Kayak Racks 1980s Bigfoot

[BFM]

Hey guys,
Just picked up a 1980 Bigfoot 17SE Deluxe. I bring a fishing kayak (70lbs, 12' long) on most trips. What do you recommend for mounting a rack? Or should I put it on top of my truck?

Cheers
Blake

[Glenn Baglo]

How do you plan on getting the kayaks to the put-in? If you put racks on the trailer, you either have to drag it to the water or move the kayaks to the tow vehicle.
If you mount racks on the truck, make sure both racks are on the cab or on the canopy or bed rack. Otherwise they will be twisted in opposite directions as you traverse uneven terrain.

[BFM]

Have a kart, looking at rear bumper mount options. Found vertirack, but it’s pricy.

[mary and bob]

I have a restored '76 pickup and I didn't want to attach a rack directly to the cab or bed rails, so I built a rack system, using steel angle, that sets in the bed. It is held in place with a couple ratchet straps. I made cradles for three kayaks to set on it and extend over the cab. I've seen similar racks made from 2 X 4 lumber. This won't work if your truck has a cap or bed cover. Don't have any photos of it.

[Weavery]

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4bvc9P9Y-Bs/X5YO88idbJI/AAAAAAAAEK4/7lMu8ihl8B05HDY5gHuXybXEPPpfN-OgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/loaded.jpg

I hope this link opens. I put a receiver hitch on the front of my truck and a rack on the roof. There us a T bar in the front receiver hitch you usually see on the back of a truck to tote kayaks or canoes. With the 5th wheel, a typical roof mounted boat would strike the trailer when turning. So I have the same set up only in reverse with the boats over the truck hood. I can stand in the truck bed and load/unload boats without overhead lifting. For a 66 yo female, this is what works.
Jean

[threepine]

We have a 12' kayak, not as heavy but it goes on the Honda Ridgeline roof rack no problem. Also a longer canoe that is about 70lbs...not both at the same time.

[Mike255]

We have a vertical rack for the back of our Scamp 19. Got it custom made at a local welding shop. Cost me $400 cdn. It works great except that it destroys the fuel mileage. I knew it would affect it but is much worse than I expected. Also I also worry that the receiver on the back of the trailer is not strong enough with the weight and wind pressure, although the are no cracks in the welds. As a result of this experience I am building 2 kayaks that can be broken down to 3 pieces and we will carry them inside the trailer. If we had a bumper pull trailer I would put a rack on the truck, no question.

[burrorojo]

Originally Posted by Weavery

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4bvc9P9Y-Bs/X5YO88idbJI/AAAAAAAAEK4/7lMu8ihl8B05HDY5gHuXybXEPPpfN-OgwCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/loaded.jpg

I hope this link opens. I put a receiver hitch on the front of my truck and a rack on the roof. There us a T bar in the front receiver hitch you usually see on the back of a truck to tote kayaks or canoes. With the 5th wheel, a typical roof mounted boat would strike the trailer when turning. So I have the same set up only in reverse with the boats over the truck hood. I can stand in the truck bed and load/unload boats without overhead lifting. For a 66 yo female, this is what works.
Jean

Hi Jean. Did the same thing with my 16' fglass canoe. I have a crew cab style Ford SUV so putting a rack on the cab roof didn't give me much of a span to support the canoe. And because I'm 74 and getting the 60# canoe up and down from the roof rack without breaking me or scratching the SUV was a bit of a hassle. So in the front mounted vertical pole that supports the Tee - I put in a sleeve, drilled a hole through the sleeve and upper pipe and in the hole a pin. That keeps the Tee from swinging around - until I pull out the pin. When I release the straps that hold the canoe to the roof rack it's now just attached to the Tee. I can pick up the unsupported end and walk in a semi circle and put that end on the ground. Remove the Tee straps, hunker down under the canoe and walk away with the canoe on my shoulders. Lost track of the number or times I've had applause for my little show!

[Peder_y2k]

Simply replace your rigid kayak with an inflatable

[BFM]

Sounds promising, do you have any pictures?

[BushWacker]

That is a lot of weight to stress the top of your trailer over time it might cause damage. I put all my kayaks on top of my truck, installed a lumber rack on top of the camper shell, it's been good for over a decade now...

[BFM]

Originally Posted by Mike255

We have a vertical rack for the back of our Scamp 19. Got it custom made at a local welding shop. Cost me $400 cdn. It works great except that it destroys the fuel mileage. I knew it would affect it but is much worse than I expected. Also I also worry that the receiver on the back of the trailer is not strong enough with the weight and wind pressure, although the are no cracks in the welds. As a result of this experience I am building 2 kayaks that can be broken down to 3 pieces and we will carry them inside the trailer. If we had a bumper pull trailer I would put a rack on the truck, no question.

Sounds promising, do you have any pictures??

[threepine]

Originally Posted by burrorojo

Hi Jean. Did the same thing with my 16' fglass canoe. I have a crew cab style Ford SUV so putting a rack on the cab roof didn't give me much of a span to support the canoe. And because I'm 74 and getting the 60# canoe up and down from the roof rack without breaking me or scratching the SUV was a bit of a hassle. So in the front mounted vertical pole that supports the Tee - I put in a sleeve, drilled a hole through the sleeve and upper pipe and in the hole a pin. That keeps the Tee from swinging around - until I pull out the pin. When I release the straps that hold the canoe to the roof rack it's now just attached to the Tee. I can pick up the unsupported end and walk in a semi circle and put that end on the ground. Remove the Tee straps, hunker down under the canoe and walk away with the canoe on my shoulders. Lost track of the number or times I've had applause for my little show!

As I mentioned, we have our fairly heavy canoe on our Ridgeline roof rack and I've never worried about supporting it on those two points...we do rope front and rear as well, and when we take the kayak we rope in front .

However, getting the canoe off and on is not easy so I think your method is brilliant! It might even work for the person with the fifth wheel. Can you tell me how you mount the Tee to the front bumper of your Ford? Not sure if I could do it with my vehicle.

[Tug Hercules]

I would not mount a Kayak Rack of a Bigfoot, nor any Trailer.

I have always mounted on my Tow Vehicle.

You get to a Park, then You can drive off to a great Kayak Fishing Adventure, without packing up and hauling the Trailer.

See my Avatar for my Kayak, set up.

[Glenn Baglo]

I put my canoe on top of my tent trailer - once.
Got to camp and had to unload the canoe before I could open the tent trailer. Then I had to load the canoe on top of the tow vehicle so I could take it down to the boat launch.

[burrorojo]

Hi Jean. I'll try to roust out some pix but until then...the front end 2" receiver is a kit by 'Reese'. I'm definitely not a mechanic but it wasn't hard to install. I did use 'nyloc' nuts rather than the standard ones provided. The receiver doesn't stick out ahead of the bumper so you can install and forget. They're pretty robust - some people use them for snow plow attachments! I also have a bike carrying rack that fits there too. Doesn't obscure the headlights and the radiator's efficiency seems unchanged!
Photos in a couple of days!

[burrorojo]

Hi Jean. As promised some pix of my canoe/kayak carrier. It fits a '2" receiver'. I had a local machine shop build the carrier out of aluminum square tubing. Think it cost me $80.00 cdn. Because I've had more than one canoe and their lengths and widths were different I made the 'tee' adjustable in width.

You can see the hole I drilled and the pin in place so I can swivel the forward end of the canoe to make the loading and unloading a solo job. With the pin back in place it's now locked in a forward/back attitude - it's swiveling nowhere! In these photos it's attached to the car by a front end 2' receiver. Fits my rear 2" receiver when I'm not towing my Bigfoot.

The front 'receiver' is available at most auto parts stores, Canadian Tire, internet etc. I had my mechanic install it while I was having an oil change.
Ask if you need clarification on the photos. Good luck, happy paddling!