Vertical Kayak/SUP Swing Hitch Rack?

erstwild

Active member
I am looking for a vertical kayak/SUP swing hitch rack that is or can be biased to the right side of the rear to not completely block my rear view camera. I plan on leaving it on full time, hence the rear view camera necessity. Does anyone know of one or anyone who does custom work?
 

erstwild

Active member
Where are you located and how long of a kayak/sup are you talking? Behind a van?

I’m based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I’m hoping to keep it to kayaks or SUPs under 10 feet to avoid drag or clearance issues. This would be behind my truck camper:

 

ottsville

Observer
Nice setup!
I would think you could have a local shop build something like this, but offset or on a pivot. Probably for about the same money.


Looking at the first picture of the rear of your rig, I almost looks like you could have a second receiver welded onto the outside plates on the hitch and use that without having a custom rack built.

Any reason you wouldn't go with inflatables, at least for the SUPs?
 

erstwild

Active member
Nice setup!
I would think you could have a local shop build something like this, but offset or on a pivot. Probably for about the same money.


Looking at the first picture of the rear of your rig, I almost looks like you could have a second receiver welded onto the outside plates on the hitch and use that without having a custom rack built.

Any reason you wouldn't go with inflatables, at least for the SUPs?

I think I would skip a second receiver since I never tow anything and I would still need a swing arm or I could not open the right rear door. Good point. I know of a shop that could probably do it for me, but I always try to avoid custom work for ease of replacement alone. Still, I agree. This is simple enough I could probably still get it done for a lot less. Honestly, I strongly prefer kayaks to SUPs but just thought I would mention them too. Inflatables just don't do it for me in general on the performance and durability fronts.
 

Trailwerx

Member
After years of building oddball things from scratch I've come to realize it's almost always much cheaper and easier in the long run to just buy something if it's available on the market. You might consider something like this for the pivoting mechanism and go from there with the boat rack part. I have one of these and it's very sturdy and works really well. I have racks for mountain bikes and for a Rokon trail bike. It's available in different lengths (you'd probably want the large for your rig) and you can specify the pivot on either side of the truck. https://rakattach.com/
 

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