Has anyone installed one of those hitch mount "T"
racks on the front of their pick-up truck ?
I am toying with the idea of mounting one on the front of my Ford F-150, and then using it in conjunction with the front roof cap rack.
I will also have to install a front receiver.
I would like to hear if anyone else has a similar set up and how it is working out.
Cheers,
JackL
Will be getting one soon
I just traded in the Suburban for a Chevy 2500 C/C S/B diesel to tow our TT. Since the crew cab isn’t as long as the Suburbans was and I NEED to be able to take my canoe. I’m looking at getting the front reciver and the goal post type support.
I did see a truck in the parking lot at Lowes and the guy made a support with 2 pieces of tubing and angle brackets mounted to the bumper to support the front of his canoe. Looked like a good idea, but I can’t see myself drilling into a brand new bumper.
Front bumper rack mount
Jack,
I have seen this type rack mount on both pickups and on a Mustang convertible.
Oak Orchard Canoe has this type of rack mounts made by an ironworker friend and they are solid. Their mounts will take any standard Yakima bar and accessories. You can adjust the height to match your rear bar, just as you can use the same rack mount in a rear trailer hitcha and use it in conjunction with a cab mounted rack.
It works good on a convertible, mount receivers at both ends and carry boats above the soft top.
Bill
Thanks Bill
Hope to see you up there this fall if everything goes right.
cheers,
JackL
Looking forward to seeing you guys
Jack,
If the Baldpaddler relocates to Long Island you will have a halfway house.And the door is always open here on the North Coast.
There is a 17’Sundowner in Afton,VA. on its way to Charlotte for my daughter Kelly and family. Once she and the muscular son-in-law get some time in the boat and some racing lessions from Charlie, you guys will have to coax them into some of the flatwater races down there.
Bill
I have a rack mounted on my
cap using clips and a rack on my cab using a tower. It works great for my 18 ft canoe. I have an eight foot bed though and a quad cab.
Right now I have
the rack(both bars) on my fiberglass cap using Yakama landing pads bolted right through the cap.
How are your towers attached to the cab roof?
That is probably my other option, but there is a head liner with space between it and the metal roof and I would like to have something bolted through.
JackL
Why not put a fiberglass cap
on the new truck.
That is what I have right now for pulling my TT.
and I have no problem with the 17 foot canoe and two kayaks on J cradles on each side of the canoe.
Both bars are on the cap.
My impending problem is I am looking at a 23 foot long boat.
Cheers,
JackL
Center rack
Have you considered a single roof rack and a rack in your center bed pockets? 2x3 lumber works well and you secure the rack with a ratchet strap to the bed tie downs. Putting a 23’ boat on a front bumper support will give you a lot of front overhang. I have a Dodge extended cab with 2 Yakimas on the roof. I tow a 5th wheel so I stack and center 2 kayaks on a spreader. I have hauled boats up to 18’4" with the kayaks 4’ into the bed and get minimal overhang of the front bumper. The 5th wheel turns around them since they are centered. when we get where we are going and drop the trailer, I put a bed pocket rack up and move the yaks to the sides. I have logged around 20,000 miles with this set up.
a 23 foot long boat?
Are you thinking of getting a Minn 4?
Nope
just a plain old tandem kayak.
We are demoing it tomorrow, and will make up our minds.
Cheers,
JackL
I can’t do that since I have…
a cap on the truck.
How are your racks mounted (secured) to the cab roof?
I’ll probably end up putting one one bar on my cab roof if I can figure how to bolt the landing pads through the roof like I have on my cap.
Right now I have a pair of them on the fiberglas cap
cheers,
JackL
Yakima Q towers
If you have a cap, put one rack on the cap and a Yakima or Thule on the cab.
Jack I had that set up
I had a similar set up on an old Jedd Wagoneer. It was good for verticle support but doesn’t not offer much side to side support. You could have something similar made and have it bolt to your bumper using the license plate holes if it is a solid steel bumper.
To deal with side loads at first I used ties on the front. But the rack in the back had two good bars 6 feet apart so I ended up not needing the extra ties from the nose of the boat to each end of the front bumper.