Roof Racks Spanning Camper Shell and Cab?

[BCam]

I've searched the forums and haven't found any info on this topic and have found conflicting opinions in other, more general forums.

I have a Nissan Titan Crew Cap pickup with a cab-high camper shell on the bed. Is it OK to transport a canoe on racks so that the rear rack bar is mounted on the camper shell and the forward rack bar is mounted on the cab? In my online searching I've found some that say no, there's too much movement between the cab and bed and others that say it's OK. My canoe will have to be more or less centered on the truck in order for the prow and stern to be able to hang down and not hit either the top of the cab or the shell. I'm concerned that, if I use two bars on the shell, the canoe won't be centered on the rack and will cantilever out too far over the cab to be secure.

In the past, when hauling my 14' fiberglass kayak, I've mounted it to bars on the shell and used an inflatable rack on the cab in order to allow for some flex. Would this be the best way to haul the canoe?

http://www.maloneautoracks.com/handirack.php

I know that I could install a ladder rack that would fit over the shell and cantilever over the cab but I'd like to avoid doing so.

 

[shelldrake]

BCAM,

I used Yakima racks on a Chevy and now a Ford Quad Cab pickup with a cab-high cap. The rear towers mount on feet that are bolted to the cap roof and the forward towers clamp to the rain gutter/seal above the door on the truck cab. A very solid system. The front tower clamps are made specifically for the truck model in use. If you mount both racks on the cap, I believe that there is not enough span to support a longer canoe. The little L-shaped brackets that slide on the cross bars are worth the added cost. They are easily adjustable to the gunwales and hold the canoe very solidly.

Matt

 

[pickerelweed Paul]

roof racks

I do it all the time with my Tacoma pickup and Leer cap. I have the Yakima towers on the cab and both sets of towers on the shell. Be carefull - I have the low profile towers on the shell so the gunwales can -depending on canoe profile- be awfully close to the cap. The foam blocks I use just barely make enough space. Higher profile towers would be better.

 

[Dan Lindberg]

My current truck is a 1500 ex'ed cab 8ft box Chev, with a cab hi Lear topper.

I had to put a rack on the cab, as the topper/cab is too long to get a canoe on without it hitting the front of the cab.
It's tolerable at best, but it works.

Dan

 

[BCam]

Mine only has a 5' bed so the canoe doesn't fit well on either the shell or the cab, hence my need to center it on both.

 

[kayamedic]

IMO it depends on the roads you are traveling. I live in Maine and I have to access my house via a dirt road. Often its full of potholes and I can watch the cab flex one way and the bed another. Also some of my favorite canoeing spots are accessible only via logging roads. When a culvert is out there is sometimes a two foot dip in its place.

Much of my state is unpaved. Your state may differ. I have 2000 Toyota Tundra with an extended cab and a cap on the bed. It is kind of a big truck but not as big as the Tundras of now.

Because of this arrangement with all tower feet on the cap, I have to use high towers. If you have a heavy boat this can be a concern.

 

[CParker]

Roof Racks

I had a 1991 Toyota Tacoma with a fiberglass shell that had a bump in the roof making it a couple of inches taller than the cab; it also had some strengthening ridges running front to back.

I used a single Yakima bar and gunnel brackets on the cab.

Instead of mounting racks on the shell, I just put a pair of those foam canoe-carrying brackets on the gunnels of the boat (I put them in-between the space provided by the rear seat hangers to help keep them in-place), tied everything down well and it worked fine.

Note that the ridges on my shell helped prevent the foam brackets (with canoe attached!) from sliding back and forth on the roof of the shell.., but then again so did the gunnel brackets on the bar over the cab...

 

[Pete Mathews]

I wouldn't be too concerned about having the bow of the canoe cantilevered over the cab. I have a Dodge Dakota club cab with a cap on a 6-1/2' bed. I mount two Thule racks, on towers at the extreme ends of the cap and strap to the racks. I can add bow and stern straps if it's excessively windy or I'm bothered by large trucks. Not ideal perhaps, but I've carried canoes this way, one and two at a time, for 10's of thousands of miles (literally) including nearly 3,000 miles last month to the Assembly and points further east before returning home to the midwest. I works for me.

 

[BCam]

Thanks for the info, Pete. Do you think it would be a bad idea to tie to a crossbar on the cab as well as the cap?

 

[Pete Mathews]

I'm not sure what you mean by "tie a crossbar on the cab as well as the cab. If you put one bar on the cab and one on the cap, there is the danger of the two moving independently. That said, I have a friend in Maine, who travels the same roads as "Kayamedic", and does just this, seemingly with no problems or worries. It's not been a problem when we've traveled with him, carrying two canoes at a time.

 

[kayamedic]

I'm not sure what you mean by "tie a crossbar on the cab as well as the cab. If you put one bar on the cab and one on the cap, there is the danger of the two moving independently. That said, I have a friend in Maine, who travels the same roads as "Kayamedic", and does just this, seemingly with no problems or worries. It's not been a problem when we've traveled with him, carrying two canoes at a time.

Is that friend a neighbor of mine? My camp road is the worst and the budget leads to our not being able to keep it as nice as we would like.

I also travel with Tom MacKenzies lightweight boats. Lighweight does take more care. Not all canoes are alike. Not all logging roads are alike. Anyone coming up this way probably knows that the logging road conditions change several times a season and if the road is not in an active logging area, the road is not maintained.

Its always a good idea to add bow and stern lines..just safety lines to be sure you confine the damage to you and not others. That said I don't always do this...Just did a three thousand mile trip with lots of trucks..Almost all on two lanes..

 

[BCam]

That is exactly what I'm wondering about. Some say that it's not a problem, others say that there is too much movement. I'm thinking that my method of securing the canoe to two bars on the shell and protecting the forward section that cantilevers over the cab by securing it lightly to my inflatable rack on the cab might be the best option. That allows for flex but gives the cantilevered section some gentle support.