Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Gear Forum :: Car top canoe carrier question...
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Erk |
• You have a more secure load, especially companied with yak/Thule canoe mounts. Or bar pads. • canoes don’t weigh much (although… they can) but the force does! Roof racks distribute the weight more structurally sound on your vehicle. Seems like an overkill reason • you can lock the rack AND the canoe to your vehicle. While in Ontario a couple weeks ago, I was told a few times to watch my boat. Scary thought. • they’re not that difficult to sell when you’re done with them My wife’s car is a 2019 Chevy equinox, common vehicle but doesn’t have the rack options like others, let’s say the Honda Pilot. So we use the foam blocks for that. Around town, and driving any distance under a real fast speed, they’re fine. They work as intended. Just get the kind with grip on the bottom. Or add it yourself. The reason I discourage the foam blocks is this. At high speeds or higher winds, your investment isn’t AS secure as it would be on a roof rack. Winds can shift your canoe with no warning sending your heart into your stomach. To help prevent this, I would highly recommend having your bow and stern lines on the same side of the vehicle so they’re pulling against each other. Passenger/passenger or driver/driver. Your canoe won’t be able to pull L or R as easily. I’d have to points in the bow, I still like the same side method. I advocate for a rack system but I’d be a hypocrite if I said don’t use them. Because I do! The blocks are also light and small, throw them in the trunk, back seat, shelf in the shed. Whatever option you choose, good straps, and a bow/stern method are always appreciated. Oh! Few more things and I’ll quit. There are several locking cam straps out there. Worth the money! Or a bike lock. But thieves will be thieves is motivated. And look for shorter foam blocks, my tall set seem to tip over when the winds are high, the short set always work great. And have an alternate route for rain water to go, otherwise it’ll come inside. I cut small pieces of strap off of some old straps and tied them on my tie downs in a way they overlap the door and the water stays out a lot better. Hope these comments help you on your decision. Best of luck and have fun out there! |
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Scoobs |
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jwartman59 |
Occasionally I carry two canoes, usually river trips. The extra length of the rack can be an issue for people outside of car. Knocking your head into a solid rack is not fun. I have a 2x4 that fits on top of the Thule rack. I made this rack addition years ago. It does not stay on my vehicle if not in use |
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dschult2 |
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Blatz |
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TechnoScout |
I am thinking about buying a canoe for my future BWCA trips (from Texas)...this question has been on my mind for a long time. Easy enough to put a bicycle lock on a thwart and car rack. |
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bwcadan |
TechnoScout: "When traveling overnight (or multiple overnights), is it a good idea to lock the canoe to the car in some way so that it does not "float" away while asleep? +1. While nothing will keep all borrowing attempts at bay, the above will keep the casual opportunistic removal of your canoe limited to those who have the time and resources available to take on this task. Definitely secure your canoe. |
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Scoobs |
Car top canoe carrier? (um.... ?!?) Neither of our cars have a luggage rack on top (2013 Mazda CX-5 and 2018 Honda Pilot). We plan to get my wife a canoe next year, so we're already planning for a car top carrier for two canoes - working with Rutabaga on that. Not worried about it for now. For the Mazda, this is likely where my boat will spend a bit of its time traveling from lake to lake. Are these foam pads and straps enough? I'd love to know (and possibly see) what you peeps are using, and what you'd recommend. Thanks, c |
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AmarilloJim |
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butthead |
The foam pads and straps will get you by but for doubling up and long term use dedicated racks are best. Either or both of your vehicles can support canoe racks. If looking to double on 1 vehicle you'll need crossbars wide enough for two canoes 60 inches on up, Another good addition are gunnel stops on the crossbars. Keel over Portage Bow and stern loop to attach straps are easy DIY or purchased new Seals Quickie Hood Loops I have been accused of overkill tie-downs but hey my canoe/vehicle/time. Most often trucks but a Ford Freestyle snuck in here. butthead |
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deerfoot |
If you consider Yakima or Thule be sure to wait until their periodic 20 or 25% off sales, usually available several time per year. |
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OCDave |
If more than just a couple of years, I'd highly recommend visiting your local Mazda dealer and inquire about the cost of factory rails + cross bars for the CX-5. You can run straps through the car but, for more than occasional use, I'd find this tiring. For our CR-V, we went with factory rails then bought Yakima Skyline towers and Yakima Jetstream cross bars. I bought the towers and my wife bought the bars. Each of us used our 20% off one item REI coupon. I went with 60" cross bar which works well for my solo and a kayak together but not as well with both my Northwind Solo and Polaris together. I kind of wish I'd have opted for the 70" crossbars. |
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lionman |
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justpaddlin |
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Scoobs |
Blatz: "Rutabaga is a Yakima dealer. This is the way you want to go for the most efficient way to load, transport, and unload your canoes. It's an investment but will last for decades. I still have Yakima stuff from the early 90s" That's the way I was thinking for the Honda, which will be used for the longer - to the BWCA, and family trips to Northern Wi. For the local day trips to SE Wi, Central Wi, and Door County, I would use the Mazda. I might just bit the bullet, and go with a Yakima on both vehicles. As someone mentioned, it would allow me to "lock the boat to the car", especially if I ended up staying overnight somewhere. |
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NordSteve |
A couple suggestions: * buy extra lock cores so that you can have a matching set across roof box, bike racks, and other things that lock * don't be squeamish about buying some used stuff off of Ebay to complete your set * most of the time the fairing is a must to keep noise down. Keep an eye on the pads where the fairing rests on the roof, those go bad occasionally * There's an active market for the tower clips on Ebay -- if you buy a used car, go there to buy clips. * you'll want a roll of 3M electrical tape to periodically replace the tape on the ends of the clips. * bars that hang beyond the footprint of the vehicle can be dangerous to others; think about how to make it clear they're there to avoid hurting someone. * the gunwale brackets are useful * it's worth installing the fixed canoe tie downs that go under your hood. They protect the paint. * you can use a couple hooks to hang the whole rack unit on the wall in the garage. This keeps grit off the pads so that you don't scratch your paint |
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deerfoot |
NordSteve: "I also have a Yakima setup from the '90s and it still works great. I have a long roof box, bike racks, and gunwale brackets. +1 - All great ideas, many of which I have used for years. Thanks for the tip on the eBay market for used Q-clips. I have 3 or 4 sets of clips someone can probably use. |
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Hockhocking |
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disc1 |
The best advice I've seen is if you are getting noise from the bars (especially square or round ones) and you don't want to buy one of the deflectors, just wrap a bungee cord around the bars, going around 6+ times. It works really well for eliminating the humming noise from the bars. I think any other type of cordage thicker than paracord will work as well, I just happened to have some extra bungees. |
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bottomtothetap |
rear-ward thwart and to the frame under the middle-rear of the vehicle. This guards against any shifting forward of the canoe in case of a sudden stop. This set-up has been rock solid for me for many trips with my CX-5 over the last 6 years or so. One hint: if you have the "shark-fin" antenna mounted on the roof of your CX-5 you may want to put a small piece of the foam-rubber pipe insulation over it to prevent paint scraping off the top if there is contact to your canoe's thwart that occurs while you are in transit. |
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whyzata |
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