BCITORGB wrote:
Cyli says:
================
Look at what holds your doors on. In a car it's two hinges. Stress
compounded with leverage is probably not a good thing for hinges.
Look
at how many square inches of hinge there are. Look at the door.

You may decide to just lean it against the top and lever it that way
until you cobble up or buy a rack extender. Paint scrapes just need
some repair (or, in my case, some ignoring), but a damaged door is
more expensive in time and money and safety.
=====================

I take your point.

Last yesterday PM I was already at a hardware scouting out the
materials to cobble together a rack extender. My initial thoughts are
electrical conduit -- 2 different diameters. I would clamp (using
something like hose clamps) the larger diameter conduit to the front
roof rack crossbeam. Then, the other piece of conduit would slide in
and out as needed; held in place (either in or out) by a cotter pin
or
some such gismo.

My only concerns a will I have enough of the smaller diameter
conduit extended to hold the kayak (approx 24" - but I'll need some
slack as the back of the kayak is pulled around, so let's say 28").
OR
If too much of the smaller conduit is extended, will I still have (a)
"stability" due to the "play" between the two pieces of conduit and
(b)
since I'm no electrician, at what point (weight of kayak) can I
expect
the conduit to bend?

Any thoughts? Improvements? Recommendations?

Cheers,
Wilf

Hey Wilf, You never said that I can find, what sort of roof rack do you
have? Is it a Commercial unit? If so, most of them have some sort of
extender system already made. No point in reinventing the wheel.

The problem with electrical conduit is two fold. First it is steel and
would begin to get nasty fast when exposed to salt water. Secondly, it
is designed to bend, which is great in some projects, but you would not
want it to decide to bend when you have the kayak on it and lifting
other end. It would result in a loud crash, and possibly a broken boat
or twisted back as you try to keep the loud crash from happening. Any
of these scenarios being bad.

I think you will also find that the commercial extender systems do not
extend as far as you are thinking like up to 28". So, though they use
extruded, hardened Aluminum, which is amazingly strong, they only go
out like maybe 15". Go out any further, and they don't bend, they break
right of, and you end up with a similar scenario as above.

So it may be time to go back to the drawing board! You might think in
terms of Titanium, and then you begin talking real money, though with
the aircraft industry up there, you may have a cheaper source!

What you need is a material that can take the extended end loading, you
might think of a fiber glass or Kevlar pole, which could be extended
out beyond the side of vehicle, and supported in the middle folcrum on
the roof gutter independent from the existing rack. This pole could
extend across the top of the vehicle and be attached for loading to the
other end of the rack. Think in terms of a teeter-totter, with one end
held down, and the other end sticking out beyond the side of your car.
The right material can carry a significant load.

The right material could even be just a clear of knots, straight
grained piece of Douglas Fir. A hand selected 2x4, from the local
lumber yard. Trees are subject to end loading by the wind, and are
incredibly strong.

When you are done loading your boat, the system will not fold up all
nice on top like a commercial unit would, but you could pull it and
place inside vehicle, or lash along side the kayak on top.

Now your car begins to look like a kayakers car should look. Check out
the pictures on Wilko's website, and you will get a better idea of
where this is headed. :-)

My only other suggestion also, is that when you lift the front end up
on the extension, that you tie a loop of rope around it to act as a
safety to keep it from slipping off the extension as you lift the back
end. this would be especially important if it is windy, or you are
parked on a slope, which could result in the front end sliding off or
deciding to take a lesson in "flying like a kite!" and you are holding
on to the little end of the kite.

I am sort of like a bull, when it comes to loading stuff as you know
(:-), and I just lift my 70 lb boat onto the top of my Caravan. One
time the wind caught the boat as I had it overhead and did a windvane
number on my back. I am re-thinking my loading procedure even as I
write this all to you. It is amazing how you get smarter each time you
try to break something. TnT