We have a minivan that we've outfitted to become a camper with a sleepdeck and room underneath for all our gear. This is glorious and easy as pie...as long as we don't have a canoe on the roof that makes opening the trunk impossible. If we can't open the trunk, we are relegated to crawling around under the deck, pulling lots of things out to get to the one thing we need, and just all around frustration. Does a canoe rack exist that can raise the back up when you want to get in the trunk and then lower again when you're driving to save gas?
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Canoe racks blocking the opening of trunks or rear hatches
- Thread starter betsyme
- Start date
Not that I've seen. I'm not sure I would trust something like that at highway speeds even if it did, there'd just be too many points of failure and moving parts.
I sometimes tow a small trailer - like this:
It has the added benefit of allowing me to put a canoe on my roof when the packing isn't quite finished yet. There's always a few last minute things that otherwise prevent me from loading a boat until the morning of my departure, which adds considerable time to the last minute morning packing.
I sometimes tow a small trailer - like this:
It has the added benefit of allowing me to put a canoe on my roof when the packing isn't quite finished yet. There's always a few last minute things that otherwise prevent me from loading a boat until the morning of my departure, which adds considerable time to the last minute morning packing.
I loosen rear strap and set a paddle across roof bars. It is annoying and I do usually try to pack before loading canoe, but need to get in sometimes while traveling.
when I had my minivan, I routed a groove in a piece of 2x4 to fit over the rear crossbar and used a couple of steel scraps and bolts (countersink the heads) to clamp it on the rear crossbar only, it raised the stern about 8" above the hatch
I used a trailer hitch mounted luggage platform (with a home made canoe support) when I drove my 23' C4 canoe to the Yukon River race. I could open my rear hatch sufficiently to get items in and out.
Yes, clearance between racked canoe and van hatch was an issue for me too. I packed accordingly, only putting items back there that were intended to stay inaccessible until the put-in. That became the plan and the plan mostly worked. Raising the rear roof crossbar is a good idea. Wish I'd thought of it. As it was my rear tie downs were not a problem once I started using DIY loops slipped in the top of the hatch opening. Having 2 side sliding van doors was the luxury. From those everything was accessible, that being the main reason I used the minivan as a working cargo vehicle. Recently I said goodbye to my van days and downsized to a small SUV. I love this but really miss all that luxury space I once had. Now the hatch clearance issue is worse, but only the items I may need to reach are further up front near the side doors. It works.
I had the same issue with a canoe on our Toyota Sienna. I was fortunate that my old Thule bike rack roof rail clamps fit, all I had to do was remove the bike trays. But they are rather low on the van, making it difficult to tie off straps and gain access to the hatch. I wish the glass on the hatch opened like on many SUVs. I have considered getting the taller Yakima clamp-on mounts, but I’d rather spend that money on another paddle, or more likely in kid shoes and clothes…
The minivan is an excellent family ride for us with 4 kids, and I’ll happily accept this one downside! Even once the kids are gone, the van is such a great vehicle it’s hard to imagine replacing it. Low underbody clearance could be an issue in many locations.
The minivan is an excellent family ride for us with 4 kids, and I’ll happily accept this one downside! Even once the kids are gone, the van is such a great vehicle it’s hard to imagine replacing it. Low underbody clearance could be an issue in many locations.
Like Bill , I loosened the rear canoe hold down straps to allow the rear of the canoe to lift allowing access to the rear of our new Honda minivan. Fortunately I brought SUP paddles for our recent trip to the North florida springs area so I used one of our SUP paddles to prop up the canoe stern while was getting stuff from the rear of the minivan
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When I was looking around for a vehicle to replace my AWD Honda Ridgeline truck with Leer cap that could haul my canoes and longer tandem and solo kayaks and have adequate cross bar spacing , I wanted to buy a Toyota Sienna with AWD and a hybrid engine. The local florida dealer all told me I would have to waist least 1 1/2 years to get one so I bought a 2023 Honda Odyssey instead. However the low ground clearance 3.5 inches) and lack of AWD was a real disadvantage on some of the rural dirt roads on our last trip plus I don’t trust taking the Odyssey on the beach near where we live
Like others have posted above, I just loosen the rear strap. I'm careful with my tie downs to make sure everything on the back of the canoe can be disconnected quickly.
If I had infinite time I'd find a piece of trim that would fit over the edge of the spoiler so I could rest the canoe on it.
If I had infinite time I'd find a piece of trim that would fit over the edge of the spoiler so I could rest the canoe on it.
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