I was visiting the Perception plant years ago and saw two vehicles loaded almost to that extent. Outfitters?
My guess is a once a year trip to drop rental boars somewhere. Begs the question of why they couldnât arrange for a trailer and car capable of towing it.
@Celia said:
My guess is a once a year trip to drop rental boars somewhere. Begs the question of why they couldnât arrange for a trailer and car capable of towing it.
Reverse Shuttle?
Celia sarcasim intended. We trailer too. Although last weekend I just added the extra yak in the truck bed.
Many vehicles d/n have an outer front area for tie downs. I use two sections of material, cut to length needed, like tie down straps are made from,. Lift the hood, find a place (hole, not a rusted one) on the body, just under the edge of the hood. Tie them by making a knot and pulling it to tighten. They can then be pulled up so the loop extends to the outside, shut the hood and youâre ready to fasten. When done, untie, raise the hood and tuck it under. Close. NOTE: Ensure, when fastening, they will not get in the way of any moving engine parts or anything that might overheat the material. The back end of my boats are tied to the hitch connection. Itâs also wise to use cockpit covers to cut down on wind resistance and save fuel.
To deter some who may be tempted to remove a boat (steal), while at a motel or during a food stop, I place a couple of golf balls in a hatch or the bottom of the cockpit. Makes a racket when they try to move the boat from its perch.
I ALWAYS use tie downs, front & rear. Learned that lesson once, as a newbie, when I picked up a new fiberglass boat. Five miles on the road, the wind picked up and it began to dance a bit. Fixed that real quick! And why would I want to risk damage to my car or boat? When you pass or are passed on the freeway, by a big rig or carry on a windy day, youâll be glad you did. Also, over time, by not using them, damage can occur to your vehicle. I hate spending money I donât need to. Also, IMO, folks will know youâre not a newbie.
Paddle on. Have fun.
@shirlann said:
Many vehicles d/n have an outer front area for tie downsâŚ
Yep. Thatâs why Thule, and a number of others, make under hood strapsâŚ
The initial reply about rain gutters not being trustworthy for rack attachment deserves some scrutiny. The rain gutters on full-size vans (not what the OP has, I know) are a stronger attachment point for roof racks than you can find on almost any car roof nowadays. All heavy-duty roof racks made for commercial use on full-size vans (vans of the standard style, that is, since the new European style lacks rain gutters) are designed to attach to the rain gutters, and on those vehicles, the rain gutters are virtually as strong as those found on cars back in the days when gutters were the norm (that is to say, much stronger than anything you can find on a car roof nowadays). Such racks can easily carry a few hundred pounds and in the construction industry they commonly do exactly that (of course, the strongest of these racks use eight points of attachment instead of four).
I doubt that there is any other modern vehicle thatâs not a full-size van that even has rain gutters, but in the event that there is such a car being made nowadays, then the comment that rain gutters should not be trusted might be correct in that instance.
Many excellent points in this thread, even for transporting one kayak. Safety trumps everything else.
Best racks are ones screwed/bolted into the roof of the vehicle.
Also keeps the boats lower, easier for loading and unloading.
Spread your racks as far as possible, to avoid bow/stern tie-downâs.
Never use rope, takes too much time to tie/UN-tie.
Remember, the first one to safely and correctly fasten their kayak(s) is the first one at the brew pub, or has the first choice of parking.
If you take too much time, either: You have more kayaks than the others, you are new, and have not figured out the best processes, or are tangled up in your ropes.
If it is dark out, get enough light on the area, so no one is dropping anything.
I drive a R32/Golf vehicle, stock is very low, rack is in the roof, screwed down. Cam straps from Salamander gear. Camâs are always protected by fabric material. Double loop both sides of the cam straps around the roof rack bars, that are strung around the kayak. Buy a little longer strap for this reason, and/or tying the kayak, down in a windy situation. (tossing the strap to the other side of the car)
https://salamanderpaddlegear.com/
I have done 100 mph, w/ 2 kayaks, absolutely no noise from the roof/kayak area at all!!
Whoâs going to take a vehicle and screw or bolt in to it for a rack?
@PaddleDog52 More than one person here has done that including some very respected pnetters, Generally someone who drives a vehicle into the ground but there are plenty out thereâŚ
@PaddleDog52 said:
Whoâs going to take a vehicle and screw or bolt in to it for a rack?
I understand that some vehicles can be had with the mounting pads for the factory rails in the roof and they can be used for some rack mounts. That said, I went Celiaâs way on my daughterâs beater Saturn SC when she went off to college. I had some Thule mounts I took of a camper & some short bars lying around. The system held up (mostly) until it was time to scrap the car. It did look a bit odd with a 16.5â wood strip kayak & an old Piroutte S on that little car.
@PaddleDog52 said:
Whoâs going to take a vehicle and screw or bolt in to it for a rack?
I used these pad mounts thru bolted to the roof of my truck camper as the base anchor point for the rack. They are originally made to mount to the car rack base mount systems. (base mount on car usually covered by rack or trim strip)
@PaddleDog52 said:
Whoâs going to take a vehicle and screw or bolt in to it for a rack?
People have done that. There are rack shops near me who do it, but the way they often do is to rivet from outside, which isnât that strong. Drilling hole and accessing from inside and adding some sort of support brace backing to the inside to spread the load is the proper route.
Some cars do come with bolt connection spots built in. Here is what we have on my 2000 Audi: https://www.dropbox.com/s/8b32r1rdi76oeiy/AudiRoof.jpg?dl=0 (there is a plastic slug in that gets removed when I bolt the rack on it). A quick look at other neighbor cars and it looks like a BMW has these, but a Honda Fit does not. My Mom has a Kia Soul, and I seem to remember that it looked like it has a bolt on point also. These points often take only a special mounting foot, which you may need to buy from the dealer at exorbitant prices. But having a rack that bolts directly on to the roof does add a layer of safety.
My BMW comes with four roof rack anchorage points. I bought BMW roof racks for my kayaks, which also come with a torqued wrench. The spec for the rack load capacity is 165 lbs. I canât find any load spec for the anchorage points though. The system works perfectly for me, since I transport no more than two kayaks. However, for transporting multiple heavy kayaks, the load capacity may not be enough. BTW, the rack distance is not large. So, I always use bow and stern lines.
hey, if you are going to completely overload the rack it is best to put some extra looping straps around the whole mess, with the car doors open and the straps running through the car . Otherwise you got to climb through the windows to get in. Also recommend in addition to bow and stern painters that yout also try tieing the ends of boats together. Think not so much in terms of attaching boats to racks, but the whole mess to the car itself. 3 boats should be no problem, when you get up to five or six or seven or eight, thats when it gets interesting.