Carry A Canoe?

[baccala]

I have to pick up a canoe. I have a Pickup truck with a 6ft bed 8ft with the tailgate down. Can I safety carry a 15 ft canoe sticking out the back? I am worried about damage to the canoe.

 

[Ober51]

I would say that as long as you can safely secure it (with some rachet tie downs) and place a bright colored, red?, flag on the back, you should be fine.

 

[Pete]

Slightly OT:
For a more permanent solution, Canoeleg.com (and their competitors) may offer something less unwieldy that the contractor's ladder rack, that I suggested in the "other forum".

 

[brough]

most states only allow 4 feet To be protruding past the rear of a vehicle. A fifteen foot boat would be well over that. Try foam pads on the roof, and strap the canoe on the roof, sticking out the back less than four feet.

 

[CR]

Do you have a hitch receiver on the truck? I bought an "extend-a-truck" hitch from Cabelas for a hundred bucks. It's a "T" shaped bar that extends the truck bed by several feet. I carry my 16 foot canoe all the way up and back to the Delaware from northern NJ all the time. It's great!

 

[kindanewbie77]

Get six eight foot 2x4's cut four of them a little taller than the top of your cab, and two of them the width of your cab. Notch out the bottom of the first four so that they fit snugly in the holes in the top of the bed side rails. Join those four to the two longer pieces with some galvanized carriage bolts and then use the ratchet tie downs to keep it tied down. YOU might also want to put some kind of foam under the front of the boat as it will extend over the cab a little ways and you probably don't want it to scratch the top of the cab. I have used this method for a while and it didn't cost me more than $20 to do...oh yeah if you plan on using this for a while you can make it out of pressure treated wood. Hope this helps.

 

[melodykennel]

I have a Tundra with a topper and just bought my first canoe, a 13 footer.
Is it better to carry it in the bed of the truck or rig up something to put it on the topper???

 

[EJL72281]

I broke a fiberglass canoe hanging out the back and that was because I tied it too tight and hit some bumps and it cracked in the middle. I repaired it but it still sucked. So from experience secure it but dont overkill it!!!

 

[mbwmn]

I have to pick up a canoe. I have a Pickup truck with a 6ft bed 8ft with the tailgate down. Can I safety carry a 15 ft canoe sticking out the back? I am worried about damage to the canoe.

i have many, many miles of driving an 18 footer around the northeast. get a set of 4 foam blocks (WallyMart?) and throw away the straps that come w/ the foam kit. go to EMS or Campmore (Ramsay Outdoor?) and get a strap w/ a cam buckle. strap the canoe to the roof w/ the doors open. move the strap to the furthest rear of the door openings. leave 1 twist in the strap on each side just above the roof. this will prevent the straps from flapping/singing on the highway. use 2 more straps in the front. spread them as far apart as possible. don't forget, 1 twist in each. use 1 strap in the rear, as close to center as possible. 1 twist...
wrap on old towel or tshirt around each strap where it contacts the body or you'll wear the finish off.
recheck frequently in the rain!