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I bought my first canoe last summer and had a ball using it for fishing and paddling. Since that time I had to relinquish the F150 and get the family the dreaded diaper wagon. It's a nice mini van with all the bells and whistles but I cannot seem to find anywhere under the bumpers to tie off the canoe. The van does have a luggage rack.
Does anyone have any thoughts on how I could transport this canoe around?
Thanks
Search for something called "top ties" just ran across it on the internet. good for the front.
does your van have a hitch?
Oh heck, just run the ties through the windows and tie them off inside the van!!!!!
Get one of these: Fulton Hitch Mount. Save your back.
IMHO: In years of doing, this the most important ropes are those that go over the boat and affix it to the rack. Make those good and firm and the bumper lines are mostly psychological. Besides, on something like a van, if you tighten a line from the bow to the front bumper and tighten another from the stern to the back bumper (or trailer hitch), the 2 lines are both pulling in the same, instead of opposing, directions and they will pull loose anyway. A good truckers hitch (or those ratchet thingys) will do fine. Tie the ropes onto the rack right next to the boat where it contacts the rack and the boat won't move side to side. If your rack has tie-down loops on the corners you can snug the boat next to them to keep it from sliding side to side. . It doesn't *have* to ride right in the center - thats just an appearance thing.
IMHO
thanks for all the replies. i should have mentioned I have this thing called a wife and that the diaper wagon is her ride. Everything must be with caution. She is pregnant and . .. . . .well some y'all know where I am going with this.
The van does not have a hitch or even a spot for a ball on the bumper. (God I miss my truck). I will try and attach to the luggage rack as suggested and drive around the neighborhood.
look in manual for where u pull when stuck
That's a good point to attach a snap hook for your fore & aft tie down lines. Here's what they look like:Quote:
Originally Posted by backwoods
http://www.rigginglifting.com/produc...+-WITH-75.html
My brother has a Grand Caravan that we haul two canoes on top of, and he uses these hooks. You can get them at Home Depot or Lowes in the hardware aisle by the rope & chains. I also use them on my full size van ti tie down the canoe. Despite these tie down points, we still tie down the canoes with 1" wide ratcheting tie down straps, which are available at the same places. I think I paid like $7.95 for a pair of them with 20' of strap.
Just a note if using straps of any sort, if you start to here a whistling sound the faster you drive, place a twist in the strap before securing it to the roof top carrier, and the noise will go away. A flat strap is like a reed in the wind, and will drive you batty...I know!
Joe
These might help:
http://www.rutabaga.com/product.asp?pid=1001675
They can be attached to any body hardware under the hood and or the tailgate/trunk lid/ hatch back.
There are so many places that you can hook up ropes with hooks.
Take a piece of cardboard and place it on the ground so that you can take a good look under the van.
All vehicule have places were towing ropes can be attatched, in case of emergency.
I am sure that you will find a place to hook up your ropes.
Use S hooks, that is what I use on our van.
Happy float fishing.
chris
Please look at the Fulton Canoe Carrier. I've been using one, and you couldn't finf a better rig.
vonMunchausen
i've trasnported a lot of boats on a lot of different vehicles.
if you've got a rack, take some straps like these, http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/sto...5686476-Nextag and go under the rack on one side, over the canoe, and under the rack on the other side and join. Do this at the very back of the rack and very front of the rack.
the canoe is widest in the center, so if this is done on either side of the widest point, this should be all that is needed. If you want additional peace of mind, you can run straps from the bow and stern back to the racks.
well I got the boat home from it's winter/moving storage. Using the new diaper wagon the canoe was too wide to fit on the luggage rack however, using MacGyver like skills and an old ladder my dad was throwing out I was able to put some make shift outriggers on the luggage rack and get the canoe home.
Next step - turn the ladder pieces into permanent canoe traveling tools
THanks for all the advice.
BTW - i did not have to tie it down at the bumpers.
i own a chrysler town and country, underneath the back end are two brackets, one on each side, with holes in them to slip some s hooks in. on the front end i route it thru the plastic grille holes towards the bottom around the bumper, and hook around the line that was origionally passed thru the holes in the grille. they make some nice little ratcheting s hook blocks now that aid in tightneing the lines. take a look at the thule accessories and you will probably find some.
I have transported canoes and kayaks by using two inner tubes for a roof rack. Straps are better than line for the main hold downs. NRS has reasonably priced great wide various length straps. The 12' x 2" are the ones that get used mostly. Fore and aft lines are mandantory for interstate speeds.