound 23 foot long tandem yak, and I just use the hully rollers on the rear rack to get the boat up. Once it is on the roof, it doesn’t even sit on the hully rollers, but just in saddles on the front two bars.
To load; I stand on the grond behind the tailgate which is down, and while my wife picks up the stern, I lift up the bow and put it on the tailgate and she sets the stern down. then I get up on the tailgate and pick up the bow again, and set it on the hully rollers. We then swap places with her on the tail gate to balance the boat and me on the ground back at the stern where I pick it up and push it up on the hully rollers as far as I can, until it is at the point where it is balanced up in the air.
Then I get back on the tail gate and slide it all the way forward to the saddles.
We have this down to where it only takes a few minutes or less.
Naturally, some young stud could probably pick the boat up and throw it on top
Now that I told you the secret of how it is done, you realize, I have to kill you!
Jack L
Spray on tire cleaner
Spray on and let it drip off. Takes seconds to do and will restore luster to all the black rack components too.
Well, here is how we do it
We do not have a 23’ yak. Just a QCC700X and 600X and an F150 with a cap. There is one rack on the cab and one on the cap. The rack on the cap has the hully rollers. We put a rug on the back edge of the cap. I lift the bow of the kayak being loaded and place it on the rug. My wife lifts the stern and begins pushing the kayak forward while I guide it. Then I get on the tailgate and finish pushing the kayak forward and positioning it on the hully roller and front cradle. This works but like Jackl and his bride we are old farts and sometimes younger studs help out, which is welcomed. We have yet to get black marks on our boats.
Wash them
soap and water and scrub with a brush. They come out nice and clean. Had mine for 12 years now!
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rack
My racks and rollers and saddles stay on my truck all the time. They both will mark the hull of my boats if I leave them on the rack for a while. When I’m paddling more than twice a week I just leave my boat up there. I have tried the cleaning thing, but it only helps for a few days. Once that rubber stays in the sun for a few months it is definitely different.
Ryan L.
With 15 boats, mine are constantly being
changed around between two vehicles. Canoes, kayaks, lumber, ladders, etc, with J cradles, hully rollers, saddles and gunnel brackets.
You guys would have been proud of me the other day, when I even (God forbid) had front tiedowns on that big honking 23 foot long boat.
jack L
old farts
I have a Forester and going alone to paddle is just getting tougher each year. You are lucky to have your beautiful bride that goes with you. People do not realize what a wonderful gift youth is!
Defected
I’ve jumped ship to Marco Kayak Saddles. Broad contact area, fabric slide-em-up surface. Models to hook onto Thule/Yakima or aero bars.
Also $60 less for a pair than two pair of Yakima/Thule saddles provided you’ve got some straps and tie downs laying about.
See you on the water,
Marshall
The River Connection, Inc.
Hyde Park, NY
www.the-river-connection.com
Funny
That’s even more steps than what my husband and I do when rooftopping our sea kayaks. Lots of getting on and off the tailgate for me. Best step stool there could be! Now we just need trucks with retractable lifts on all four sides!
I didn’t get any answer on if it …
is a spray, but evidently you must mean the white teflon grease, since I couldn’t find any spray.
I’ll just use a silicon spray lube like I use on my rudder tracks and foot pedals
Jack L
Did you ever get the problem solved? I’ve got exactly the same problem and have resorted to cleaning the hull with acetone (works better than wd 40), but I need to hit the problem at the source. Did spraying the rollers work?