Truck Racks for Canoes

I am looking at the Yakima Outdoorsman 300 for my Ford Ranger Supercab 4dr. I already have the Q-Towers and bars for my car, so I just need the clips for the truck and a single truck bed rack. I haven’t seem any reviews of this rack on the net. Anybody hear anything?



Thanks,



D

Spring Creek truck rack at canoegear.com
I can’t say enough about the Spring Creek truck rack, which I have for my Ford Ranger. It was very nicely constructed, neater looking than the Thule, adjustable for several cab heights.



This is made and distributed by a family run business, and the customer service is fantastic.



I got the truck rack just a couple of months ago, and was so pleased, I’ve ordered several of their products since.



FYI, I use the truck rack with a Saris bike rack over the cab…but I also recently ordered their suction cup rack, which I am going to try over the cab.



Here’s the rack:

http://www.canoegear.com/www/truck_racks/truck_racks.html

More
I use my rack primarily for canoe(s); If you’re using it to carry a kayak(s), you might want to check if the spring creek rack is consistent with the bars over your cab.

I’d agree
The Spring Creek rack is unsurpassed for trucks. I’ve had mine over a year and a half. It’ll haul 2 canoes or 5 kayaks easy. Totally bombproof. Excellent company to deal with.

I have a Yakima Dry Dock
I can sell. I have the 58" bars, front towers and clips for a Ranger as well. (I now have an F-150.) I gave it a less than stellar review for short kayak purposes but, for a canoe it would be fine. It is typical well constructed Yakima hardware.

Thule Goalpost?
anyone have any experience with this system for kayaks? It seems like a simple concept, and would allow the use of a tonneau cover at the same time, something the other systems mentioned so far would not permit.

Is that like the Dry Dock?
The Dry Dock fits in the hitch receiver and a single bar/towers goes on the cab so you can use a tonneau cover. Nice advantage. Only downside is you can’t drop the tailgate with a boat loaded.

yup
I think they are quite similar. I’m curious about how short a boat is too short. My Supercrew has a 5 foot box,so I figure a 14.5 foot bought ought to be OK in that sort of arrangement?

depends
on where the roof rack part sits. Thule or Yakima should be able to give you the measurement. On my former extended cab Ranger, the spread was nine feet- too much for my 14.5 ft. boat. The Dry Dock sticks out about a foot or so from the end of the hitch. With a supercrew and a five foot box, I would think it would be about two feet shorter.

I have the Yakima on my
Tacoma . The goalpost part for the bed is solid as a rock. I am really impressed by how secure it is. You can shske the truck with it.

10.5
I have the Drydock and have to run the Q towers at the back of the roof (Dakota short bed/standard cab). My 10.5 Blackwater is about the shortest I could safely go. The bad part is I have a cap and the Drydock makes the back of my truck completely useless.

So the Outdoorsman
is pretty solid then? That was my primary concern. When I looked at on the Yakima website I was not confident that it would provide enough support. I haven’t been able to find a local store that has one in stock that I could look at. I have a 17’ Wenonah canoe, so I shouldn’t have any problems with the Q towers on the cab. I think the 58" bars will work for a 2004 Ford Ranger.



Thanks,



D

Check with Spring Creek
You might be able to have a tonneau cover with the Spring Creek rack. I think there are slide rails availabe. You might want to call them. Foner available at canoegear.com



Also, no problem with length with this kind of rack. It can be set all the way to the rear or anywhere along the the rails of the truck bed.



As I said before, it couldn’t be any sturdier.



BTW, I’m not affiliated with the company in any way; I’m just impressed with their products. Not necessarily inexpensive, but the quality is excellent.

yakima racks
Regarding your yak rack. I was wondering why you did not keep it for use with the f-150?