After many, many years of transporting the kayaks on a 1996 Land Rover Discovery, the boats have a new ride, a 2022 Toyota RAV4.
I was hoping to attach nylon straps to fender bolts like I did with the Disco, but it doesn’t appear that the design of the RAV4’s fender to hood setup will allow it. At the back, there is no trailer hitch and there won’t be for a while.
So, I am wondering, how do other RAV4 owners attach bow and stern lines to their RAV4?
For a bow line there is a small removable panel in the front bumper that hides a threaded hole which a tow hook can screw into. The hook should be with your jack equipment. No answer for rear attachment.
I use these with my VW Alltrack:
Yakima Hood Anchor - Pair | REI Co-op
Both front and rear. In the rear, they are trapped in the tailgate, essentially the same as the hood.
My wife simply uses a loop or strong webbing which she drops into the hood around the latch, and the loop hanging out. It’s a tie point for the bow lines of the kayaks when she’s carrying them in the RAV. When the hood shuts the loop is very strong.
Hood anchors similar to the Yamaha branded product are available for less than half of REI’s price.