Canoe or kayak on FWC

[100acrehuphalump]

Who travels with a kayak or canoe on top of your FWC? Does it kill your mileage? I'm ordering the Hawk with the aluminum racks because they look shorter than the Yakima system and because I'll be able to mount my solar panel easier and install a outdoor shower stall based on something I saw someone else do with theirs. Besides that do you think it'd be better to haul a canoe or kayak(s) on an small trailer or on top of the FWC? I could redesign my M416 to carry a boat(s) more gear etc., but it seems like overkill and I worry about getting to places that don't allow trailers in the backcountry. Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[Tomas Tierra]

100 AHP,

I carry a Malibu two xl on my roof and it definately affects my mileage.. Can't tell you exactly how much, but it is something to consider..
Also, with the stock fwc rack, be careful mounting in the middle of the span... I have bent a set of the stock racks with my kayak.. Mounting over the "tower" could save you from this..

TT

 

[Lighthawk]

A number of folks carry either canoe or kayaks on their campers here. We use the Yakima system (rear Hully-roller, front Mako saddles). Our kayaks are 12' long and weigh ~50#. I can load one by myself, but with two people it's a lot easier. We have a small set of ladder steps for both access to camper and essential for roof loading of boats.

Mileage? It's worse, but why focus on that?
If I was going to do several thousand miles to Baja and back I would look inflatibles to reduce our exposure to wind.

 

[Stalking Light]

How is it raising and lowering with the kayak on, or do you take it off at night? I recently got the hully roller / saddle setup and have a Wilderness Systyem's Ride which is about 70# but it hasn't been warm enough to try things out.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

How is it raising and lowering with the kayak on, or do you take it off at night? I recently got the hully roller / saddle setup and have a Wilderness Systyem's Ride which is about 70# but it hasn't been warm enough to try things out.

Charlie,

It's definitely heavier and more awkward! Use the speaker crank lift if needed.

Steve

 

[craig333]

Its not bad with a light kayak, you do know its there though. I haven't really noticed much difference in mileage.

 

[100acrehuphalump]

This is my current setup which will change when I get my Hawk

 

[Ronanmd1]

I have a similar set up...Hully rollers and saddle for the yak. I have a Jackson Kilroy. About 12' long and 60 lbs. I load to one one side. The other side carries a ski box loaded with lighter but awkward stuff - life jackets, paddles, fishing rods, waders and boots , yak wheels etc. I use the speaker stand for both rear and front. Takes me just a few minutes to lift up the top and is much easier on my back than trying to heave it alone. I carry a small stepladder in the rear of the truck to access the roof, load the yak etc. Don't really notice much of an effect on the mileage.

Jason

 

[DesertDave]

Mileage affect is probably a factor of how much an increase in your frontal area the kayaks represent, and how taxed your vehicle is before you load the boat. On my Kia car kayaks reduce the mileage 8-12%, on my F350 6.0L with FWC the affect is negligible.

I used a trailer with my prior camper because I couldn't load boat onto the camper. A trailer is a pain most times. I've carried kayaks more times on my FWC in six months than I did in seven years with the trailer.

 

[takesiteasy]

We carry an aluminum canoe regularly on the Yakima rack. It weighs about 60 lbs. I haven't paid attention to the mileage impact- it is what it is, not huge. I imagine it depends a lot on the wind. I usually remove it from the rack before popping the top but with the lift struts it is not that hard to lift it up. With the top down, I can put it on the roof myself from the side using a step stool that we carry. One thing to keep in mind is clearance over the roof vents. It works with the Yakima rack. I don't know about the aluminum rack.

 

[TGK]

I've carried a variety of canoes and kayaks on FWC over the years. We used to routinely hoist a 16" wood canvas canoe up top that was pushing 70lbs. However, that was over a decade ago. When we reached our mid 50's and our backs were less forgiving, we sold some other toys and sprang for a 45b Kevlar canoe. Much easier to move around on and off the truck. We have the full length Yakima Tracks installed from the factory with Yakima bars. In our mid 60's now, the two of us can still manage, but it's definitely more effort. However, we are thinking of installing one of the lift assist options available from FWC. Photo of the set up below, with our trailer attached. The FWC stays on the truck all the time. Haven't really noticed any difference in MPG with the canoe on our off, it's not great any way you configure it. While the canoe certainly adds more mass high up, the shape is pretty aerodynamic.



TK

 

[Jon&Sue_DeArman]

If you are going to carry a canoe or Kayak and do not want to take it off every time you pop-up, go for the Yakima.

 

[buckland]

Hi, Have a 2011 Eagle on Tacoma 01. We always carry 2 boats with us. We bought the camper with the aluminum racks... they lasted a year and we had a bad break in the rack and canoe came off!!!! Snapped the front line too. I have been canoeing for 45 years and that was a first for me... So be bought the Yakima racks and they are fantastic I also made up an aluminum rack to hold 3 gas tanks which lie below the Yakima bars so no interference. It takes but 5 minutes to take off the boats ... no big deal (I have a 3 step alum. ladder...super light and real handy for doing the straps. The racks pop on and off as well in seconds so one doesn't have to keep them on if traveling w/o boat. Never trust the aluminum racks for boats.... just not worth it.

 

[JHanson]

We've been carrying kayaks on the roof since our first FWC in the early 90s, when I welded custom aluminum bases for our Thule racks and bolted them all the way through the roof frames into the interior. Never any problems, but it was a LOT easier to remove the boats before raising the roof. Our poor little 22RE four-cylinder here was working hard with boats or without.

 

[100acrehuphalump]

Hi, Have a 2011 Eagle on Tacoma 01. We always carry 2 boats with us. We bought the camper with the aluminum racks... they lasted a year and we had a bad break in the rack and canoe came off!!!! Snapped the front line too. I have been canoeing for 45 years and that was a first for me... So be bought the Yakima racks and they are fantastic I also made up an aluminum rack to hold 3 gas tanks which lie below the Yakima bars so no interference. It takes but 5 minutes to take off the boats ... no big deal (I have a 3 step alum. ladder...super light and real handy for doing the straps. The racks pop on and off as well in seconds so one doesn't have to keep them on if traveling w/o boat. Never trust the aluminum racks for boats.... just not worth it.

Do you have any pictures of the rack you made for the gas cans?

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

I have carried our canoe on the Bobcat for many trips.Some of them never taking the canoe off.
I have the standard roof rack and it works great. Any more to use a "floating" device on the road,you need to check what the regs are for marine born invasives. That can be a "PITA"from state to state.
We did get an inflatable kayak but only used it a couple times so far.Actually I like the canoe better.
Our main reason for the kayak was we didn't have to carry it on the roof.Although the canoe is easy to load and unload
as we age you think about getting hurt out on a trip,but I think there are specific places to use the canoe and we will just be careful.
The canoe does ride up there nicely and it can be conversation starter.
Frank

 

[Piney]

I thought I'd chime in here. We are Yakima all the way (since 1982). We almost always have one or two long open-top fishing kayaks on the roof when we take trips, and they are wonderful once they are on the water, but way too heavy on land. We always take them down to pop the camper up. I have always used the original yakima kayak saddles or in recent years the Makos, and never had a problem. But I'm anal about my tiedowns, even use a third middle bar for the just-in-case strap across the middle of the boat. It's pretty heavy up top just with empty racks. I check all the straps at every pee, gas, and taco stop. We always seem to drive in some kinda nasty winds at some point in our travels.
This November I decided to try traveling with the hully rollers to hold the stern of a 15 ft O.K. Trident. I never liked how the hully rollers supported that particular hull, but it is way easier to take the boat off the back of the rig with those,so figured I'd give it a go on the first day of our trip, all highway, 60-65 mph driving. We encountered some strong cross- and headwinds thru the Owens Valley and high desert. At the gas stop where 395 joins the I-15, the straps on the stern of the kayak had loosened up on the hully rollers, and the boat had jumped off the rollers and was sitting sorta crooked on the rear bar. It coulda been ugly out there on I-15 a little later, duking it out with the semis, if that boat had left the roof. Needless to say, I put saddles back on the rear bar when we got to San Diego.
A couple of days later we were slammed by the strongest crosswinds I have ever experienced up on Tecate Summit east of San Diego on Interstate 8. The fore and aft mako saddles held brilliantly, but we pulled off on the shoulder and crept slowly for a couple of miles, along with those semis.
So just wanted to warn the folks using the mako/hully roller combo for their kayaks, man, take it easy in the high winds, and check your tiedowns often. The yakima bars on the long tracks are the way to go for boats, factory aluminum square racks, maybe not.

 

[camelracer]

I use the mako / hully roller combination and it works for me. My truck is high enough that it would be difficult to slide the boats on without the hully rollers. I also have a 3rd cross bar at the very back to keep the boats from sliding over the edge of the camper roof. I did have a strap come loose once when I hit a tope way too fast in Guerro Negro. I keep the ratchets tighter now.

 

[Piney]

Yep, topes and crosswinds are your worse enemies. But even with all that, I see you made it to the most famous palm tree in Baja, camelracer. Nice! My problem with the hully rollers is that the stern end of the hull on my "sportfisher" is too narrow for the rollers to really support the boat with all the rock and roll going on while driving. I'm sure other hull shapes fit better. My fishing buddy and I have found that the most bomber and secure way to carry the sit-on-tops is with those small canoe/kayak gunnel blocks that yakima makes, but you carry the boats upside down. Strap em down tight and there is zero flexing like you get with saddles. Then it's pretty much a two person job to take them on and off a camper.

 

[camelracer]

Yep, topes and crosswinds are your worse enemies. But even with all that, I see you made it to the most famous palm tree in Baja, camelracer. Nice! My problem with the hully rollers is that the stern end of the hull on my "sportfisher" is too narrow for the rollers to really support the boat with all the rock and roll going on while driving. I'm sure other hull shapes fit better. My fishing buddy and I have found that the most bomber and secure way to carry the sit-on-tops is with those small canoe/kayak gunnel blocks that yakima makes, but you carry the boats upside down. Strap em down tight and there is zero flexing like you get with saddles. Then it's pretty much a two person job to take them on and off a camper.

I agree that carrying kayaks upside down is way more secure. Before I had the FWC I carried them that way on my topper.