RVs and kayak carrying

Truck or trailer???
Might want to consider buy a little truck and tow it. You will also have transportation.

Other small choices
Karen, I went to a boat/RV/outdoors show this weekend. In addition to RoadTrek, a few other smaller models are out there. At least two makes offer diesel-powered RVs that get about 22 mpg.



RoadTrek does seem to be the favored of that category. I talked to an owner years ago and he raved about it; he also said he’d met other RoadTrek owners and every one of them was happy with their choice. One thing I clearly remember was his recommendation to immediately upgrade the stock Firestone or Bridgestone tires; he had problems with blowouts and noted that other owners experienced the same thing. This was before the infamous Firestone fiasco involving Ford Explorers, but I bet it was the same line of tires.

yeah
i really cant see a moterized RV pulling up to one of the Joccassee boat ramps and ANYBODY being able to load and unload a boat on top of it!!! It would be a PITA to HAVE to basically break camp every time you want to take you boat to the water. A towable camper is the way to go.

Try a dinghy davit
There are all sorts of davits made to lift dinghys onto larger boats. They can be manual block and tackle, electric or hydraulic. Since it’s marine hardware, it likely won’t be cheap and would have to be custom mounted to the roof of your RV but would get the job done.

You can do it!
Sounds like you have a good plan with the road trec. Want to take me with you?

Re: Davits

– Last Updated: Mar-09-05 3:13 PM EST –

I recently saw an advert for a system that looked for all the world like a lifeboat davit that mounted on the roof of a tall truck topper, and was designed for loading canoes and kayaks. I will try to find the ad (Seakayaker? Canoe & Kayak?).

Jim

Hah! Found it. Here is the link. Look for the "Kayak Loader" section.

http://www.loadmyboat.com/

that’s exactly what I had in mind
but specific to loading a kayak on a vehicle. Not cheap but, didn’t expect it to be.

RVs and kayak carrying
karenwxyz,



I’m two years ahead of you. I settled on a 16’ Airstream trailer, towed by my existing Previa minivan. The 16’ MR Explorer goes on top of the Previa, and the Airstream tags along.



I wouldn’t change a thing.



The whole rig has an agreeable architecture like the Apollo moon vehicle. The Airstream is like the F-1 rockets. It gets me to a campground. The Previa and canoe go to the put-in, and the canoe is like the LEM.



I’ve traveled up the Dempster and the Dalton, leaving the trailer in the temperate zone, camping out of the minivan.



The Previa is a little underpowered for the service, and it could use a little more ground clearance, but the four wheel drive is great. With the seats out, it’ll carry a huge amount of gear as long as it’s not too heavy, with plenty of room left over for a Malamute.


I know about the rack lowering system…



I’ve looked at these, but they’re heavy and complicated - everything I try to avoid when I’m living that life. I’ve decided that when I get to the point that I can’t load the boat by myself, I’ll quit altogether.



Sometimes I look longingly at the type Cs and the motorhomes (especially in the sheeting rain), but I just don’t see how they’d be an overall improvement.



Advice is usually worth what you pay for it.



rj

Agree with rj
I pull a little 13’ Scamp behind my Ranger supercab 4x4. The yak(s) ride on the topper, the trailer is small enough to fit just about anywhere, no campsite needed, is comfortable, and I only sacrifice about 3MPG with it - in the mountains.



OTOH, I saw a class A this weekend with what looked like an old Dagger Crossfire lashed vertically on the back of the roof access ladder.



For me the truck/trailer is the best answer for versitility and economic - low impact camping. When I leave you may see tire tracks and that’s about it. No tent trenches, hacked up trees, fire pits (I have a portable fireplace that fits in the Ranger but seldom use it,) 26gal. gray water tank to empty appropriately, no generator necessary - I installed solar for the battery.

Taj

Wow, I sure wish
Everyone in the country thought about camping like you do. I long for the days gone by that I used to pitch my tent and hear nothing but the wind through the treetops and the singing of birds. I long to look through the trees and see and hear the surf pounding the shore. People around here try to outdo one another by buying the Greyhound bus RV with the huge screenporch, two SUV’s, boat/w trailer, gas grill, 3 rotweilers and 5 rugrats running through your site with/without bicycles or motor scooters, dropping pizza crusts and pop cans all over the place, then having a sing-along with mom, dad, brother, sister, aunt, mother-inlaw twice removed at 1 in the morning accompanied by their 350 watt boombox. Oh, and did I mention the generator and the three big screen color TV’s that are always going, but no one is watching?