F150 roof rack thoughts

[Sean Was Here]

After such a warm welcome here, I decided to jump right to my first dilemma. I have a 2003 Ford F-150 Supercrew (Harley Davidson edition), that's the one with four doors and a 5.5 foot bed, no camper shell. I have Thule Aero bars on my Forester and was hoping to be able to use those bars interchangeably.

My thought was to get one of those upright assemblies to mount at the back of the bed, allowing the Areo bar mount as far back as possible, at cab-height. Then I hoped to get a "foot pack" so that I could mount the other bar at the front of the cab. So far, I've been unable to find a foot pack compatible with the roof.

At this point, I'd like to avoid a lumber rack or a front hitch (which would allow a second upright at the front bumper). Has anyone here done anything simelar?

-Sean-

 

[stripperguy]

I have both a Honda Element and a Jeep Wrangler LJ (the collectible one).
I use the Thule Tracker mount feet on my Elelment, and the same feet (and spacing) on my Jeep rear. Gutter mount for the front of the Jeep. I drilled straight my hardtop to mount the Tracker feet.
Those feet are outdated, but you can still find old stock stuff and used pretty cheap.

I have also drilled roof holes for paddling buddies on their pickups. If you're not too concerned about your truck (it is 15 years old) then this might be an option for you. Thule also makes some psuedo-gutter parts so you can mount their racks directly. For the rear rack, I would just stick a few 2 by's together and call it done!

 

[Iskweo]

I have mounted regular roof racks on Suburbans by drilling and using rubber rivnuts to seal the holes. What I do with my 2000 F150 is have a headache rack that extends just high enough for a canoe to clear the cab. I have a trailer hitch T bar for the back but will probably make another mount similar to the headache rack for the rear.

 

[Jatfomike]

I Have an F150 super crew w/5.5' bed......I used a set of Thule square bars from my old Suburban with a set of towers/feet I found on Craigslist for less than half price new....got lucky! I have no issues hauling my 14.5' solo around that way. If I have multiple or longer boats, I do have a goalpost from Spring Creek manufacturing (formerly Spring Creek Outfitters) in Minnesota that I really like, but is probably overkill. Spring Creek has a number of custom rack options that they designed and manufacturer on their own. One the is very popular with the Boundary Waters crowd is their suction cup roof rack. I attached a link to their website.

Mike

 

[Jatfomike]

My link disappeared, I'll try again

 

[Guest]

this may not help,but I had yakama "Q" towers and bars on my ranger super cab and they worked fine.

 

[Guest]

To me it would matter most what the crossbar spread distance was, and how much cantilevered over-hang on either end of the vehicle was presented, between a set of Yakima/Thule/etc on-cab racks and the spread on a set of raised crossbars off the bed rails. On the whole, for highway aerodynamics, I would prefer a couple extra feet of cantilevered canoe (red-flagged) stem hanging out behind the tailgate than several feet of bow unsupported out front.

The side windage and passing semi effect seems much more pronounced with the cantilever up front.

Some of the better bed rail rack systems are easy on/easy off, which is a prime consideration for me with any vehicle rack. I don’t need to be driving around 24/7 with roof rack rails, especially with crossbars wide enough to accommodate two canoes.

If I can remove the crossbars in a few seconds I am happier leaving the gunwales stops and belly lines in place on the (removed and stored away) crossbars. All I need do is slap the crossbars in place on a relatively clean roofline, with belly lines and gunwale stops already attached.

And, when I get to the launch, take those crossbars, gunwale stops and attached belly lines off the roof and store them inside the vehicle.

I may be pooh-poohing the hazard, but in normal (non 4WD crazy rock hopping) travel I really doubt there is enough twist between the bed rails and the cab roof to do any damage. The gap between the cab and bed walls on my truck is barely a finger width wide; not a lot of twisting gap before sheet metal cab crunches against sheet metal bed.

I would be tempted, with a Supercrew cab and 5.5 foot bed, to get a single cab roof crossbar and a single raised bedrail crossbar, pad the back crossbar with some split foam pipe insulation to accommodate any jiggle or twist and call it the longest spread I could possibly achieve. Crossbar distance matters.

I will know the consequence of that strategy eventually. The quick release Tracker II Thule crossbars on the Tacoma’s (above cab height, mid-rise) Leer cap are 44” apart and work well for two canoes, gunwales down between stops. This year I want to add a single (short as possible) Thule crossbar to the cab roof in hopes that, in occasional shuttle need, I could carry three canoes all gunwales down, two staged cantilevered back and the third on taper staged in between, held in front on a single cab roof crossbar.

I would need to add some raised (minicel) support to bring the cab roof crossbar up to the height of the mid-rise cap roof crossbars, but that padding should offset any minor flex between cab and cap/bed rails.

In any case, with a long Supercrew cab and 5.5 foot bed I would at least figure out something that presented easily removable crossbars that can accommodate two canoes. The advantages of being able to carry a second canoe on shuttles and friend trips is beyond measure.

 

[Sean Was Here]

Thanks for all the replies!

Mike, Thats what I hope to do, a single crossbar at the front of the cab and a single elevated crossbar near the rear of the bed. I don’t have the canoe yet (that question/topic will be in an upcoming post), but I expect it to be around 17 feet long. My rough plan would be about 2 feet of rear overhang and about 3 in the front. That would make the span between the bars around 12 feet. My rear overhang can’t interfere with a small travel trailer that will be towed frequently.

Because I like the lines of the truck, and only want the bar attached while in use, I won’t drill through the roof to permanently attach the bar. It must look nice so I won’t be fashioning one from wood. If no companies produce what I need, I’m not opposed to fabricating a removalbe one from metal, then giving it a black powder coat.

-Sean-

 

[Sean Was Here]

I really like the Spring Creek canoe rack that Jatfomike suggested. If I could adapt the front “goalpost”
to mount at the front of the cab, that would be an ideal setup.

-Sean-

 

[Guest]

I traveled hundreds of miles carrying canoes on my truck with a single cab crossbar and one on my box cap wit no problems. This would be the same as a single rack and a box crossbar. I love long span racks!

 

[Zac]

I have used racks similar to Spring Creek's "Double Hitch Rack" for years. I just build a new one sized for a Ford pickup last fall. With shorter beds, longer canoes and tonneau covers being all the rage I sized the new one so that the tailgate can be fully opened without taking the rack off. Year before I built a 3-piece height adjustable one for the 1.25" receiver on my Subaru. Paired with the factory roof rack it works great and breaks down to a manageable size so I leave it in the vehicle all of the time. I use this rack at least two days a week, and have probably had 400# up there before when hauling ladders and planks for my construction job. It hauls a single canoe at least 1000 miles per year. I also made a spare top bar for that one wide enough to accommodate two canoes but it is so far untested.

I have used this style of rack on a couple different pickups with only those foam pads under the front of the canoe(s). I prefer a permanent rack mounted to the cab, but a 2x2 or similar placed in the same pads to form a temporary cross bar for the top of the cab works in a pinch, it's just more difficult to do the strapping.

I use hollow pool noodles for wrapping the racks to prevent damage to the canoes. Cheaper than pipe insulation, but you won't get more than one season out of them.

When I was a kid we would throw the Rogue River 14' (Sam's club special) on the roof of the '94 Chrysler Lebaron and run two ratchet strap loops through the open doors to hold it down! Who am I kidding I did this last summer on my buddy's Cavalier for the runs upriver to my car. I learned really young to run them through the open doors instead of open windows, unless you want to get in and out like a race car driver. Edit: I have done this with 14'-15' royalex, ABS and fiberglass beaters. I would not go far or fast like that with a longer ultralight.

 

[jazzman1161]

On my '16 ford f150 I use a yakima bar on the cab and a Thule owned TracRack from Home Depot. I can keep my tonneau cover on the box for some weather protection of the box's contents and transport two tandem canoes if necessary. Ive been on horse trails in Manitoba and no twisting problems. Remove the TracRack and Yakima bar and stow under tonneau. Finding anything Yakima for your truck is nearly imposible since Yakima dropped their round bar and Q towers. So stay with Thule for the cab.

 

[Iskweo]

I have a pair like the one on top of the cab...was not aware they are yakimas. I use them on my buick but had not thought to try it on the cab of the truck...yet. That looks very much like the kind of setup I have in mind.

Christy