I traded my old wagon for a smaller sedan. I can find virtually no places front or back to tie down my small kayak. Any suggestions? Can I have something welded?
Are you using a factory roof rack
and cradle system?
Volvo has a very good factory system. It has pins in the front bar and a torque wrench for tightening the feet. I would’nt worry about tieing down bow/stern on a short boat/short low speed trip as long as you are strapping the boat well.
For my long boats and freeway driving (big trucks cause a lot of turbulence) I installed short strap loops under the hood to bolts in the optimum area. I also attached one in the rear.
http://casanovasadventures.com/catalog/racks/078000.1.jpg
You have a tow eye hook with your spare/jack. It could be installed in the front for a single point front tie down probably all you would need.
Quickloops
QuickLoops at http://bit.ly/QuickLoops
Simply open your hood or trunk, position the loop where you want it (so the web loop end emerges through the gaps) and close. The Quick Loop locks in place with the pressure, providing a quick, easy loop to lash your straps to.
Quick loops and towing eye
The quick loops work great attached to a fender bolt under the hood. I just bought a new XC70 and am using the emergency tow eye bolt that scews into a hole in the rear bumper for the stern tie downs. I am not sure about your model vehicle but if there is a silver eyebolt near your spare tire I bet you can use it.
Ken
Volvo tiedown locations - S hooks
– Last Updated: May-30-10 10:58 PM EST –
In the front, on the underside, there is a steel shield on the bottom covering the oil pan etc. There are two holes on either side about a foot back from the bumper. I use steel S hooks in those and attach my front tie downs to those. You have to put the hooks in facing the rear (latch onto the rear edge), then rotate them to the front.
In the rear on the LHS, there is a convenient hole in the tailpipe support bracket close to the end of the tailpipe. Put an S hook in it. On the RHS there is a bracket. It doesn't have any holes in it, but you can put a hook on the front edge to hold a tie down. It will stay there just fine.
This is for model year 2001-2009. Don't know about 2010. It's a new design.
haven’t tied down a kayak in ages…but
as with a canoe, in addition to the normal straps/ropes and gunwale stops…find a couple solid places on the kayak to tie onto and tie onto both front and back saddles/bars to secure the boat from going in either direction. With two of these…and secure side-to-side ties/stops IME…a hassle at first, but you won’t need the end ties.
$.01
a bit more permanent
Quickloops look good and easy to “install” but if you want something that is always there (so you don’t forget it/loose it) and a bit more permananent consider adding some little loops to the fender bolts under the hood.
Full details at: http://gnarlydognews.blogspot.com/2009/12/diy-tie-down-anchors-for-modern-cars.html