I have been considering buying a Sprinter High top cargo van ( or the similar Nissan Hi Top) and converting it into a camper. The one thing that is holding me back is the image of me trying to load my 17ft valley kayak onto the top of it.
Right now I am loading it onto a Jeep Wrangler solo with no problems. Prop one end up on the back, onto the rollers and then walk to the other end, lift and roll forward.
I have found images of people using hullavators on high top campers. Does anyone have first hand experience with this?
Thanks in advance.
I love rec vehicles with names like
Sprinter, Falcon, Swift, etc.
I know one fellow with a Sprinter
And he spent a large sum of money on a custom rack, and he has a system of rollers and pulleys that allows him to load a boat. He pulls it up from the roof after he connects a line to the bow and uses the system on the rack to give him the mechanical advantage he needs to drag boats up there.
I load boats on my 8’ high camper roof using a Yakima boatloader (bar extender) and a folding stepladder. Anything taller and I would need to have a rack that would support me while I hoisted boats up onto the roof.
Sprinter
Thanks, I will look into that.
I believe the sprinter is under 9ft tall but need to check. I am 5’9 so maybe the rack extender system will be an option.
Sprinter is a pretty funny name when you consider the thing is build like a giant bread box.
i had a job
Where I had to drive sprinters occasionally. Awesome van. The diesel s are great. Ive seen a few of the camper versions. I was pretty jealous. Just get a trailer.
Karitek
They have one U.S. seller:
http://www.karitek.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=163&vmcchk=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=5
Sprinter height
– Last Updated: Aug-26-14 10:47 AM EST –
We looked into Sprinters last year after enjoying a trip in a rented Class B mini motorhome. I believe the high top version is 8' 6" to the roofline.
There is a blog called
rubyslipperadventures.wordpress.com
by a guy with a Sprinter going cross country hauling kayaks on the roof and towing a SmartCar with bikes on the bumper rack. Might be able to get in touch with him to see how he rigged it.
I'd be awfully conscientious about the warning signs for overpasses with such a rig myself. Also, you have to consider if you'll have roof mounted appurtenances like AC and vent fans. I've got a mini motorhome about the same height, but I travel with folding sea kayaks stashed in duffel bags inside the coach.
Ironic names
Bounder is another joke, but the one we always jeer at is the Wilderness.
Maybe someday there will be one called the Midget.
A better name
I seem to remember a Simpsons Episode way back in the beginning, where Homer bought a motorhome called “The Ultimate Behemoth”, or something like that.
Kari-trek ELRR
Might be tough to find stateside but Kari-Tek makes an Easy Loading Rolling Rack for a high vehicle application that has a crank lowered carriage for several kayaks carried on J Racks. Get a folding J variety if you go that route (I have them on a ELRR 1300 small unit on a Toyota Landcruiser)
Here’s the link
http://www.karitek.co.uk/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=163&vmcchk=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=5
See you on the water,
Marshall
The River Connection, Inc.
Hyde Park, NY
www.the-river–connection.com
Hudsonriverpaddler.org
Thanks
for all the help.
That looks like the right solution. I like that it can take more than one kayak.