What's wrong with the factory racks on Minivans?
 

Isn't there an inexpensice way to carry a kayak or two on the factory
roofrack of a Minivan? Are they strong enough?

Thanks in advance.

What's wrong with the factory racks on Minivans?
 

"Doug Jose" wrote in message
. ..
Isn't there an inexpensice way to carry a kayak or two on the factory
roofrack of a Minivan? Are they strong enough?

Thanks in advance.



Some are decent, some are pure junk, none are as good as Thule or Yakima.
And bear in mind that any aftermarket kit that attaches to the original bars
is only as good as what it is mounted to.

What's wrong with the factory racks on Minivans?
 

If you opt to use the existing factory racks there area couple of
things you can do to help offset the limitations.

A lot of factory racks really are little more than flimsy
ornamentation, at least as far as cartopping a boat.

For starters do not tie off to the rack alone. If something fails at
highway speed it is likely to be the rack, so having the boat tied only
to the rack is nearly useless. At the very least tie off the bow and
stern to the vehicle. Ideally even the bellylines across the hull would
be tied off to the vehicle as well, but that sometimes involves straps
through the car or S-hooks marring the paint job on the quarterpanels.

If the crossbars are particularly flimsy/flexible, especially if the
weight of a boat tends to bow them downward it'll help to stiffen
them up by stuffing a piece of foam between the rack crossbar and the
roof (those foam gunwale blocks that are sometimes used carrying canoes
on car roofs may work, or just a chunk of minicel carved to shape).

If the factory rack crossbars are so narrow that the gunwales of a
canoe nearly span the crossbar width I'd recommend rigging up some
kind of gunwale chalks; something on the outside edges of the crossbar
to help prevent the canoe from slipping off sideways. It'll also help
if you use two bow and two stern lines, so that these lines go in a V
from the stems of the boat down and out to the edges of the vehicle
bumper or tow rings or whatever you can find to tie off to (again,
having some sturdy S-hooks available may be handy).

What's wrong with the factory racks on Minivans?
 

"Doug Jose" wrote in message
. ..
Isn't there an inexpensice way to carry a kayak or two on the factory
roofrack of a Minivan? Are they strong enough?

Depends a lot on your tolerance for uncertainty, anxiety, and for risk to
yourself, to your property, and to your fellow man. .

At the high anxiety end you can ignore the roof rack entirely and use tarp
straps for belly bands over boats propped off the bodywork with foam blocks
or your sneakers. Then stop after every side-gust to retrieve equipment or
boats or to fill out accident forms.

At the low-anxiety-but-not-all-that-expensive end is a Thule or Yakima rack
with cradles or gunnel chocks and well designed tie downs.

I've tried both, and I prefer the latter. With the former, I cringe in
embarrassment at the memory (along with the other stupidities of youth.)
With the latter, I've driven tens of thousands of miles with no more
attention than plucking the tiedowns as part of the routine walkaround.

Take your choice,
Fred Klingener

What's wrong with the factory racks on Minivans?
 

A lot of good ideas below from McCrea.

Since the crossbars on my roof rack were not as wide as the canoe, I
made some 2 inch by 4 inch crossbars that extended out a few extra
inches, carpeted them to protect roof rack and canoe.

I tie the canoe down to the rails with the heavy NRS straps, and then
run a bow line to a couple of webbing loops that are secured to the
fender bolts (Running the bow line all the way to the bumper would be
too far forward, and would tend to wear out the paint on the hood,
bumper, etc.).

I stopped by a store whose only business is roof racks, and asked them
if they had a commercial roof rack to hold two canoes, and they said
that they had nothing that would work on my car.

Richard


wrote:
If you opt to use the existing factory racks there area couple of
things you can do to help offset the limitations.

A lot of factory racks really are little more than flimsy
ornamentation, at least as far as cartopping a boat.

For starters do not tie off to the rack alone. If something fails at
highway speed it is likely to be the rack, so having the boat tied only
to the rack is nearly useless. At the very least tie off the bow and
stern to the vehicle. Ideally even the bellylines across the hull would
be tied off to the vehicle as well, but that sometimes involves straps
through the car or S-hooks marring the paint job on the quarterpanels.

If the crossbars are particularly flimsy/flexible, especially if the
weight of a boat tends to bow them downward it'll help to stiffen
them up by stuffing a piece of foam between the rack crossbar and the
roof (those foam gunwale blocks that are sometimes used carrying canoes
on car roofs may work, or just a chunk of minicel carved to shape).

If the factory rack crossbars are so narrow that the gunwales of a
canoe nearly span the crossbar width I'd recommend rigging up some
kind of gunwale chalks; something on the outside edges of the crossbar
to help prevent the canoe from slipping off sideways. It'll also help
if you use two bow and two stern lines, so that these lines go in a V
from the stems of the boat down and out to the edges of the vehicle
bumper or tow rings or whatever you can find to tie off to (again,
having some sturdy S-hooks available may be handy).



--
http://www.fergusonsculpture.com
Sculptures in copper and other metals

What's wrong with the factory racks on Minivans?
 

On 5-Apr-2006, Richard Ferguson wrote:

(Running the bow line all the way to the bumper would be
too far forward, and would tend to wear out the paint on the hood,
bumper, etc.).

My Honda is in its fourteenth year and I've carried various boats (canoes, WW
and sea kayaks) on the roof countless times all over eastern Canada and the
US. I tie the bow and stern lines to steel tie-down bits under the bumpers. I
have never had any damage to the paint. I use polyester line purchased at a
marine shop.

Either some folks are leaving their lines way too slack, use abrasive rope or
have cars painted with kindergarden paints.

YMMV as always.

Mike

What's wrong with the factory racks on Minivans?
 

On 5-Apr-2006, wrote:

If the crossbars are particularly flimsy/flexible, especially if the
weight of a boat tends to bow them downward it'll help to stiffen
them up by stuffing a piece of foam between the rack crossbar and the
roof (those foam gunwale blocks that are sometimes used carrying canoes
on car roofs may work, or just a chunk of minicel carved to shape).

I'd rather take a 2x4 or 2x6 pair and make crossbars that sit right on the roof.
Stand the wood on edge and cut the underside to match the profile of the roof.
Cover with carpet or closed-cell foam to protect. Use U-bolts to attach the
two-bys to the existing crossbars close to where they attach to the fore-and-aft
rails. Downward load will be carried by the wood, uplift will transfer without bending
the crossbar.

The top and sides of the two-bys can be drilled/modified/whatever to take all sorts
of saddles, stops, tiedowns and anything your little heart desires.

Mike

What's wrong with the factory racks on Minivans?
 

Michael Daly wrote:

I tie the bow and stern lines to steel tie-down bits under the bumpers. I
have never had any damage to the paint.

Jeeze, all our our cars, past and present, have had the paint on the
front edge of the hood marred from ropes. And the seats are/were dirty
from shuttling wet paddlers and river dogs. And they have little dings
all over from following shuttle convoys on dirt roads. And they smelled
like funky neoprene and polypro.

I just didn't care. Still don't. I'm a paddler, they are paddler's
vehicles. It's a car, a truck, a van - not gramdms'a living room
furniture.

I do have a good laugh when someone new is concerned about getting in
one of my vehicles after a trip, saying "Well, I'm a little wet, should
I set on a towel or some thing".

Get in.

What's wrong with the factory racks on Minivans?
 

Thanks to all for your help replies to my post.

Doug

"Michael Daly" wrote in message
...

On 5-Apr-2006, wrote:

If the crossbars are particularly flimsy/flexible, especially if the
weight of a boat tends to bow them downward it'll help to stiffen
them up by stuffing a piece of foam between the rack crossbar and the
roof (those foam gunwale blocks that are sometimes used carrying canoes
on car roofs may work, or just a chunk of minicel carved to shape).

I'd rather take a 2x4 or 2x6 pair and make crossbars that sit right on the
roof.
Stand the wood on edge and cut the underside to match the profile of the
roof.
Cover with carpet or closed-cell foam to protect. Use U-bolts to attach
the
two-bys to the existing crossbars close to where they attach to the
fore-and-aft
rails. Downward load will be carried by the wood, uplift will transfer
without bending
the crossbar.

The top and sides of the two-bys can be drilled/modified/whatever to take
all sorts
of saddles, stops, tiedowns and anything your little heart desires.

Mike

What's wrong with the factory racks on Minivans?
 

On 5-Apr-2006, wrote:

I just didn't care. Still don't.

If I cared, do you think I'd be driving a 14 yr old car? I've been promising
myself to fix up some paint chips and dings for a few years now. As long
as the rustproofing holds out, I can't get too concerned.

It is a tad embarassing if I take someone "special" for a drive and
they get a face full of pine needles or other forest stuff blown out of the
car's air vents. But then I remember the famous photo of Bill Mason's
early '70s Toyota with a gazzillion canoes on a rack, driving where most
folks would be afraid to take their SUV and remember what cars are really for
(Photo in Path of the Paddle - or was it Song of the Paddle?).

I still don't understand why other peoples' cars and trucks seem so sensitive
to roof racks, tie downs and stuff. Maybe paying for that paint protection coating
option was worth it?

Mike

What's wrong with the factory racks on Minivans?
 

Michael Daly wrote:
On 5-Apr-2006, wrote:

I just didn't care. Still don't.

If I cared, do you think I'd be driving a 14 yr old car? I've been promising
myself to fix up some paint chips and dings for a few years now. As long
as the rustproofing holds out, I can't get too concerned.

It is a tad embarassing if I take someone "special" for a drive and
they get a face full of pine needles or other forest stuff blown out of the
car's air vents. But then I remember the famous photo of Bill Mason's
early '70s Toyota with a gazzillion canoes on a rack, driving where most
folks would be afraid to take their SUV and remember what cars are really for
(Photo in Path of the Paddle - or was it Song of the Paddle?).

I still don't understand why other peoples' cars and trucks seem so sensitive
to roof racks, tie downs and stuff. Maybe paying for that paint protection coating
option was worth it?

Mike

I bought my Jeep in 99 online. At 2000 miles it made its first
trip into the woods. The scratches I picked up still show.
At 10,000, a tree leaped out at me on the edge of an old
abandoned rail road bed I was following and tore off the cheap
plastic wheel well fairing. I hung it the garage. Every nick and
ding I put there. Great reminders of some interesting travels.
Now at 120 Kilo miles, I wonder if I will be able to keep it alive for
another 100 K.

Vehicles are like boats - the interesting ones have a lot of
scuffs on them. The shiny ones might look nice, but they
don't go anywhere.

I ported my Yakima howler bars over to the Jeep from a Dodge
Van. I just love those rain gutter mounts. Once clamped in place,
you can reef on the racks so hard you can lift the tires off the
ground. Only problem is the Jeep is lower than the van was.
I never had to duck under the 84 inche bars on the van. On
the Jeep, I do, but I don't always remember in time.


Blakely
---
Blakely LaCroix
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
r.b.p. clique member # 86.

"The best adventure is yet to come"

What's wrong with the factory racks on Minivans?
 

Railtramp wrote:
Michael Daly wrote:
On 5-Apr-2006, wrote:

I just didn't care. Still don't.

If I cared, do you think I'd be driving a 14 yr old car? I've been promising
myself to fix up some paint chips and dings for a few years now. As long
as the rustproofing holds out, I can't get too concerned.

It is a tad embarassing if I take someone "special" for a drive and
they get a face full of pine needles or other forest stuff blown out of the
car's air vents. But then I remember the famous photo of Bill Mason's
early '70s Toyota with a gazzillion canoes on a rack, driving where most
folks would be afraid to take their SUV and remember what cars are really for
(Photo in Path of the Paddle - or was it Song of the Paddle?).

I still don't understand why other peoples' cars and trucks seem so sensitive
to roof racks, tie downs and stuff. Maybe paying for that paint protection coating
option was worth it?

Mike

I bought my Jeep in 99 online. At 2000 miles it made its first
trip into the woods. The scratches I picked up still show.
At 10,000, a tree leaped out at me on the edge of an old
abandoned rail road bed I was following and tore off the cheap
plastic wheel well fairing. I hung it the garage. Every nick and
ding I put there. Great reminders of some interesting travels.
Now at 120 Kilo miles, I wonder if I will be able to keep it alive for
another 100 K.


Same here.

My once spotless CR-V has huge scratches running the entire length of
the vehicle on both sides from driving in the woods as well as
scratches on the roof from hauling kayaks. The interior is a different
story, I keep it clean and neat (as much as possible).

I bought my vehicle to use in the woods and haul gear, not to look
pretty parked out in front of Target.

Here's a Jeep that was pampered all its life and look what happened to
it. ;)
It was the only time it was ever off the pavement.

http://tinypic.com/view/?pic=t6qhom