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Show me your canoe truck

A not very good shot of the TPS rack system on our 2007 Honda Element.
I don’t think this rack system is manufactured or welded up anymore by the person down in Vero Beach Florida.
Ill like for better photos or take some when we get back home.
 

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I mounted the first TPS welded aluminum roof rack system on the 2007 Element I gave to my wife. It significantly increased the bar spread over the stock system and had rubber inserts on top so we can load SUPs and canoes upside down or add standard kayak saddles .I posted a lot of photos of this system on the Honda Element owners forum Including my wife loading our 20 foot tandem kayak on it
Ill look for some of the photos to post here
Too late. My kid has now stolen my Element. Putting it to good use though at least.

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Got lucky and just got a new 2022 Ram 2500 diesel. The canopy is equipped to haul canoes.
 
Got lucky and just got a new 2022 Ram 2500 diesel. The canopy is equipped to haul canoes.

Congrats. Now how about getting more active with a camera, Forester, and show us some pictures of all the very interesting things you post about. Folks like and are motivated by photos, in my experience. Besides, you live in a rare part of the country for a canoe community, and pictures of anything out West are usually grand.
 
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The truck, with recent addition of the ladder. It should have been a no brained but it took 30 years to bring it.

I've been using different size step ladders on my full size van for decades. Those are some really high towers supporting your racks.
 
Nice! I've never seen a hitch contraption for an outboard motor. What model and size canoe is that?
That is my Chestnut Ogilvy "Grilse". 18 feet long with a "vee" stern. It has become my primary canoe. Both tandem and solo. My motor is mounted on a Thule bike rack I've had laying around for years. I grew tired of lifting the motor into the bed and then laying it down on it's side.
 
I have the same racks Robin. I like them but I did have to cut some additional slots to be able to lower the back rack so the bow of a boat would clear the cab of the truck.
Jim
Yours looks newer and already has extra slots.
 
Even if I won the lottery I would still buy a Tacoma. I don't need all the HP that the big 3 are still offering. Ideally we all need someone to bring out a hybrid or electric vehicle with 1000km range and the ability to take at least 2 canoes on the roof plus all the gear and people. Until that time we are stuck with using dirty oil.
Fast forward to 2022 and we’ve got them and all the unintended consequences they bring. Hybrids are a better choice than full EV. Electricity from the wall still comes primarily from burning fossil fuels and California is telling people not to charge their EVs because of rolling blackouts. Now if we could get our heads out of our… darkest areas, we’d realize nuclear is the only real solution. At least until fusion becomes reality.


I am still waiting for 1/2 ton and smaller diesel trucks to be available in the US like the rest of the world drives. I love my one ton Ford with 24 mpg, but could get by with a smaller truck now. I no longer haul horses or a camper.
Got those now too, but the EPA has strangled diesel engines so much that they aren’t as efficient and diesel fuel is now as or more expensive than high-test. The new emissions solution lie is the filter that has to be cooked off aka “regen” all at once. One wonders if the emissions are now worse due to burning extra fuel during regen. They’re still the best for towing though.


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The truck, with recent addition of the ladder. It should have been a no brained but it took 30 years to bring it.

I had to use a ladder when carrying 2 canoes to get to the rack between the boats. I can’t reach over the boat when standing on the door sill, and can’t reach under them from standing on the ground. The step stool makes it possible!


And here’s mine:

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I’ve since got a pair of the Thule quick loops that are captured under the hood as a better tie off point.
 
I have the same racks Robin. I like them but I did have to cut some additional slots to be able to lower the back rack so the bow of a boat would clear the cab of the truck.
Jim
Yours looks newer and already has extra slots.
Lowering the rear rack is a nice feature, clearing the cab and also helpful when loading a canoe from the rear.
That canoe in the picture is very heavy, thick paint and canvas patches on the canvas. I drop the tailgate, lift the canoe up on it, then climb up on the tailgate and lift the canoe onto the cross bar and roll it.
I only tie the canoe to the bars and a rope around the center thwart down to floor level loops inside the bed.
 
On my system, the rack base sits on top of the flat bed “rail” and each leg base has two clamps that secure the base to the truck bed from underneath the rail when tightened.
Very easy on/off
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I purchased the cantilever addition for my Thule ladder rack. It extends the rack over the cab. This is the most secure system I have used to date. I have traveled thousands of miles with this set up. Good find!
 

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Loaded and ready to head north to the Whitney Wilderness area early tomorrow morning. Gonna turn 70 next month so I need to do this route while I'm still young! The "Whitney C"... put in at Little Upper Lake, take out at Low's Lower Dam.

This canoe is the 15' Island Falls Willow model I restored last Fall. First real trip for this one. I keep reading about windy conditions on Lake Lila and this lightweight is prone to being blown around. I'm bringing a water bladder to add weight forward since my gear bag alone isn't heavy enough to counterbalance my weight- no matter how far forward I stow it. tempImageT3aFue.png
 
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