We have a 14’ and 16’ kayak. I have been told that you should always tie down the front and back. The problem is we recently bought a Toyota Rav4 and there doesn’t seem to be any where to attach a rope. When I install a tow hitch for my bike rack, that will take care of the rear but I’ve crawled around under the front of the car and can’t find anywhere to attach a rope. Anyone with a Rav4 solved this problem?
You can use
the hood hinges or a bolt inside the engine compartment to attach a loop. I used a short piece of rope with a bolan knot on the end tied around my hood hinges. When not in use the rope lies out of the way down by the windshield wipers. Other people use strips of nylon webbing that they make into loops by punching a hole in each end. Theu remove one of the bolts near the hinges and then put the bolt through those holes and rescrew the bolt into place. The loop stays down in the engine compartment when not in use and is lifted out the side or back of the hood when needed.
Be sure that the front and back ropes slant in opposite directions. That is if the front tie point on the kayak is forward of your vehicle tie point (as when using a hood hinnge) then you want the back tie point on the kayak to be behind the vehicle tie point. The front rope comes down and back from the kayak while the back rope comes down and forward. Conversely if the front rope comes down and forward (to a bumper tie down) then the rear rope should come down and back (or at least straight down). This normally means that tieing to a hood hinge gives a better tie down combination than using bumber ties since lots of kayaks will not stick out beyond the front bumber.
Good luck getting in secured properly.
Mark
I have a Rav4
I have a Rav4 and use the loop system Mark mentioned. Commercially they are called “top ties” you can buy them at redrock.com https://redrockstore.com/Catalog/index.php?crn=97&rn=773&action=show_detail
I made mine. I used pieces of an old strap for the loop and put in grommets to reinforce the holes.
Regina
Older RAV 4
Had an older '97 RAV4 and there were tow straps in front. Every subsequent vehicle I’ve installed these tiedowns with a bolt under the hood. ANY vehicle will have some spots for them. Here’s a couple examples:
http://www.pbase.com/ozarkpaddler/image/140851478
http://www.pbase.com/ozarkpaddler/image/140851479
Great!
Thanks everyone. Problem solved.