Once my wife retires, I am thinking of getting a truck and a small RV and living on the road for a while. I will want to bring my canoe with. I'd like to have the canoe not hanging over the back of the truck bed so I'm not banging my head on it when hitching or unhitching the trailer. My canoe is 17'3" long and is about the same length as mid-sized trucks. What type of rack system would be best for my situation, a roof rack over the crew cab, part roof rack part bed rack? Do bed racks interfere with having a bed cover?

I am also concerned about the height of the truck and rack. When my wife and I load the canoe on the rack of my Subaru Forester, she has to fully extend her arms to make sure the canoe and portage pads clears the rack. If the vehicle were a little taller there would be a problem. When I load the canoe by myself, I get the bow and bow thwart up over the front bar (and Keel Over on the bar) and then have to reach behind the yoke that I am standing under to lift the back of the canoe on to the rear bar. This requires me to put my hand on the bottom of the canoe. I am just tall enough to get the gunwales and portage pads to clear the bars with my arm fully extended. Again, a slightly taller vehicle would make this difficult. Does anyone make a system like I see for kayaks that allows one to load the boat along the side to the vehicle and then rotate it up on top?

I put a rack on my truck last summer. I use it to haul 2 kayaks. The rack does not interfere with my tonneau cover. When I’m not using the rack I just unbolt it and set it aside in my garage. The name of the rack is Adarack. They are made in North Dakota. I highly recommend this rack.

I also have an Adarack and a bed cover. I do use an additional cross bar on the roof of the truck which I much prefer the 3 rails to tie down my longer boats. As far as LaaryS48 concern for the height issue it will depend some on what the truck he is using. Agree that it would probably be a bow first and then slide back on gunnels to set on rear of rack. I do use a 2 step folder to help with tying down. I have never seen anyone use a true side loader with lift assist for a canoe. So I am no help with that. As far as the rack goes though I do fully recommend the Adarack.

I also have an Adarack and a bed cover. I do use an additional cross bar in the roof of the truck which I much preferthe 3 rails to tie down my longer boats. As far as LaaryS48 concern for the height issue it will depend some on what the truck he it's using. Agree that it would probably be a bow first and then slide back on gunnels to set on rear of rack. I do use a 2 step folder to help with tying down. I have never seen anyone use a true side loader with lift assist for a canoe. So I am no help with that. As far as the track goes though I do fully recommend the Adarack.

ZIMTLSA: "I also have an Adarack and a bed cover. I do use an additional cross bar in the roof of the truck which I much preferthe 3 rails to tie down my longer boats. As far as LaaryS48 concern for the height issue it will depend some on what the truck he it's using. Agree that it would probably be a bow first and then slide back on gunnels to set on rear of rack. I do use a 2 step folder to help with tying down. I have never seen anyone use a true side loader with lift assist for a canoe. So I am no help with that. As far as the track goes though I do fully recommend the Adarack."

How height adjustable is the Adarac? With three bars, you’d want all of them at the same height. It seems to me that one bar over the cab and another over the bed would be best. Unfortunately that would probably involve buying two complete rack systems and only using half of each.

I haven’t decided on a truck yet, but am learning toward a Ford Ranger with a crew cab and 5 foot bed. Half the length of my canoe is almost 8 and 2/3 feet. If I had the back of the canoe over the tail gate, the center of the canoe (the yoke) would be over 3 and 2/3 feet ahead of the back of the cab.

The Adarack are not height adjustable. You tell them what truck you have and they make you a rack that fits. I see no reason to have three racks but it’s up to you. Two racks would be fine, along with ropes front and rear.

Savage Voyageur: "The Adarack are not height adjustable. You tell them what truck you have and they make you a rack that fits. I see no reason to have three racks but it’s up to you. Two racks would be fine, along with ropes front and rear. "

I agree that only two cross bars is best. However, I would like at least the front cross bar to be over the front of the cab. If I used a both cross bars over the bed system, my 17’3” canoe would end up hanging well over the rear of the vehicle and force me to keep my head down when working on the trailer hitch.

If you do have a third cross bar have middle rack a bit lower.

LarryS48: " ...
1. I'd like to have the canoe not hanging over the back of the truck bed so I'm not banging my head on it when hitching or unhitching the trailer. ....
2. Do bed racks interfere with having a bed cover? ...
3. I am just tall enough to get the gunwales and portage pads to clear the bars with my arm fully extended. ...
"

1. You'd have to be about 7 to 8 feet tall I think to hit your head on a canoe on a truck rack.... okay, 6-1/2 feet tall.
2. With the right truck and rack, your tonneau cover will still be able to be used.
3. Just tall enough is okay. My rack is like that... I had to take a couple inches off to make it just reachable.

Here is my truck, camper, canoe, and rack set up. Tonneau cover protects gear in the bed. Canoe extends about 2 feet beyond rear of truck. Canoe is centered on the truck so as not to hit the trailer when turning. I put rubber blocks between the canoe and rack after the canoe is on the rack.

bobbernumber3: "

LarryS48: " ...
1. I'd like to have the canoe not hanging over the back of the truck bed so I'm not banging my head on it when hitching or unhitching the trailer. ....
2. Do bed racks interfere with having a bed cover? ...
3. I am just tall enough to get the gunwales and portage pads to clear the bars with my arm fully extended. ...
"

1. You'd have to be about 7 to 8 feet tall I think to hit your head on a canoe on a truck rack.... okay, 6-1/2 feet tall.
2. With the right truck and rack, your tonneau cover will still be able to be used.
3. Just tall enough is okay. My rack is like that... I had to take a couple inches off to make it just reachable.


Here is my truck, camper, canoe, and rack set up. Tonneau cover protects gear in the bed. Canoe extends about 2 feet beyond rear of truck. Canoe is centered on the truck so as not to hit the trailer when turning. I put rubber blocks between the canoe and rack after the canoe is on the rack.



"

There seems to be something supporting the front of the canoe near the front of the cab, right next to the 22 sticker. What is that?

If I get a Ranger with a 5 foot bed it would stick out behind that vehicle even more. On the trailer I am considering there is about three feet from the coupler to the trailer body. So, I still would like to move the canoe a little further forward. I am not a Wenonah long skinny canoe type of guy, but if I were it would be even more of a problem.

LarryS48: "
There seems to be something supporting the front of the canoe near the front of the cab, right next to the 22 sticker. What is that?

If I get a Ranger with a 5 foot bed it would stick out behind that vehicle even more. On the trailer I am considering there is about three feet from the coupler to the trailer body. So, I still would like to move the canoe a little further forward. I am not a Wenonah long skinny canoe type of guy, but if I were it would be even more of a problem. "

There is no support onto the cab. Looks like maybe a coil of wire from my locator that you are seeing.

Yes, with a short bed truck you would have more canoe hanging over the cab. I have a long bed truck and also about 3 feet between the coupler and the trailer. You could put the canoe forward on a Ranger and add a front tie for added security.

I have an Adarac and a third bar on the cab and a trailer.
Don't worry about the height. We load from the back end and can carry two 18 feet long canoes or kayaks and with the bar also on the cab of the truck. The rear overhang does NOT hit the trailer on sharp turns ( which you want to avoid!). We have used this system on cross country trips.

We have a GMC Canyon with a 5.5 foot bed.

Picture of our longest boats with the Adarac and a cab bar

Well, I haven't even decided on what truck to get yet, let alone having bought one. However once I do get a truck, I think I'll be looking for someone to sell me half an Adarac and half of a roof rack to fit it.

As noted the Adarac is made to fit the brand and model of truck you have.
Another thing I like about the Adarac is it provides tie down points the full length of the bed rails. Roll up my bed cover and I have many options.
I have a Ford F150 with quad cab and short bed. My third bar on the roof I picked up on Amazon pretty low cost. Height of all the work great for my Magic which is my longest boat. Personally I like to spread the area of support on my boats as far as possible. It gives me three points of tie down plus my bow tie down. Makes me feel at ease whipping down the freeway at 70 mph. My shorter boats (10 ft) I just use the truck rack.
Good luck on your search. Adarac

I just bought a truck bed rack with three cross bars that is wide enough so i can open my Bak flip cover It was made by US Racks ,GALLEON

Check out rack options from SpringCreek.
I have a 1/2 ton GMC and use the suction cup bar on the cab and the hitch rack in the back.
If you’re planning on a camper the hitch rack won’t work unless you run a double hitch setup.

I had an old lumber rack for a long bed ford pickup I had. i cut it apart and rebuilt it to fit this GMC. It supports the canoe over the cab. If you could find one that would still allow you to use your bed cover it would be another option.

LarryS48: "Well, I haven't even decided on what truck to get yet, let alone having bought one. However once I do get a truck, I think I'll be looking for someone to sell me half an Adarac and half of a roof rack to fit it.
"

Just a word of waring before you pick a truck, make sure the tow rating surpasses the weight of the RV you're wanting plus the weight all the stuff you put in it and the truck (including people) by a good margin. You mentioned a Ford Ranger, I haven't looked but I don't think it will safely pull a camper with a dry weight of anything more than about 4000 lbs.

jdevries: "

LarryS48: "Well, I haven't even decided on what truck to get yet, let alone having bought one. However once I do get a truck, I think I'll be looking for someone to sell me half an Adarac and half of a roof rack to fit it.
"

Just a word of waring before you pick a truck, make sure the tow rating surpasses the weight of the RV you're wanting plus the weight all the stuff you put in it and the truck (including people) by a good margin. You mentioned a Ford Ranger, I haven't looked but I don't think it will safely pull a camper with a dry weight of anything more than about 4000 lbs."

Maybe a canoeing site is not the place for towing discussions. However here goes. Trailer dry weight 3250 lbs. gross weight max 5000 lbs. The towing capacity of the Ranger with a tow package is 7500 lbs. The payload of the crew cab, 4X4 version of the Ranger is 1609 lbs. So if you load the trailer to the max and have a 10% tongue weight, 500 lbs, you still have the capacity to put 1109 lbs in the truck to reach the limit. I would likely have less than half of 1109 lbs in the truck. I haven’t towed before but this seems like it should work. What do those of you with towing experience think?