Anyone make a pvc pipe frame to sit in your pickup bed to hold a canoe? I figure it would be easily moved in and out because of weight. With the canoe tied down it should hold fast. I recently traded my college son a car for a small Ranger and am thinking of making a PVC frame to throw in the bed to haul my canoe. Anyone done such? Is it strong enough? Size (as in width of pipe)? Thinking about 4 feet square and a rack on the car? Or, would a frame (if I take the box out) of 6 feet be better with no cab rack?
RE: PVC
I’m trying to understand what you are meaning.
A high frame that is over your
truck cab, or a shorter one that will allow
the canoe to stick out with the tail gate open?
I don’t know in your state but in NC I am able to sit my canoe in the bed of the truck,
an F-150 with the tail gait open but red flag it.
Bed of truck or above cab, then we will go from
there since I have worked with Schedule 40 PVC
pipe. The reason I do it the way I do is that my
camper top is higher than my cab top which is
impossible for me to lift that high.
I do use a Y shaped 5’ long rack that sticks
out 5 feet and hooks to my Reese hitch.
I had a welder make it and it works very well and is removable when I get to the ramp.
I have a 15’ aluminum canoe.
Are you going to haul it upside down, what length
and exactly where?
If in the box and not over the cab remove the tool box unless of course you are going to build it higher to go over the tool box.
I heard that a canoe should always be upside down but that has not been an option for me
and it has worked fine. I just make sure the tail gait is tied so it does not slam the bottom
of the canoe while going over bumps.
Let me know!!
I use my Ranger bed…
…(extended cab), since my camper usually isn’t mounted. My 12’ solo canoe sat unassisted, but now that I’m up to 14’ I use an Extend-a-Truck in my
hitch. I might be able to carry without the EAT if I
bothered to figure out a well-engineered lashing system. I couldn’t lift to a cab-high carrier, so this works well for me, being only thigh-high. I’ve learned since that Harbor Freight may sell a cheaper
extender. Also, the canoe’s so sheltered from the wind that tying is easier than cab-top systems. Still needs to be secure, just in case. I can also fit my wife’s rec kayak next to it.
Is there going to be any weight on pvc
If you are making a rack that will hold the canoe over the roof than I wouldn’t do it in pvc. It can shatter and break apart pretty easily. That could really suck for your canoe and the poor bugger driving behind you. Wood would be a far superior alternative IMHO.
You can buy big eye bolts - -
with rubber pads that are above and below
the floor of your truck for tye downs.
Check an auto parts store. I use my camper top
connectors for tying down with straps.
If I would go to an upside down haul, I’d use
wood like ScottB said. If I was going to go
over the top of the truck cab I’d have someone
weld an L type steal or even round pipe together.
The extended items work good for painting red
and hanging flags off of.
Wood.
Being a builder, I looked at PVC options and dismissed them in favor of wood. 2 X 4 towers and front/rear cross bars. 1 by 4 side rails. 1 by 2 trim side rails. Stained it all walnut and varnished. Bolted into my truck (Chevy S10) bed via hook-bolts to the tie-downs. Blue foam kayak pads fit tightly over cross bars. Worked great. Boats cleared roof by 3 inches as planned for when cutting the tower height. Total weight? Less than a 20 pound bag of cat food for sure. Cost was around thirty dollars.
Eventually went to a camper shell and new system so gave away my well-used wood rack.
thanks
Thanks for recommendations. Wood will be what I use. I hope to make a frame so that I don’t have to have the canoe on a rack on the cab.
My canoe is royalex and 16 feet long. The bed with gate down is 8 feet. I would not think stretching canoe 8 feet- out of the bed would work. The bed rig sounds more my style then an extension out from the bed because I can just leave it in the bed even when not in use most of the time.
I use PVC
for a boat rack in my yard. I enocuntered a sea kayak outfitter who used pickup racks of PVC. However, in my pickup, I use the one-sided ladder racks (look like inverted Ls). They’re cheap and easy to load/unload (set the boat in the bed and tilt till the bow is on the forward rack, slide up and lift the stern).
I made one…
out of 1 1/2 Pvc schedule 40 pipe,for a Toyota Tacoma short bed. First few trips it worked well,but after a few more trips,weight,vibration,took it’s toll. First the joints came loose,and in hot weather cross bars started to sag . I ended up tearing it apart,making a lawn chair,and rerouting the washer drain in my house.
Happy Paddling billinpa