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Can I put a canoe on a factory rack?

10K views 19 replies 12 participants last post by  ramblerdan 
#1 ·
Here's the deal: Found a factory rack on craigslist, new, cheap. But I read about the 75lb weight capacity and am worried it won't do what I want, which is to haul either one canoe or two kayaks. I tried searching the forums first but didn't have much luck. Your thoughts?

TIA!

~Kate
 
#3 ·
It's plenty strong enough. Unless you have a lead canoe.
I routinely carry a 14.5' canoe and 13' kayak on top. Have to tie the ends down though, to limit the see-saw effect. Why did they put the durn things so close together?
 
#6 ·
. . . I routinely carry a 14.5' canoe and 13' kayak on top. Have to tie the ends down though, to limit the see-saw effect. Why did they put the durn things so close together?
So there'd be enough room for the skylight in the rear where it isn't useful. It's called the law of unintended consequences. One bad decision precipitates an avalanche issues. There is room in the roof structure for another set of support points near the rear of the roof.
 
#4 ·
Found a factory rack on craigslist, new, cheap!

FWIW, I started with the Honda OEM rack, mostly because it looked good. Replaced it after a few months, not only the low weight but the cross bars are not rails so do not extend to the side of the roof, which makes it difficult to load from the side (e.g. J-bars). The bars also flex unlike the Thule and Yak bars. I replaced the OEM rack first with Thule then the TPS Lizard rack. If we are carrying a canoe, it is loaded directly on the TPS Lizard rack. With one or two kayaks they are loaded on Rhode Gear saddles attached to the TPS Lizard rack. With the TPS Lizard rack you have ~57 spacing end to end, which makes for a stable compared to the OEM rack. Our kayaks are 17 1/2 feet and 16 1/2 feet and the canoe is 16 feet. When we got the OEM rack we had a 14 foot kayak and even with that one I was not satisfied with the OEM rack at all.
 
#5 · (Edited)
I know my homemade rack would work, it's 48" wide x 43" long without the rear extension; the frame is 16 GA steel and the crossbars are 1" diameter steel tubes. For one canoe, what about those foam things they sell at sporting good stores?
 
#13 ·
For one canoe, what about those foam things they sell at sporting good stores?
I've got some deep scratches on my roof from those foam things-side wind pushed the boat around a lot. I put on the rack soon afterwards.

I rememeber coming down I-40 once and seeing a kayak come flying off a jeep, lucky he had it tied down on the back and dragged it for about a mile before he realized it came off...Always tie front and back !:lol:
That's a fact! I got in a hurry once, didn't tie down very well and lost a windsurfer at 60 MPH on I-90 on July 4. Thank heavens it didn't go through a car's windshield!
 
#8 ·
carried a 15.5' Coleman 700+km on factory racks. totally fine, except the cross wind felt like it was going to rip my roof off.
 
#9 ·
just put in on top and drive around.....if it falls off, then you didn't tie it down good, if the bars bend then its too heavy, go get a Yakima rack:D


I rememeber coming down I-40 once and seeing a kayak come flying off a jeep, lucky he had it tied down on the back and dragged it for about a mile before he realized it came off...Always tie front and back !:lol:
 
#11 ·
I drove around Hawaii with my 11' ocean kayak strapped to the factory rack for a month one time. No problems. Just used two ratchet straps to tie it to the rack bars. Never had a problem. City driving as well as highway driving up to around 65-70MPH. Never slipped, fell off, or anything. And the rack as well as the rood is just fine.
 
#12 ·
Haul either one canoe or two kayaks on OEM rack!

11' ocean kayak strapped to the factory rack
Kate
What is the weight and length of the canoe and kayaks you will be carrying?
What is the travel distance/ road speed to the water entry? Your answers to these two questions, greatly influence the acceptability of the OEM rack for your intended use.

For short recreational yaks you would be OK, but as the boats get longer you will experience a lot of flex because the bars are not rigid and the relatively short spacing between the crossbars. I have little concern when I drive the 2 miles to my local launch site, but when I go to the Eastern Shore or up the Chesapeake on the Interstate it is very different. We started with short Ocean Kayak SOT and the first time I transported them to the local launch site we didn't have a rack of any kind. Just placed them on a couple pieces of pipe insulation and tied them down to the bumper. It worked for a couple miles at 35 MPH but I would not do it again. I quickly got a rack (actually two, as mentioned in my first post, I replaced the OEM rack after a few uses).

IMO, weight as well as length are valid concerns.
 
#14 ·
Stock rack seems well made

I just removed a stock rack from my E to replace it with a Yak rack I already had. I was impressed by how well it is made. For starters it has three bolts connecting it to the roof at each point instead of two like the Yakima. It also has metal parts on the mounting hardware instead of plastic like the Yakima. The hardware also has some metal going down into the roof that must be to add support. The crossbar does say 75 lb limit right on it, but I thought it was better made than the stock Toyota one on my wife's 4-Runner. I had to replace when it snapped with some green wood 2x4s on it (they were still wet and unusually heavy). It collapsed when I went over a speed bump coming out of the lumber yard.

My rack is for sale in the Trading Post category. ;-)
 
#19 ·
The roof rack will work fine. I have a 14' canoe that is 68lbs. I tie it to the rack with the straps parallel to the cross bars. I bought a canoe tiedown kit at Bass Pro/Cabelas with the Foam pads that have rubber on the bottom to give it a firm base. I run the straps under the bar, toss it over the canoe, under the opposite side then back. The kit came with straps that you just pull through and it uses teeth/friction to hold the strap in place. Then I use a ratchet strap on the front to hold the nose down. I've driven on the highway at 70mph with no problems. The trick is to tie it to the rack and not through the inside of the car or whatever. That pulls down and adds extra weight to the rack. If you loop it under the bars like i explained there's no chance of it sliding off the ends because it won't pull the strap past the end. Hope that helps.
 
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