Finally got a rack on my van tonight and found there were no good attachment points for the front/rear tie downs. I’ve had this on other vehicles as well and found a very handy work around is to use some 1/8" steel cable.
Just find a hole in the frame or bolt with large washer to loop it through/under and there you. The steel cable I bought tonight was $.35/foot and the cable clamps (to make the loop) were $.65 each. I also cut a short piece of vacuum hose to slip over part of the steel cable to (hopefully) keep it from cutting through the rope under heavy load. I usually use caribeners on the end of the tie down ropes though.
Total cost was under $8 and I think it took about 15 minutes to do all 4 corners. It helped having it at the shop and up on the lift though.
Any other good ideas out there?
Alan
From Bearsfan at another cite
You can do this yourself quite easily. You need two short (approx 6") lengths of sturdy webbing, like what you would use for a tie-down on your cross-bars. Open your hood and find a screw attaching the front fender near the front of the hood on each side. Remove this screw, fold the webbing in half, and work the screw through it. An awl may be helpful to open it up without damaging the webbing. It may also help to add a larger washer on the screw. Replace the screws and close the hood with the webbing loops protruding. Then use a rope (1/4 inch works well), to go from one loop, through the painter on the canoe, and through the webbing loop on the other side. I use a bowline hitch on one side and a trucker’s hitch on the other to adjust it. When you are not using them, the loops can be stuffed under the hood.
Well, start like this…
Open your hood. On the hinges there is usually a hole… Run about a 6" loop of paracord (or material of your choice) through each hinge. Close your hood leaving them to the outside of the body. Attach your tie-down lines to the loops just infront of the windshield. There that takes care of the front!
Now for the back… Rear frame crossmember.
There, you are all set.
Paddle easy,
Coffee
Bumper mounts…
I put a 2 1/2 foot loop of 3/4 inch nylon webbing on each bumper mount, added a stainless teardrop biner to each, and use them for tiedown points…when not in use, the biners are clipped to each other in the center of the bumper underneath the vehicle…
Best part is, the tiedown points are just above the hood line, where I can see them through the winshield and the rear view mirror…If a knot begins to come loose, you can see it.