strapping canoe to car?

[slick2526]

I have a 92 lumina and will be using to haul my canoe. Im curious how many people use a car to haul their canoe and what mounting/ strap kit did u purchase or what kit would you suggest on purchasing?

thanks

[mrfish1991]

our canoes have always been hauled with our tahoe. but i suggest getting a set of foam pads that have a channel cut in them for the gunnels. as for straps i would not know because the set up for our truck is very different than a car

[Finns]

We use foam pipe insulation for the gunnel protection and rachet tie downs for the ends. But that again is on a bigger vehicle.

[goblueM]

I have a real small car (toyota tercel) and you can't go wrong with foam pads or foam pipe insulation and rachet straps. The straps are key to easily and safely fastening the boat on, its super quick and way tighter than if you just use rope

[BoxMN]

I am not regular cartop user, but I did find this when using a 17' canoe on my fullsize truck with topper - the foam pads are nice and work, but I had one slip out for some reason, but the canoe support stopped it from blowing away. The wind resistence will make it move "back" once you get going fast.

so make sure you have it strapped from front good and tight (so it won't slide back) but also from the back (so it won't slide forward. Then you also want it with one over top right over the pads (as it will want to "lift") and I would also recommend over the rear pads as well. So 4 straps all together.

I used ratchet straps, and they worked great. But need to make sure the metal isn't banging into and ruining your paint finish.

Also, I had a really annoying high pitched "whining" of the wind going over the straps. Drove me nuts till 5 miles from home, when I thought a bit and then "twisted" the strap - just turned it so it was twisted and sort of "round" - that totally cleared up the harmonics or whatever was causing that horrible whine! Wish I thought of it 150 miles sooner, ha!

You can also put a strap through doors (have doors open put strap through, then close doors. If the ratchet part is inside car, you can tighten it right inside. But strap might bonk your head if you are tall, but nice easy way to do it, and it will be secure for sure.

Good luck!

[Duffman]

Yep, rachet strap hummin will drive you nuts in a short amount of time.

Another option for tying down on the front of a vehicle can be found at Joes Red Rock Store HSOforum. They make things so much easier.

http://redrockstore.com/Catalog/index.php?crn=97&rn=773&action=show_detail

[bisonmn]

http://books.google.com/books?id=GiH84xi...esult#PPA116,M1

[bisonmn]

I did something like this to the front and back of my van. I used some 10ga wire twisted it together to form a loop and then tied it around the front and back in each corner. In the back I attacked to the outside corners of my trailer hitch. In the front I attached to something I don't recall but to the subframe or k-frame in some fashion. Now I don't need to crawl under my vehicle to mount. I have a big blue wire loop sticking out just under the bumper in each corner.

Yep, rachet strap hummin will drive you nuts in a short amount of time.

Another option for tying down on the front of a vehicle can be found at Joes Red Rock Store HSOforum. They make things so much easier.

http://redrockstore.com/Catalog/index.php?crn=97&rn=773&action=show_detail

[slick2526]

are 4 straps really necessary? just seems like that would be over doing it but then again i have never hauled a canoe like this.

[slick2526]

was looking at thoose top ties and they seem pretty neat. can you mount thoose in your trunk also or not?

[Powerstroke]

I've hauled a canoe on every size vehicle that they will fit on from an 85 Toyota Corolla to a F350 crewcab w/ topper.

Definitely get a car topper kit from a place like red rock store or check out the local sporting goods stores. The cheap kits with foam blocks and cinch straps are more than adequate.

I would use 2 straps over the top to cinch it down, and at least one rope on the front of the boat, but one front and back is just more insurance.

I have had my boat come loose only once in its 13 years with me and it was my fault for not securing it properly. I hit a bump only 1 block form my house. NO damage done, but it could've been much worse.

I agree that you should check out the links on the Red ROck store HSOforum. Joe has some great info and how to's about tying off canoes and being a great canoeist in general.

[mrfish1991]

thats how we do it when we have two canoes....