Canoes and factory luggage racks??

[nowindknots]

Hi RexW. We have a '98 Expedition and have always used the factory rack on it. We carry a big and heavy Old Towne sport square stern. We have never had any trouble, nor even a hint of concern.

We separate the crossbars as far as possible. We use two web straps over the canoe fixed to the crossbars. The rest of the rig includes two stabilizer ropes at the front of the canoe that go to web strap loops we've attached to fender bolts (just under the sides of the hood), a rope from the front of the canoe to a tiedown at the front bumper, and a healthy nylon rope from the front of the canoe, along the rooftop to a tie down point on the rear bumper.

The order of snugging is
1. Stabilizer ropes, to center the canoe
2. Front tiedown
3. Rear tiedown
4. Web straps

It is VERY secure. I laugh in the face of semi's. The Expedition sways more than usual when we meet one, but the canoe does not budge.

Jim

[fcch]

kbobb,

I'll look into that, ... Thanx for the
heads up.

I rarely use the stern and bow tie downs, but I WILL NOW.

Pretty cheap insurance I figure.

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Christopher Chin
Jonquiere Quebec
[url=http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/:5ab53]http://pages.videotron.com/fcch/[/url:5ab53]

[Betty Hiner]

Pssshhaaa! Here I thought this was a post about using a luggage rack ON your canoe! I know people float with a lot of excess stuff...a luggage rack might be a good idea!

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Trouts don't live in ugly places

[RickB]

FWIW - I am also an occasional canoer so I went the cheap route:

1) Took 2 2x4's and cut them to the width of the Explorer (also use an Escape sometimes)
2) Covered them with scraps from old carpet
3) position them against the rook racks
4) use bow, stern tie downs
5) for longer trips I sometimes also use a center strap through the back windows.

Works great, cost less than $20 for the tie downs.

[Jed]

RexW.
You can place the canoe on your roof or roof rack and tie the straps around the canoe and under the roof. This places all the force upwards from wind etc. against the straps which are secured by the roof of your car. The rack only holds the weight. Or get the foam blocks and then your rack becomes irrelevant. Dont forget a strap from the front of the car to hold down the front end. and you're in like flint!

Total cost $30 for blocks and straps, and it is universal so it will work on any vehicle.

jed

[HighnDry]

What I did was take a couple of pieces of 2X4 lumber the right length to span the roof of the vehicle, set them on the factory rack next to a cross bar, then cut them so they fit on the side rails. Next, fasten them to the cross bars with U-bolts. This makes a secure rack at a fraction of the price of an after-market rack (have you priced Yakima to Thule racks lately?).

[white43]

HighNDry--can you post a picture of your rack. I'm a bit on the dense side, but I like what you're saying. Do you do as the others with carpet covering. I did something similar to this with an old van of mine but used a rain gutter thing. My Explorer has no rain gutter. Thanks. JGW