What Roof rack for a Canoe? (1 Viewer)

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Looking to get a roof rack I can throw a 16ft canoe onto with some easy ways to secure it. it would be nice not to have to tie the bow down to the front bumper. How do you folks do it?
 
Yakima bars. Get the long ones and you can put two canoes up there
 
I like that yakima for that purpose, but it seems like a single purpose rack. What about an ARB or something similar?
 
I would want a flat rack like the Front Runner or Bajarack if I was not using the Yakima set-up.
 
6 in 1, a half dozen in the other. For the price of the ARB you could get a Yakima with a cargo basket/box and bike attachments. Either will carry your canoe plus some but the ARB has a higher cool factor. If you really want to do it right get the Inti.
 
I use Thule feet and bars on all our vehicles. Yakima seems to be great quality as well but for my use with canoes, kayaks and cargo boxes, I like the Thule bars. I think they have less flex and are a stronger bar.

I have read where folks have equally loaded both bars and got a lot more bounce and flex with the Yakima bars. I have also read where the round bars have dented kayaks or canoes when carrying more than one stacked. I have not had that problem with the Thule bars.

With one canoe, either will do great as long as you have the right feet and all installed correctly.
 
I have the Thule load stops like this; Thule 503 Load Stops: Rack Accessories | Free Shipping at L.L.Bean

I got mine of ebay though I think. You can get Yakima and Thule used for so much less on Craigslist and ebay. Save a lot of money that way.

Anyway, I don't always use the load stops but it is a simple way to keep it from sliding with a single canoe. Just snug them up to the gunwale on the outside. I like the Thule straps real well too, have held tight on long trips.

Don't let me steer you away from looking at Yakima bars though, they are a fine product. May even be better, who really knows (never have seen a side by side bending test or anything). I don't have any personal experience with them, just going by what I have read. I did hit some serious cross winds crossing the mountains in North Carolina and about lost a kayak. I was using the Yakima cradles and it just bent the mounts to the bar right off. Only thing holding the front on was where I tied the front down to mounts on the fender.

I have hauled multiple boats and cargo box, lumber and all kinds of things. But for a single canoe, can't go wrong with either Thule or Yakima I don't think.
 
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I can not find a write up right now but for tying off the bow to the front of the vehicle you can mount nylon straps to your fender bolts. You just cut the desired lengths of nylon straps, form a loop and put a hole in the ends of the nylon. Remove the fender bolt in the desired location and attach the loop with the bolt.

I have done this on our Outback but not the Land Cruiser. I have the ARB to tie it off to. But you just pop the hood open and pull the nylon straps out, close the hood and you have two nylon tie downs on the front. One on each side. You tuck it in under the hood away from any moving or hot parts of course while not in use. Works real nice.
 
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True expedition racks are serious overkill for a canoe. I have found the old-old-old school cast aluminum rain gutter clamps that are designed to bolt 2x4s on work great for canoes. I glue sleeping pad foam on the top and then you can tie down the boats using only two strap on the crossbars. The foam is so sticky the boats don't slide around from wind like they can on steel crossbars. No need to run straps to the front or rear bumpers. Total cost about $50.

I also have Yakima and Thule set ups for canoes, kayaks, snowboards, bikes and cargo boxes but when I got a fancy canoe, mahogany and 'glass, the metal bars were too harsh for the wood without denting, especially if the put-in was a real trail ride. I painted the clamps black and stained the 2x4s a dark walnut, almost black, and it looks pretty nice and has worked very well. On and off in 2 minutes. With the extra money you can buy, well, another canoe.
 
I use Thule feet and bars on all our vehicles. Yakima seems to be great quality as well but for my use with canoes, kayaks and cargo boxes, I like the Thule bars. I think they have less flex and are a stronger bar.

I have read where folks have equally loaded both bars and got a lot more bounce and flex with the Yakima bars. I have also read where the round bars have dented kayaks or canoes when carrying more than one stacked. I have not had that problem with the Thule bars.

With one canoe, either will do great as long as you have the right feet and all installed correctly.

Chukardog: I have some Thule bars and mounts for sale in the classified section (mud bay). They were used a few times on a 100 with factory roof rack but I'm guessing they would also fit an 80 with factory rack. PM if you are interested.
 
I've been a rack geek for 25 years and have used/tried most brands for all kinds of toys and materials hauling; on over a dozen vehicles. I would often carry full sheets of plywood on the the roof of my honda civic... And could carry 5 white water kayaks on my Subaru outback

Yakima and Thule are both fantastic systems, but, again, as other have noted, their respective bars do deflect under heavy (>100#) loads and spans >42" (IIRC LC rain rail span is ~50") I had to run 4 Yakima cross bars on my K5 Blazer for big loads or deflected 1.5" mid span w/ only 2....

I currently run a Front Runner slimline on my UZJ100 and it is amazing quality and durability. For your canoe challenge, you may want to consider their rain rail cross bars; so stout you can walk on them--well may be not me, I'm 250#... But will not deflect like Yakima or Thule rail to rail.

Chek'm out on Equip Expedition's website.
 

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