Strapping a Kayak to a RTT?

[adventureduo]

Anyone do it? Say with a lightweight kayak on a AT trailer? Pics? How'd you strap it down?

I doubt i would do it on top of a vehicle... could get a little tall.

[Hltoppr]

I used two 72" load bars, which gave me about 10" of bar on the outside of the RTT, and used old style kayak stackers to mount two kayaks on my 80...

http://hltoppr.smugmug.com/photos/249147427-XL.jpg

http://hltoppr.smugmug.com/photos/249147450-M.jpg

-H-

[adventureduo]

Hltoppr, that's a great idea, i didn't think about mounting a 'yak to the side of the tent area. We have hard mounted RTT load bars, they'd need to be switched out.. hmm..

[Martyn]

Try a few tubes of pipe insulation on the top of the tent. Put the kayak on that and strap it down with a ratchet strap.

[tdesanto]

Anyone do it? Say with a lightweight kayak on a AT trailer? Pics? How'd you strap it down?

I doubt i would do it on top of a vehicle... could get a little tall.

You can put a kayak on top of your roof rack. See mine (http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=74141&postcount=33). My kayak is a 15' footer and weighs in around 70lbs.

As for putting it on top of your RTT/Trailer combo, I would think 3 straps would be plenty. One in the front, one in the rear, and one in the middle (I run it through the handles for additional safety). I would think the crossbars should be plenty strong enough. The RTT should be able to handle an additional 60-70lbs. What about the lid of the trailer where the bars are mounted?

[Ursidae69]

Cool pics in this thread. :costumed-smiley-007

[Martyn]

If you are looking at heavy kayaks remember that they will raise the center of gravity of the trailer and make it more tippy.

[adventureduo]

The cruisers roof rack would be a last resort.. It's full usually of firewood/c02/fuel and water....
http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/5944/trailer6kk7.jpg

I think the RTT on the horizon would work perfect.

What do you mean about the lid where the bars are mounted Tdesanto?

[Andrew Walcker]

Dave, I've strapped my kayak to the Eezi-Awn a few times with not so great results. The first time I used pipe insulation and good straps and the pipe insulation blew out. The second time I used my surfboard rack pads and they slipped out of place. Let me say that I take great pride in my ability to strap things securely, one of my few talents in life and I couldn't get the kayak to stay in one place.:) My thought is that the tent has too much movement due to the clamshell design in order to really get a good solid cinch point. I now have rub spots in the tent cover and I'm planning on having hepalon (sp?, stuff that they make Zodiaks and Avons out of) strips sewn in. I like the idea of mounting them to the side from Hltoppr (Andrew) above.

[tdesanto]

The cruisers roof rack would be a last resort.. It's full usually of firewood/c02/fuel and water....

What do you mean about the lid where the bars are mounted Tdesanto?

I just meant that I didn't know what the weight rating of the lid is, given that it's got the rack and the tent already, plus adding 50-80lbs per kayak. So, really I was just pointing it out as a question to have answered. My guess is that it could handle it easily; however, I dont' have any experience with these...yet :)

I will say this, the kayak should be much easier to load on top of the trailer vs. the roof rack. I would heed Martyn's warning though about raising the COG of the trailer.

I wonder if it's possible to mount one of those kayak stackers on top of the side box (port side) next to the tent? Just brainstorming without any actual research yet.

[Martyn]

Here are a couple of variations on things we have done to accommodate bikes and surf boards.

To make them work you may have to shift the RTT over to one side to gain space. I don’t know how much room you need for your kayak.

[adventureduo]

Just looked at the trailer. Looks like i can only shift it 3" one way or the other. Thats it.

Also, i can't push it over any closer to the awning side.

Thanks for the various options guys. Probably do something where i turn the kayak on its side and mount the bars to the side box. Looks like i have enough room to do so.

Maybe something like this on the cargo box? With a quick release for the bars.. i dont know yet. Thinking outloud.

http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&partNumber=753408&preferredSku=7534080010&cm_mmc=cse_froogle-_-datafeed-_-product-_-na&mr:trackingCode=E8A707F9-67CF-DC11-BE2A-001422107090&mr:referralID=NA

But I will see what i end up for a kayak.. and then go from there. Something like what Andrew has is what i want. Just a way to get back in shape and explore a bit further.

thanks again guys

[stick]

Yeah, I think something like hltoppr did would work best. That way the kayaks are out of the way and you can still put the RTT up without moving the kayaks.

[adventureduo]

Well i've learned that using any type of Thule or Yakima kayak rack holder is basically out of the question. There's just simply not enough room on the drivers side cargo box. Plus i need it to fold down and out of the way so we can open the main box and tent. I also looked into strapping it to the top of the tent like Andrew did. This is a PITA too because the ladder sticks up about 4" higher than the tent. So then you have to use spacers that won't fly out at freeway speeds, yes i know about the foam blocks. The Foam blocks have to be somewhat thick and with only 2 straps in the middle of the tent area i think the kayak will still shift around. For our setup i will just strap the kayak to the roof rack in 3 spots, front and rear and it will be just fine. Already tested on a 40 mile trip and it didn't budge one inch. I'll just have to find a different location for some of our firewood is all.

[blupaddler]

Dave,
I am sure you have taken this into consideration already... But how long is the Kayak? Would mounting it on the trailer interfere with your turning radius, etc.?

Also, since you said the tent cannot be shifted over anymore, I would focus on the rack. REI or any kayak place sells contoured foam blocks that you can rest the kayak on to help prevent damage.


I have experimented with this same dilema, only with regards to surfboards. I have some really long, 78", Yakima bars. This way the tent sits off to the passenger side and the surfboards are mounted next to the tent. Same as H. Except surfboards cannot be mounted/transported on their sides. And it was really freaky driving down Mex. 1 with my surfboards hanging over the driver's side by a good 10" or so... Especially with trucks coming at you full speed. :p



Good luck.


By the way: sit on top? tandem? single?
Congrats anyway.

[adventureduo]

Robb, we haven't bought yet.. but we are borrowing Andrew Walckers sit on top Ocean Kayak Frenzy (pic is earlier in this post on page 1). If we like, we'll buy one :)

[Lemsteraak]

I agree with Martyn, you want to keep things light up there on the roof, if you put a kayak up there, it can be really high. That being said, if you have a vehicle that can handle it. I have a couple suggestions.

I don't recommend a kayak on top of a rooftent, the Maggiolina Extreme can do it, but I think you could be subjecting your kayak to a lot of abuse up there.

The idea of the kayak or kayaks next to the rooftent is very good, but most rooftents are wide so there isn't much room for them. We have a rather obscure rooftent, actually one of my favorites called an OverCamp. It is a folding tent, but it opens like a book so it is long and thin. It is what we consider an expedition tent, has features that make it very good for expedition use but don't make it as appropriate for family use. Namely, on this one, the whole sides roll up so it works well in the tropics. As a few people have mentioned, you could roll over and fall out of this tent. There are doors and screens to keep you in when you are sleeping but you need to use them. The other drawback is that the OverCamp is designed to be very basic and honest, no alloys, everything basic and easy to repair, but this makes it heavy. The small one is supposed to be 95 pounds but we beef them up so they are more like 115 pounds, the medium one is huge but weighs about 135 pounds. They work very well on trailers, and aren't that expensive.

Rich @ AutoHome
www.autohomeus.com