-
Happy Birthday, Buddy Rich (1917-1987)! 🥁
Aftermarket roof rack options w/o rain gutters
- Thread starter Gamma1214
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2018
- Messages
- 1,907
- Reaction score
- 2,984
Sorry that I can't help with that one (well, I guess I could if you sent drawings...)
I grabbed some 1 1/4 inch square tube (fits the receiver) and some 1 inch square tube (just because it's lighter) and my buddy welded it up & made the support gussets from scraps of thin steel that he had laying around. He did a great job but it's not something that's commercially available (although, I could ask...)
Curt made the hitch & the wiring adapter (yes, I wired it for a trailer also but the trailer weighs far more than the canoe and I really don't want to smoke the transmission... it's got a "stomp & steer" and I've been out of that business for almost 20 years)
Besides, at least with THAT trailer, I kept hearing Jeff Foxworthy's voice the whole time I was driving.
I don't think weight is nearly as large of a factor as wind resistance. I did a fair amount of trailer pulling with my little 4 cylinder Corollas. One was a manual and the other an automatic. Pulling a small boat trailer converted to carry two canoes is hardly noticeable, even with 2 canoes loaded.
What turned out to be a difficult to pull was a lawnmower trailer, even empty, with the expanded metal ramp installed. That ramp caught so much wind that even with an empty trailer I had to drive nearly WOT just to hold 55 mph in a slight headwind and fuel mileage tanked. Once I realized what was happening I removed the ramp and it felt like the trailer wasn't even back there anymore, even with 250 pounds of equipment on it.
I used to own a V6 Ford Escape and one 85 degree day I was carrying two canoes on the top for 70 miles into a slight headwind. The transmission overheated and puked most of the fluid out the vent. I'm sure, had I been pulling them on a trailer instead of loaded on the roof, that it would have been fine.
Alan
I used to tow an1800lb (dry weight) Starcraft Starmaster 6 tent trailer with an old Mercury Topaz with the 4 banger and 4 speed auto trans, I did use a couple of tricks though- a class 3 hitch, trailer hydraulic surge brakes, a 10,000 trans cooler and shift kit, and heavier Taurus rear struts (required using alignment shims). I towed that beast (often with 2 canoes on top) for around 10 years with little hassle, and actually kept the car for 19 years before it went to the great highway in the sky. I only stopped towing with it after being rear ended so bad they had to tow the two vehicles away as one because the front wheels of the other car were locked into the unibody IN FRONT of my rear wheels, they cut the whole back third off and welded in the rear of a junker, they refused to write it off because we had full replacement value insurance, After that I didn't trust it to tow a bicycle.
That trailer was actually bigger than the car, but with the upgrades I towed it all over Ontario, Quebec, and New York with little problem, it just meant letting it roll down big hills and using momentum to go up the other side, and releasing the surge brakes on rutted dirt roads to stop them from locking on every section of washboard
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2018
- Messages
- 1,907
- Reaction score
- 2,984
You may very well be right and, from my years in the transmission shops, I'm certain that the ability to keep it cool has far more to do with longevity than any other factor. I'll likely use the trailer if I'm taking more than 1 boat but (IMO) it looks way cooler on top
It's not a scientific test but I reset the "miles per gallon" when I parked the Raven up there and mileage went from 26.3 mpg to 25.3. I can live with that for sure.
Griz: Those Topazes (Topi?) were tough as nails. As those cars hit the junkyards around here, we rebuilt many ATX transmissions (3 speed) for use in mine mules. When those became scarce, they switched to the 4 speed and they were nearly as bulletproof.
You've both touched on the (too often) forgotten part of towing... stopping a trailer is often much harder than pulling it (and always more important).
PS: Those metal tailgates are the worst! I hate them even more than I despise automatic transmissions. Although I prefer rebuilding the automatics, I view them as the "double blade" paddles of the automotive world... for those who don't want to actually drive their cars.
I have used the same setup since 1998. I would like to offer a suggestion. Run a strap or two from the seat to the tee post crossbar,
to keep things secure from sliding forward in case of emergency braking
Last edited:
I agree with Gamma, you are not really driving unless you are running through the gears with a manual transmission. My last manual was an ‘02 Corolla which my wife sold to a friends kid while I was on a two week Canadian trip. She selected a new 2008 Mazda 3 automatic as a replacement. It is an economical and fun car to drive, but it’s not a manual. So I am thinking I need a nice used 6 speed Miata to take me back to the days of my youth and young manhood when I owned a variety of British and German cars.
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2018
- Messages
- 1,907
- Reaction score
- 2,984
Thanks. Certainly can't hurt.
If I’m not pulling my canoe trailer, and only taking one canoe, I use a Seasucker rack.
www.seasucker.com
It mounts to your roof with suction cups. Last week I made a 1200 mile round trip to the BWCA using the rack, and it works fine. Just thought I’d share another option. Here’s my canoe on last weeks trip.
Monkey Bars
Our one-size-fits-all roof rack system is dressed in black so it's ready for a night on the town or a stealth mission. Screw-together cross bars allow for compact storage when needed. The Monkey Bars feature round black powder-coated aluminum cross bars; choose between the standard 48" cross...
www.seasucker.com
It mounts to your roof with suction cups. Last week I made a 1200 mile round trip to the BWCA using the rack, and it works fine. Just thought I’d share another option. Here’s my canoe on last weeks trip.
My daily driver for 22 years was a five speed 1995 Mustang GT yellow convertible. As I moved past 70 (years not mph), my clutch either got stiffer, or my left leg got weaker, or both. I couldn't stand it anymore, along with the $1,000++ every year for repair bills. But I agree: Using a stick is driving; using an automatic is riding.
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2017
- Messages
- 975
- Reaction score
- 1,199
Recently returned from Québec and saw very, very few canoes on cars or trucks, except in the Vérendrye region. None had fancy Thule or Yakima racks. They were mostly those little foam blocks, or occasionally, something home made. I think we Americans are wimps.
I know we’re talking about racks, but Erica’s observation on Canadians and their car topping got me thinking about how they carry their canoes. I have seen more pool noodles, pipe insulation and old horse collar-type life jackets used as portage pads in Canada than in the states. I use pipe insulation on the old Royalex Penobscot which I carry around the nature center every spring to prepare for my summer trips. The vandals never mess with it.
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2017
- Messages
- 975
- Reaction score
- 1,199
Exactly. Pool noodles, I saw that too in addition to the foam blocks on the car tops.
When I started tripping, we just wrapped a foam pad, something like a yoga pad, around the yoke and sealed it all in with duct tape. I had forgotten that until the original boat was returned to me.
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2018
- Messages
- 1,907
- Reaction score
- 2,984
I wrapped pool noodle around the center thwart of my Sawyer on my first trip (BWCA). After a few days I modified it to have more thickness on my shoulders (and, therefore, more clearance for the back of my neck). Actually worked really well.
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2018
- Messages
- 1,907
- Reaction score
- 2,984
A word of caution (OK, a few of them) to anyone using clamp-on racks like this:
After Smokey's post above, I ran a piece of paracord from the top of the t-post to the seat. Not that I was all that worried about the canoe moving but it cost almost nothing and we are getting close to the busiest time of year for the local body shops as deer on the roads become thicker than blackflies on portage trails.
As I also need to install the bicycle lift in the carport so I have a place to store this boat, I've been driving around for more than a week with it up there and have now hauled it about 500 miles (I used my personal car for the day job 2 days last week so the canoe's getting some miles).
Today, I noticed that there was more slack in that safety line than I'd put there (it was snug but not tight when I tied it but was sagging now). A closer inspection shows that the clamp-on rack has moved slightly rearward.
Now, that much movement would not be nearly enough to cause me concern on the next trip North but I'd prefer no movement at all.
I loosened the clamp that grabs the door opening, untied the canoe, loosened the 2 thumb screws that attach the crossbar to the "foot", bumped that "foot" in about 1/2-3/4 of an inch, tightened everything up & retied the boat.
I guess I'll drive around another week or so but it appears that I needed more space between the little foot thingy and the clamp. I now have a small air gap showing beneath the knob so (hopefully) I'm getting maximum pressure with the clamp.
We'll see...
After Smokey's post above, I ran a piece of paracord from the top of the t-post to the seat. Not that I was all that worried about the canoe moving but it cost almost nothing and we are getting close to the busiest time of year for the local body shops as deer on the roads become thicker than blackflies on portage trails.
As I also need to install the bicycle lift in the carport so I have a place to store this boat, I've been driving around for more than a week with it up there and have now hauled it about 500 miles (I used my personal car for the day job 2 days last week so the canoe's getting some miles).
Today, I noticed that there was more slack in that safety line than I'd put there (it was snug but not tight when I tied it but was sagging now). A closer inspection shows that the clamp-on rack has moved slightly rearward.
Now, that much movement would not be nearly enough to cause me concern on the next trip North but I'd prefer no movement at all.
I loosened the clamp that grabs the door opening, untied the canoe, loosened the 2 thumb screws that attach the crossbar to the "foot", bumped that "foot" in about 1/2-3/4 of an inch, tightened everything up & retied the boat.
I guess I'll drive around another week or so but it appears that I needed more space between the little foot thingy and the clamp. I now have a small air gap showing beneath the knob so (hopefully) I'm getting maximum pressure with the clamp.
We'll see...
Beware- Pool noodles, foam pads, etc. can cause considerable damage to paint on the roof- especially with the weak paint in use on vehicles now
yup, DO NOT ever lay them on the ground, all it takes is a few grains of sand to destroy your paint and once sand gets on them it works into the open pores and becomes permanent- don't ask how I know...
