Factory Rack for Canoe?

Hey guys, I've searched the forums and gone round and round over choosing a factory rack or a Yakima to haul a 15' canoe on my '05 DC TRD?
Overall, I like the look of the OEM rack fine, and like the fact that the crossbars fold in when not in use, that I wouldn't have to worry about locks, wind noise or reduced gas milage. It's also about $150 cheaper. However, I've noted some concerns that it might be sturdy enough to crank down a canoe in high winds & highway speeds. My canoe is about 55lbs so I'm more worried about wind resistance/torque than anything else.
FWIW, I do have a bed extender/t-bar that I can run at cab height and will probably use that some of the time, but at other times, I'll be pulling a trailer so the roof racks would have to do the job alone. My cargo area is covered by an Undercover so it rules a cargo rack out of the queston.
Do any of you carry a canoe up top and can you give me opinions on whether the factory rack is up to the task? Thanks.

 

I think it would be fine, but I'm the exact opposite of a mechanic. 55lbs is well below what the factory rack is rated to, I think it's on Toyota's site as 150lbs max, and the aerodynamics of the canoe might work in your favor to boot. I had a 12' kayak up on mine, about 40lbs maybe, hauling ass down the New Jersey Turnpike and could have forgotten it was up there.

 

Do you tie the bow and stern down? You have allot of force trying to lift the canoe off the roof! I use Yakima racks on my tacoma, suburban and land rover and havent lost a boat yet ( knock on wood). I never tie down the bow and stern, just arond the bars.

 

Factory rack with the rear receiver hitch mount bed extender Harbor Freight sells works perfectly! Mount it upright instead of horizontal.
Look at the pics and you'll see both ways these can be used...

$330 Darby Industries 944 Extend-A-Truck

http://www.amazon.com/Extend-A-Truck-944-Truck-Bed-Extender/dp/B00008BKX5

The Harbor freight version is about 1/2 to a 1/3 of that price when you catch it on sale.

 

i dont have any pics, but i took the cheap and sturdy route to carry my canoe. i basically framed up a rack using 2x4s and steel strips for extra bracing at the joints. then just tie everything down with ratchet straps. this setup could drive through a hurricane without even jiggling.

it cost less than $10 (if you have the wood already laying around). and aerodynamically speaking i can hardly tell there is a canoe up there.

see diagram

edit: canoe is a 17' fiberglass wenonah

 

Good report from Bryan, I was looking for some real world confirmation. I already have an extend-a-hitch that I've been pretty happy with, and I will be able to use it at cab height sometimes, but other times I'll also be towing a trailer (motorboat or ATV) and tying up the receiver hitch, so I'd like to know that the factory racks alone are strong enough. I thought I'd seen some post about the factory racks flexing under the tension of canoe straps but maybe I'm imagining things. I know the weight won't be too much for them, but strap tension and wind resistance can be pretty heavy.

 

Cool thread. I am looking at the same scenario also. Except my canoe is an old stillwater "Coleman Scanoe". I think it weighs closer to 70-80 pounds.

On my 93 chevy I had a camper shell and would use the foam blocks and tie down the bow and stern and cross strap. But I just never liked that setup.

I am thinking for the tacaoma, the OEM rack and a hitch post set so that the ass end is higher. Then cross strap at the rack and the tail end. No bow tie down.

 

That's basically my plan Flatlander, I'm just conflicted between the OEM rack (dealer quoted $250+tax) and or Yakima (I'd probably do a full set which gets $$$ with a lot of parts). Hoping I could go without the bow line when I'm spanning to the hitch bar, but at 70mph, seems like a lot of upward draft into the canoe IF the OEM racks are marginal. It would be a real PITA to find the OEMs didn't work and then have to switch.

BTW: I called OSRracksdirect today and was told that the new Yakima RailGrab kit should fit on the factory racks and that they CAN sell them in a HALF PACK at 1/2 the price of the full set even though the option's not listed on the website. Might be an option if there were problems with stability of the OEM racks. Here's the RailGrab kit: http://www.orsracksdirect.com/yakima-railgrab-roof-rack-system.html

 

I only have a 9' sea kayak but use the factory rack no problem. I tie it down to the front and back cross bar and nothing else.

With a 15 footer just make sure the front and back are also secure and you shouldn't have any problems.

 

I only had it tied down to the cross bars, nothing on the front or back. It was also a sit on top syle kayak though, I should add that. So I probably had better aerodynamics than a canoe would but I'd still throw it up there just the same. Also, you can drive a little more conservatively if you get it up there and are concerned. That's not an option for me but I don't mind throwing it out there anyway.

I've seen guys make fishing pole racks out of sch40 pvc that just fit in the bed and strap to the D-rings. It might be an idea if you wanted a little extra support and couldn't use your hitch. We're not talking a ton of added support or anything, but it would be some. The nice part of these pvc racks lift out with one hand when you're done and you can leave them behind the shed or pool. It sounds a lot like the 2x4 idea only not as heavy.

 

flatlander, sounds like you're looking at a setup like this...

 

Yep Moose, I've noted your set-up before. Looks about right, but I think I'd like two cross bars for the added versatility so I could have the option to use the bed extender or not. I have an undercover tonneau that I'd like to leave on but negates the use of the bed.
Doesn't sound like anyone has anything bad to say abou the OEM rack so I'll probably go that route. I can always add a Yak cross bar for about $110 if I'm not comfortable with the job it's doing.

 

Yes very similar. Although my canoe is about 14 foot long and would extend further up past the front of the cab.

But I can see doing it with your setup and having it stick out the back further.

On my previous truck I also ran a rope from the rear bumper up and under the canoe and tied it off around an aluminum cross-member to hopefully keep it from flying forward if I ever had to make an emergency stop. Which should be easy to do with the hitch-post setup.

Is that necessary or overkill?

TIA

 

Same here, undercover also. Will the Yak crossbar add strength or what?

My main worry is the uplifting that might occur. It would seem to me the worst case scenario is it would yank the bolts out of the roof. Or are you thinking the crossbars would fail first? I guess that may mostly depend on where you place your tie down points?

Thanks

 

Here's how I haul my 12 footers..............




Thule Xsporter..........VERY stable on freeway, just not super aerodynamic. No uplifting or any other movement whatsoever. Even have long cable locks to go thru scupper holes locking them to the racks and locking racks to d rings in the bed.

 

I should have added that the kayak I have on top is 13 feet long. So it's close the 14 foot canoe. Had to go this route because I wanted to leave the tonneau on (I carry the gear in rubbermaids and just lock the straps and stuff up in the bed while on the water). The only reason I went the yakima route was because I hadn't looked at the factory roof rack prices and I don't think I knew at the time that I could add it later. Had I known it was cheaper than the yakima, I might have gone the OEM route. I can see your point on questioning the strength on the uplift. Don't have an answer for you. I know the yakima isn't going anywhere. And with the front of the kayak so close to the rack, there's really no need for me to tie down either end (never have). I just zip-tied round pipe insulation from the hardware store over the round rack which keeps the kayak from ever wanted to move sideways.

 

I would go with the bed rack system personally. More versatile, and sturdier. Kayaks would be fine on the OEM racks, but I hate having a doubt when it comes to canoes.

 

Flatlander, I'm actually more concerned with the way the factory racks lock in place after folding into position. If that "lock" were to fail, it could mean a bad day, though I guess if you had the bow tied to the front bumper, you'd be OK, but I'd love to avoid staring at bow lines for a 500 mi. trip. And yes, I think adding a Yakima half rack to the OEM siderails would offer a lot of extra strength.
There's a lot to be said for piece of mind. I never forget the famous last words of the redneck: "It'll ride!"
Agreed something like the XPorter would be ideal, but the whole point for me is to be able to utilize my locking bed. Otherwise, the extend-a-hitch works fine for quick trips to the water.

 

I have an OEM rack just for hauling my Canoe. Got it as a Christmas present. I never got around to installing it yet but this thing seems made really well. Looks to be very solid. I have no doubt that it'll hold my 14 foot canoe just fine. I'll be using it a lot this summer.

 

My kayaks weigh 60lbs each. They weren't very stable for short trips on a factory rack on my car at all, much less freeway for long trips. That's the main reason I didn't fuck around this time with the truck racks. The ones I have will hold 450lbs. That's the kinda safety margin I want on the freeway, especially when my last 1000 mile camping trip was like 40 -50 mph winds every day.