roof rack

[Gene B]

Has any body put a roof rack on their trailer? What I want to do is carry my small 10' boat on top of my trillium. Gene

[Doug Mager]

Gene, mount the rooftopper on top of your tow vehicle.

That'll help with the aerodynamics. I doubt very much that the roof would support that type of extra weight without some other mods to the body!!

[Glenn Baglo]

Gene, mount the rooftopper on top of your tow vehicle.

That'll help with the aerodynamics. I doubt very much that the roof would support that type of extra weight without some other mods to the body!!

And, when you get to your campsite, you can take the boat to the launch after dropping the trailer, instead of moving it from the trailer to your tow first. And, if you decide to fish a nearby lake, you can toss it up on the tow and go.

baglo

[Bob H]

And, when you get to your campsite, you can take the boat to the launch after dropping the trailer, instead of moving it from the trailer to your tow first. And, if you decide to fish a nearby lake, you can toss it up on the tow and go.

baglo

...that's a forehead slapper fer sure. Good Point!

[Doug Mager]

...that's a forehead slapper fer sure. Good Point!

LOL!!!
Careful there Bob, SOME of us here have a LITTLE MORE FOREHEAD to slap than others!!!

[cjlindsay]

Depends too on the tow vehicle and the boat. I have a 16'6" canoe strapped to the top of my Jeep TJ at this moment. To say that it looks odd is an UNDERSTATEMENT. Not just odd, I've got over 7 feet of canoe hanging over the hood of the Jeep and 2 feet past the front bumper. And another 2 - 3 feet hangs off the back. That is a LOT of stress on the center of the canoe. However, It's the only way to do it without a step ladder. Putting an 80 pound canoe up on a 7 foot tall roof... No thanx!

[Paul from NWOnt]

Depends too on the tow vehicle and the boat. I have a 16'6" canoe strapped to the top of my Jeep TJ at this moment. To say that it looks odd is an UNDERSTATEMENT. Not just odd, I've got over 7 feet of canoe hanging over the hood of the Jeep and 2 feet past the front bumper. And another 2 - 3 feet hangs off the back. That is a LOT of stress on the center of the canoe. However, It's the only way to do it without a step ladder. Putting an 80 pound canoe up on a 7 foot tall roof... No thanx!

You could put a support on the front bumper of the Jeep, and that would reduce the stress on the center of the canoe. I've seen it done many times, and it looks rather cool as well.

You could check jeepkings.ca to see if anyone there has a pic of their setup, or perhaps someone willing to sell theirs.

To address the original post, I'd attach the rack directly to the tongue, and bumper of the trailer. By doing it this way, you eliminate the stress on the fiberglass, and it's also easy to remove without causing leaks.

[April Wilcox]

I ran across this in a paint job thread, I don't know who's camper this is, but I like the railing they installed around it.

[Ed Harris]

I ran across this in a paint job thread, I don't know who's camper this is, but I like the railing they installed around it.

If I remeber correctly he did that to help hold the roof up.

I can not picture wanting to carry anything on the roof of a Trill and I have had two of them.

The Fiberstream has a very strong roof to me but I still would not try this.

[Scott S.]

looks like monkey bars. great paint job tho, love it!

[Frederick L. Simson]

Has any body put a roof rack on their trailer? What I want to do is carry my small 10' boat on top of my trillium. Gene

Link to "Extra Cargo" thread

[Frederick L. Simson]

I ran across this in a paint job thread, [b]I don't know who's camper this is, but I like the railing they installed around it.

That is Thomas Haney's "Skimp".

In the link above he re-tells the whole story of his remodel. (His earlier postings were lost in the 2005 hack-attack)

[JenPB]

I ran across this in a paint job thread, I don't know who's camper this is, but I like the railing they installed around it.

VERY cute! Maybe I can get clever like that, too.

(hey! A girl can dream!)

Jen

[Coach George Jessup]

Best for Canoe is probably the different truck racks as suggested on there already. But if you want one on your egg roof for any reason still...

just an idea. It's untried.

Plastic or metal conduit, or square tube cut a bit shorter than lenght of roof long ways. Maybe 5 or six total?

Fill them with expanding foam for added rigidity

Screw/bolt/rivet? and expoxy or weather seal them to the roof. To go full strength add layers of fiberglass over them and bond them to the roof.

if metal preform them to the shape desired.

now you have added strenth and rails to your roof like those on an old woody wagen

[Donna D.]

You could put a support on the front bumper of the Jeep, and that would reduce the stress on the center of the canoe. I've seen it done many times, and it looks rather cool as well.

Like this?




or this?

[Glenn Baglo]

[quote]Like this?

Attachment 16344


or this?

Attachment 16345


Not sure if this applies to your set-up, but back in the days I belonged to a canoe club, I was warned not to attach a canoe to a rack on my truck cab and the other end to a rack on my truck's canopy. The reason is there is considerable flex, torquing and twisting between the cab and box.
I'd be inclined to go with the support on the front bumper and another on the cab roof, or have both supports on the truck box.

baglo

[james kent]

I use a "T" bar mounted on a threaded pin in the hole made for a bumper hitch, and a nut welded into the base of the upright. It can carry one or two canoes when I add the extensions. I've used this arrangement on pickups since the eighties with no adverse effects. I guess that there is enough front to back give to compensate for box flex.

[Glenn Baglo]

I use a "T" bar mounted on a threaded pin in the hole made for a bumper hitch, and a nut welded into the base of the upright. It can carry one or two canoes when I add the extensions. I've used this arrangement on pickups since the eighties with no adverse effects. I guess that there is enough front to back give to compensate for box flex.

I think maybe it's because you're attached, close to the frame, front and back. But the top of a canopy on a truck bed can move a couple inches each way over rough terrain. I've had the canoe on the RAV racks with no problem. Haven't tried putting two pontoon boats up there yet.
Last time we piled pontoon boats on my buddy's Santa Fe we finally learned pump the tubes up or let out air to keep the ropes taunt instead of retying the ropes all the time.

And, I have to restrain myself when I see a canoe tied to a vehicle with a rope from the bow and the stern to the vehicle's bumpers, like this /-/. Slam on the brakes and there is nothing to stop the canoe from sliding forward. The rope at the stern allows about 6 feet of travel and so will the one at the front. Tie it down, like so, /-\. You can tie the rear rope to the centre thwart of the canoe. And, ask somebody to show you the "trucker's hitch" for the cross ropes. It is extremely secure and impossible to describe ( for me anyway ). I once used it and applied such force that I bent the rack extensions.
Don't do that.

baglo

[james kent]

And, I have to restrain myself when I see a canoe tied to a vehicle with a rope from the bow and the stern to the vehicle's bumpers, like this /-/. Slam on the brakes and there is nothing to stop the canoe from sliding forward.
Don't do that.

baglo

Glenn,I know what you mean. In 50 years of canoeing I've seen just about everything. From the guy who just has a single rope front and rear to someone who throws a blanket on the roof, ties the canoe on with rope through the windows, to the guy going down the road with his hand out the window trying to hold his in place from the rental to the launch site.
When I fasten mine, my 1/4" bow rope doesn't hold the canoe forward or back but is just snubbed taught, to forstall any sideward motion due to wind or the forces exerted when passing, or meeting, a large transport. What you see at the back is an optical 'contusion'. The down ropes you see are actually the ratchet straps used to brace the verticle bar to the frame of the truck. The rear of the canoe is held on by another ratchet strap, over the canoe, around the rear seat thwart and around the cross bar. NOTHING moves at that point. The front strap is forward of the centre point of the canoe so that the canoe cannot actually move forward or back. I have been using ratchet straps, for several years now, instead of roping the canoe in place and it has meant I do not have any slack due to rope stretch AND they are easier and quicker to use. I use longerblue ones to strap down the cross bar and shorter red ones to strap down the canoe. Also the web straps are replaced about every two years I have built several of these strippers and have too much invested in them NOT to take as much care as possible.
Jim

[Glenn Baglo]

Also the web straps are replaced about every two years I have built several of these strippers and have too much invested in them NOT to take as much care as possible.
Jim

I must have bought the wrong web straps since I've found them more trouble than tieing off with the trucker's hitch. I'm also a little nervous that if the hook doesn't hold for some reason, there is nothing holding the object down. This is a problem with pontoon boats, that you wouldn't have with a canoe. Driving from the cool lower mainland up over the Coquihalla summit, the change in altitude and temperature has a tremendous effect on the tubes and you have to keep deflating them. Coming home, you have to stop several times and re-tie or add pressure.

I'd love to have a stipper, a little solo boat, but I'm gonna have to be satisfied with my 16' Prospector ( Clipper ).

baglo