pickup as canoe hauler rack options?

[Will Derness]

I'm on my 4th pickup truck and have long avoided caps. It seemed to me it turned it into a station wagon with even worse access to the cargo. Forget getting a yard of compost dumped into the bed of the truck.

However, the last truck I bought I decided to put a cap on it for several reasons. Since my first truck, caps have come a long way. The clincher for me was winged side windows that allow me to reach anything in the bed. It cost a little extra to have the side windows winged with screen, but is worth it for the bed access it gives you. Another option I selected was to have LED strip lighting above the windows that can be enabled to turn on when you open the side windows.



Getting a Yakima rail and bar setup on the cap was a very inexpensive option with the cap setup. ARE (the cap manufacturer) seemed to price the Yakima cap option at their cost; I couldn't find anything remotely close to the price they asked for. I added a Yakima clamp on bar on the truck cab, starting with the rear seat postion. Despite concerns I've heard about cab and bed twisting that can occur I've never had a problem. Off road use may create this problem, but I do little of this and my setup handles high speed highway travel for extended periods without any issues.

I did find that I needed to put a bar over the front doors to lift the bow of my 15 foot whitewater boat off the truck cab roof. The curve the rocker imparts to the canoe required a bar there to keep it off the truck cab roof. My other canoes fit fine with gunnels on the cap and truck cab rear door position.




With my first cap, I did "pimp" it out so I could sleep in it. One side benefit of that effort was in building a bench for the bed it created a perfect place to store paddles, keeping them away from any harm that might happen to them in tossing heavy gear around in the back.

 

[Guest]

Getting a Yakima rail and bar setup on the cap was a very inexpensive option with the cap setup. ARE (the cap manufacturer) seemed to price the Yakima cap option at their cost; I couldn't find anything remotely close to the price they asked for

Good point about the cost of a rack when included in a cap model, Leer’s rack pricing was similar.

However, the last truck I bought I decided to put a cap on it for several reasons. Since my first truck, caps have come a long way.

And how. My first cap was a 1970’s aluminum topper. Nothing really wrong with it, and even aluminum caps have come a long way.

Leer and ARE each offer a half dozen or more cap styles with different standard features; Wilderness package, Adventure Sports package, etc.

Even the available options are so plentiful as to make a choice bewildering. Among the options I found useful (and some not so much):

Useful options:
Rack system. I couldn’t buy Thule or Yakima racks for that cost, so hell yes.

Front slider window. I have a DIY screen for mine to add more ventilation.

Headliner. Absolutely, that uncovered fiberglass interior is a knuckle rasp.

Side window screens. Not actually an option, those are standard equipment, but still invaluable.

Not so much:
Overhead gear net. For my purposes it would have reduced the headroom under the cap too much.

Overhead storage bins. The Leer vendor recommended not adding that option since the bins would block the top portion of the side window openings.

12V power blocks and interior lighting. YMMV, I was concerned that I would inadvertently drain the battery when camped in some remote location or forget to off some light when leaving for a paddle trip. Flashlight, Luci-light and an extension cord if parked near a 120V outlet for me.

The standard dome light at the back of the cap can be wired so that it is always powered, direct to the battery, or powered off the tail light wiring, so the truck lights need to be on. I chose the latter. See “Ooops, I drained the battery”. It is a wimpy little light (Willie’s LED strips are much brighter) and I rarely use it. I just hang a flashlight near the cap door.

 

[Will Derness]

The standard dome light at the back of the cap can be wired so that it is always powered, direct to the battery, or powered off the tail light wiring, so the truck lights need to be on. I chose the latter. See “Ooops, I drained the battery”. It is a wimpy little light (Willie’s LED strips are much brighter) and I rarely use it. I just hang a flashlight near the cap door.

I also hang a battery powered light near the cap door as I can leave it on and not worry about the truck's battery use. It serves most o my need for light. But it is real nice in the evening when I swing open a wing window looking for something in the back of the bed to have the entire area lit up. I chose the direct to the battery wiring for the cap lighting. It's all LED and the power drain is insignificant even if left on overnight. The old incandescent lighting could easily run your battery down.

 

[Guest]

Willie, can you turn those interior LED light strips off, so that they don’t come on when opening the side windows?

The first trip I took with the tripping Taco I realized that I needed to treat opening (and closing) the cap door the same as a tent.

I had stopped to visit DougD in New Hampshire that summer and we sat around next to the truck drinking beer and shooting the bull. I left the cap door open for much of the day. I was heading to Maine the next morning from Doug’s place and told him I would probably hit the road a 5am or so.

Doug kindly came out with a cup of coffee a bit before 5 to find me already gone. Sometime around 3am the hordes of mosquitoes that had flown into the bed that day became hungry and I awoke as a confined blood meal. The truck bed was intolerable, so I hit the road.

Now when I am in bug country I get in and out quickly, and at night I don’t turn on a light until I am in the bed with the doors shut.

 

[Will Derness]

Will, can you turn those interior LED light strips off, so that they don’t come on when opening the side windows?

T.

Yes they are switched. When delivered the wing side windows were configured to turn on when opened, off when shut. After thinking it over for a while I asked if I could have 3 way switches installed in lieu of 2 position switching. My thinking was if for some reason I needed to keep those windows open for a prolonged period I didn't want the battery drawn down.

ARE told me they were working on this technology and were just finishing up having 3 way switches fabricated. Sent to my dealer and they were installed.

So the windows now have a little 3 position rocker switch that is 1.Off, 2.Opening/Closing on/off, 3.fully on.

My standard practice is to leave it so the lights come on when opened and generally close the window after finishing why I had it opened. At night it really lights up the bed and makes it very easy to find what you are looking for.

 

[Guest]

I am now considering a cap (some local nudging in that direction). That would require a setup like YC's.

Steve, I mocked up heights of cap roof line racks with a couple of sawhorses in the truck bed. That helped me measure and, more importantly, visualize how and where the boats would center and rest. Without a mid-rise cap I would have needed a door mounted cab rack to keep the bow off the roof.

Kim and Willie should know the specifics, but using a cab height cap would bring crossbars on the cap racks closer to level with the bar over the doors, which would be advantageous if you carried two canoes shifted forward in order to haul the trailer.*

If I eventually get a crossbar for the cab roof I will need to make some custom minicel blocks to bring the height of that crossbar closer to the height of the racks on the mid-rise cap. If I have three crossbars I’d like to have the hull in contact with all three. Foam blocks are not my favorite solution, although strapping the blocks to the crossbar so they don’t blow off helps.

As you mentioned the rack rails are longest on a cab height cap, and pretty dang short on a hi-rise version. On my mid-rise cap the crossbars are only 44 inches apart (probably add 6 inches for your longer bed).

*Of course if your intention is to rack a single canoe while hauling the trailer you are golden, just center it on a mid-rise cap and you are good to go without impingment. You could verify that rear overhang with a saw horse mock up. With a 17+ foot boat I have at most 3 ½ feet of overhang.

I always flag that overhang, in part because it is at head grazing level when I walk under the boats. That boat protrusion is also inconvenient if I have to pull into a parking space, leaving 3 feet of canoe out near the driving lane. Backing into a space is equally problematic, especially if the stern of the boat is now over the sidewalk. Not to mention avoiding trees and rudder eating fences.

In that regard being able to shift the canoes (or even a single canoe) forward onto a cab roof crossbar would effectively eliminate most of those rear overhang issues.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

So, we just returned from a group camping trip that sealed the deal on the decision to go with a cap. Seeing the difference in how it worked out for those with & without over several days made the final nudge. Now I just have to decide how tall.

 

[Muskrat]

No Title

Question for the experts. I made some extensions for my ladder rack. 2x6s with 2-1/4" holes to slip over the rack tubing. There's 2 ft that stick off each end. Any chance of these breaking considering the holes are right at the fulcrum points? Maybe I'm just being paranoid. See attached picture.

 

[Boatman53]

The boats look very light but ..... I'm not sure I would be comfortable with that on the highway. You could add some cheek pieces on either side spanning the hole.
Just a thought.
Jim

 

[Muskrat]

Mohawk Viper is 49 lbs. Guideboat is 60. I'll probably add some cheeks. $1 of glue vs a years worth of boat building is cheap insurance.

Edit: although that's the kind of thinking that got the guideboat to 60 lbs instead of 50. Haha

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Question for the experts. I made some extensions for my ladder rack. 2x6s with 2-1/4" holes to slip over the rack tubing. There's 2 ft that stick off each end. Any chance of these breaking considering the holes are right at the fulcrum points? Maybe I'm just being paranoid. See attached picture.

2x6 with 2-1/4 holes? That leaves about 1-1/8" on each side of the holes, by 1-12" thick. I think that's plenty strong for the job - so long as you don't have a knot there.

 

[Guest]

Mohawk Viper is 49 lbs. Guideboat is 60. I'll probably add some cheeks. $1 of glue vs a years worth of boat building is cheap insurance.

Edit: although that's the kind of thinking that got the guideboat to 60 lbs instead of 50. Haha

For the wooden rack extensions on my old construction racks, which were nearly identical to yours, I added (screwed and glued) full length “cheek” pieces on both sides. Those vertical cheek pieces were deeper than the wood crossbar extensions, so they kind of cupped the sides of the construction rack bars.

Those crossbar extensions were on the heavy side, but the rack was rated for something like 1000 lbs and they withstood an occasional three boat pyramid of Grummans.

When I saw the thread come up again I was anticipating seeing Steve’s cap and rack set up come to fruition.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Won't be long. Planned trip to Boise to order the (color matching) cap later this week.

 

[Guest]

Won't be long. Planned trip to Boise to order the (color matching) cap later this week.

Cool. I’ll be interested in which cap and cap “outfitting” (lights, doors, windows, etc) you select. If I could chose only one option on a fiberglass cap it would be the carpeted interior roof and walls.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Mike - right now, ARE is running a special for free roof&wall carpeting option. Of course, I didn't turn that down. I went with the "MX" model - mid rise. Yakima rail & rack system. Don't know if it will be the old round bars or the new oval bars, as they tell me Yakima is in transition on that....neither do I care. But they will be 78" bars. Front window will fold in for exterior cleaning. Battery light on hatch open. Fishing pole hanger. Matching paint (of course). That's about it. Ouch, my wallet hurts! And I have to wait three weeks for delivery.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

No Title

Looks nice, don't you think? I added the third bar over the cab to ensure the prow doesn't bang on the roof. Undecided still about whether to actually tie the bow to that bar. I'm concerned that it might stress all the attachments due to frame flex between bed and cab. Thinking of just wrapping pipe insulation there for padding and tying the front handle to the bar loosely as insurance.

It doesn't come as close to hitting as it looks. I don't think I can put this boat in the middle though, because the slight dome of the cab would be even closer there. Just as well for this trip, because we will be picking up a second canoe on the way.

 

[BWCA66]

Been using this setup all summer, so far seems to work good for either one or two canoes.

 

[Guest]

Looks nice, don't you think? Thinking of just wrapping pipe insulation there for padding and tying the front handle to the bar loosely as insurance.

Look great. I think some pipe insulation would provide enough wiggle room for any cab to bed/cap flex. I looked at the gap between the cab and the truck bed/cap. That is not a very big space, and if it flexed much parts of the truck would be rubbing together.

One added difficulty with a cap is reduced visibility. Not only is there another pillar (on the front of the cap) in the sightline, but the visibility through the windows, plural, can be badly occluded in rain or mist.

I have a tight turn around spot in my driveway, flanked by a couple of trees. When I back the truck up I am looking through the back window of the truck, the front window of the cap and the side or back window of the cap. Three pieces of glass obscured with rain or mist = I can’t see a bloody thing.

The back and side windows of the cap are the most rain or dew covered. I bought a little squeegee and keep it in the truck. It only takes a second to squeegee off the outside of the cap windows and that helps a lot.

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Pipe insulation worked great on our trip to the south fork of the Snake last week. This Tundra doesn't seem to show any flex anyway. I knew visibility would suffer. Just something to live with. Wide angle stick-ons for the side mirrors help, as does the proximity alarm on this model (probably better not rely on that too much).

I think I'll keep using that third bar on the cab even with canoes with flatter shear. I can't run bow lines forward to hood loops with this setup, but that bar can serve as forward anchor point. Those Q-towers and clips are more robust than I thought. BTW, the tracks and bases on the ARE shell are very strong as well - way better system than what is on my Ford Explorer.

 

[Guest]

Wide angle stick-ons for the side mirrors help

I did the same with my capped Taco mirrors. No matter how I adjusted them I still had blind spots on the side.

I do miss the giant mirrors on my ’84 Hi-lux. And the side vent windows. I would pay option money for side vent windows in a modern truck.

I think I'll keep using that third bar on the cab even with canoes with flatter shear. I can't run bow lines forward to hood loops with this setup, but that bar can serve as forward anchor point.

Can’t hurt. Belt and suspenders, and maybe multi-boat hauling options.

Without the trailer proximity is there rack space to position three solo canoes, one well forward up the middle and two outboard and overhung in the back? I am considering that additional cab crossbar to help with day trip shuttles.

Those Q-towers and clips are more robust than I thought. BTW, the tracks and bases on the ARE shell are very strong as well - way better system than what is on my Ford Explorer.

I binged a guardrail on black ice with our CR-V, with the same repurposed rack system I have on the Taco cap.

I slid down a curve and binged it hard with the front bumper, and then with the back bumper when the car rebounded on the ice. With two heavy boats on Thule crossbars and Tracker II feet. The racks and towers were fine.