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Kayak rack when towing fifth wheel Scamp
I have a Nissan Frontier crew cab for towing my 19'Scamp. I struggled to find a way to take kayaks with me short of buying inflatables which, upon investigation, was not a good option for me. I saw a Thule T bar for canoes that mounted to a rear receiver hitch and called Thule to see if it would work on a front mounted hitch. As far over my truck bed as the camper comes when I turn, the kayaks were too long for a standard roof rack.
Thule sent me part numbers but made it clear that they had not tested front mounting the T bar and I was on my own. I went to REI and ordered a T bar, roof rack and a roller to help get kayaks on the rack. Another issue is that I am a female with limited upper body strength (and gray hair) so we had to find a solution that my daughter and I could manage without having to lift 50# kayaks overhead.
The installers at REI were great and between us found a way to make it work. I got Nissan to install a front hitch for the T bar. I had to order a standard roof rack which comes with 2 cross bars even tho I theoretically only need one on the roof. The roller was to be mounted on the T bar so kayaks could be loaded from the front. My daughter and I did not have the strength to accomplish this. The installers allowed us to think creatively and we decided to put the extra bar and roller at the back of the cab. I can bring get the boat up from the back and get it on the roller without ever lifting it over my head. My daughter walks the nose to the T bar and we tie it on, then slide the roller over to load the second boat. Works like a charm.
We took the boats to New River State Park this past weekend and had a ball. Again, Thule has not tested this and won't recommend this although it is identical to their rear mounted set up. However, it worked just fine for us.
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Biggerfidg
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