Transport woes
 

So, I have been lugging my stealth 14 all over the place in my sport Trac using a bed extender I picked up from oex. All good. Now, however, the girlfriend is getting a 13 or 14 ft. kayak, and I am in a bit of a pickle. I have a tough time roof loading due to injury, and the sport Trac bed isn't wide enough for 2 hulls to lie flat. I was just going to loose my tonnnau cover and angle them in, but I don't want to damage either the kayaks or the truck. Any suggestions? I am not really hot on the idea of a trailer, and spending 1000 for 2 HullavAtor systems seems excessive. Can J type racking be installed in a truck bed? Any other thoughts (besides making her lug her own yak about :doh:)?

wish i had a good solution or insight to give ya...but really i was just gonna say whatever you decide to do, if you are looking to sell the bed extender i would be interested in buying it?

If you're carrying two kayaks that means that you'll have a partner, get a rack and call it a day. I know you said you're injured but if you have help it shouldn't be that hard to do. Have you considered making some sort of step stool so that you don't have to extend your arms more than you'd need or want to?

I put two Prowler 13's in the bed of my Tacoma with a bed extender. I just lay them on their tops. One overlaps the other, but they don't move at all. It's really not a problem. Hasn't caused any damage yet.

Edit: You can probably carry more kayaks than you think...

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/s...ead.php?t=8826
http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegall...0/IMG_3186.jpg

I don't know but you need to figure out something before March 5-6:leaving:

Jorulvil - your point is a good one... I will see about that, but was still hoping to see if someone could point me to a bed mounted rack like a bike carrier that could be adapted for kayak use.

Jhook- if you don't damage them, then I may be worried for no reason...and uh, the first step in curing an addiction us admitting you need help...that's a bunch of yaks in one rig! Even if it is a rental shops fleet....

Thanks for the replies guys.

Mtnbykr -
I'm on it! That's why I am appealing to the mass-mind of the bwe boards! Someone here must have had this issue and solved it! Or several someones! Like someone said, more than one way to skin a catfish!

Do you have a place to store a Trailer? I would strongly look for a trailer that you can setup to carry the two Kayaks. Even my wife is suggesting that I look into a trailer. Other than that there are other options. Do a Youtube search for Loading Kayaks, and you will see many videos of what people use to load their Kayaks. Thule I believe has a self loading type rack.
http://www.youtube.com/results?searc...g+a+Kayak&aq=f

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4chTp_yXkXA

You could figure out a way to mount a J-rack to the truck bed. This would allow you to easily carry one of the yaks on its side.

Bob

Jimmy - good thought, I hadn't thought of you tube... Guess I know what I am doing in the border line today.

Bob, that is exactly what I was thinking, but I have no clue how. Haven't put a ton of time on it yet though either. I was hoping for a leg up on re-creating that wheel, but I may just have to put my head to use for something other than a hatrack.

Send Jim Day a PM with the question. He is a wizard at working with metal.

You could install some brackets to the truck bed which would allow for the easy insertion and removal of some roof rack bars, (Yakima or Thule). The J-racks could be attached to those. Even better, mount the bars to the top of the bed sides. Your big yak would be carried the way it is now. The second, (and third) could be strapped to the bars.

In case you are interested, I have a set of J-racks that I could be persuaded to part with. Mine are from Yakima.

When you figure it out, you should post your project in the Innovations thread for everyone to see.

Bob

:) That's Iceman (Andy) with all the yaks. I've just got the two (for now).

I went through the same thought process when I got the second yak for my wife. I was planning on building a wooden bracket that would sit in the truck bed and then attach the J mounts to that and the cross bar of the bed extender. After transporting the yaks a couple times without any brackets, I decided it wasn't really needed. It might be nice just to free up some bed space. Let us know what you come up with.

Bob,
Thanks for the offer of the J's. I have my hands on a couple sets now though along with a couple of expanding load rods. When I get everything in and tested I will put up some pics. Thanks again for the help all. If this doesn't work, I will be back crying like a 10 yo for more assistance!