Well, I am no closer to making a decision, but at least I have a better awareness of my options.
I am now considering a cap (some local nudging in that direction). That would require a setup like YC's. Got to look at some of those door clamp rack bases in action yesterday (with bikes on rack). They seem to work, but I think I'd be inclined to check for loosening every time I get in or out.
As long as they were properly installed, at the proscribed distances for the door clamp, that style towers are fine. With the Yakimas on my son’s sedan, and even the four Q&E towers on the van, I marked where the towers attach with a paint pen. That location along the door frame (or rain gutters) is a critical fit component, and if you take them off they need to go back in the right place every time.
Most Yakima and Thule rack components adjust with an allen wrench. Keep one in the glove box or console; if the wrench is handy it is easy enough to check/tighten the fittings at will. Not so much if it is at home.
I have thought about adding a single set of door frame towers and a (shorter) crossbar to the cab roof, mostly for tied down windage restraint on the bows while crossing the plains, but also because I could haul a 3[SUP]rd[/SUP] canoe set forward up the middle on shuttles. The two-canoe overhang past the rear bumper might necessitate that cab roof crossbar when towing a trailer, but even then you would have 2 racks on the cap and one on the cab. Three crossbars; think belt, suspenders and elastic waistband.
Hauling a single canoe, centered on the cap racks, would present less of a jackknifed-the-stern-into-the-trailer issue. Our DIY canoe trailer racked the long tandems up the center and the short boats outboard, where they were not in the way of turning radius. You would have to do a serious jackknife for a single centered canoe to interfere with a trailer.
“Local” nudging towards a cap, eh?
I will add some distant nudging towards a cap. All the world is a compromise, and I am willing to forgo the occasional advantage of an open bed for the luxury of a closed cap. You mentioned that your commuting to work days may soon be coming to an end. Think more
then, and after, than now.
For the couple of times a year I wished I had an open bed I wouldn’t trade a cap outfitted tripping truck. If you enjoy outfitting canoes you’ll love customizing a capped bed for your traveling purposes. Even when towing the Missus portable palace a cap provides a lot of dry, secure and organized storage space. Drop the palace and drive off to paddle with all of the gear already packed in the bed.
And if you are gallivanting off on your own, sans the travel trailer. . . . .
http://www.canoetripping.net/forums...ns/diy/20175-more-work-on-the-tripping-truck
As far as bow clearance over the long double cab roof, a mid-rise cap (about 4” above the cab, + another couple inches for the crossbars and towers) will probably provide enough bow clearance.
A taller hi-rise cap would undoubtedly provide enough height, even for severely recurved stems, as well gobs of storage/headroom under the cap. A mid-rise cap provides 20% more storage space, and a hi-rise another 20% or so. That’s a big waterproof cube waiting to be outfitted and filled.
That clearance height needed is easy enough to mock up and measure for the canoes you intend to tote. Depending on the height and front profile of the travel trailer a hi-rise might actually be more aerodynamic.
Having the crossbars attached only to the bed rails does eliminate any cab-to-bed twist (which I doubt is really an issue in “normal” driving conditions), but, more importantly, it means that the 78 inch bars are not positioned right outside the cab doors to clonk your head when you get out.
Or when the missus gets out, if you catch my married man drift. If she smacks her head on that crossbar getting out she’s gonna be glaring at
you. With two racks on the cap the width of the cab roof crossbar does not need to be head clonking out past the doors wide.
Leer caps can be ordered with a variety of Thule racks. I am partial to the Thule Tracker II system with lockable 78 inch bars. Those racks go on or off in literally seconds, leaving nothing on the cab roof but four small SS posts protruding from the cap tracks.
And yeah, I take those crossbars off and put them in the bed before I launch. I frequent some east coast megalopolis launches of questionable security, and I don’t need to advertise that I’m away on a trip. Or, in less paranoid consideration, I don’t need to leave the racks in place to be salt sprayed or possibly crossbar clipped by a passing vehicle. Just take ‘em off and put them in the bed under the cap. No worries.
Racks that are easy to install and remove are high on my design feature criteria. A.R.E may have something similarly to the Tracker II’s in a Yakima product.
BTW, Leer has discount “coupons” for various options and such (A.R.E may as well):
http://www.leer.com/special-offers
I opted for a cap model that came with rails for the Thule racks incorporated (I already had Thule stuff to repurpose) and used the discount for a free headliner. That raw glass cap material on the inside is tough on the knuckles when strapping down gear in the bed or stretching in the morning.
If you already have Yakima accessories, cross bars or gunwale stops or cradles, go with an A.R.E. cap.
How’s that for a cap nudge?
Truck in question is a Toyota Tundra double cab with 6.5' bed.
I am a wee bit jealous, that is a helluva nice truck. I trust you will keep us informed as you make your decisions. Informed and documented.
Steve, listen to that local nudging. Get a cap.
