FRONT END CANOE TIE DOWN SUGGESTIONS

I have a 2017 TRD Sport access cab that I occasionally carry a 17' Grumman aluminum canoe on (75 lbs.). I have a hitch mounted rear support that works great for the back end. Since I don't have a roof rack I used a couple of jumbo pool noodles split down the middle and snapped over the gunnels to ride on the roof. This also works great for the time being. The trouble is that I want to avoid my front tie downs from actually rubbing on the front edge of my hood and bumper to avoid wear. I was thinking of a taller bull bar as that might be high enough and extended out enough to tie off to while avoiding contact with the hood and bumper. Does anyone have any other examples or ideas of how I might accomplish this? I have no intentions of buying a whole new front bumper setup. My serious off-roading days are long past so my truck is basically a Michigan commuter that I use for my hunting, fishing, and light camping duties as well. Budget is a definite concern. I'm not looking for any smartass answers just some realistic suggestions. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

That canoe must have belonged to member @BassAckwards

You didn't heist it did you?

I mean it does look like the registration numbers have been altered.

 

Nice spot.. i was wondering what happened to this ol thing

 

You could get some ditch light brackets and use those as a tie off point

 

Are you using hood loops on the front?

 

I had this same concern when I started carrying our canoe, I noticed the straps wearing the clear coat a bit and I bought this stuff to protect my paint. I’ll be honest I never got around to putting it on so I can’t vouch for it yet, and my truck has scuffs and scratches everywhere now so I’m less concerned, plus we don’t get out canoeing as often as we used to. But in any case it may or may not be a good solution for you.

$12 3M Clear Paint Protection Bulk Film Roll 6-by-25"es

https://www.amazon.com/Clear-Paint-...argid=aud-799711277694:pla-569046109371&psc=1

 

Dude. There is no good way of getting a canoe on a taco without front roof racks or a front hitch with a custom rack to hold the front.

You're going to either
A)u fup your roof paint or
B) lose your canoe

If you can afford a 35000$ truck you can get a 400$ roof rack. Or a cheap walmart rack that clamps down.

 

I tried this option and maybe I was cranking down too hard on the ratchet straps but they failed pretty quickly, I wasn’t impressed

 

You could get some clear 3m tape though, i did that on my roof for the wind deflector on my rtt and it worked great and didn't damage the paint.

 

Rachet straps? Sounds like you don’t understand what front and rear straps are actually for.

 

I would use hood loops; either bolt-ons or the temp ones.
I use them on our Forester;



With the Tacoma I have it tied down good enough on the Prinsu that I go without a front strap.. I use Malone gunwhale brackets.
In the past I've run one up over the grille, but only because I had the lightbar to attach to;

 

Perhaps you’re right, but since I don’t have a roof rack over the cab, only on the truck cap, that leaves a lot of canoe out front unsupported and I found just regular tie downs without real tension would tend to allow the canoe to move a bit which i didn’t like. Ratchet strap made it solid. And it worked for me.

 

lmao! I've had this canoe and its brother since my parents bought them new in 1974 when I was 11 years old. I keep one at my cabin and one at the house. The tie off points will have to extend far enough out to avoid any contact with the front end. My paint is about as perfect as it could be for a 25K mile truck. I want t keep it that way as long as I can. My 1982 SR5 standard cab 4x4 was a different story. That truck had very little paint left on it after 15 years of deep woods hunting, fishing, and remote camping. I used to just push crap out of my way to get to some pretty remote spots back then. Now I avoid the brush with the truck and drag the canoe through it instead. )

 

I've got a 16ft old-school royalex. Not that heavy by any means, and I wouldn't dare try to put that on a basically bare roof. you can get some cheap bars for the roof so you can get a solid tie down point up top and raise it up a bit higher. Then a simple ratchet rope in front on your stock recovery hook will prevent sway of the canoe. I was worried about rubbing of paint on the front of my truck as well but after several, often several hour trips with ours strapped down there hasn't been any rubbing. I just make sure it's good and tight so it isn't wiggling around on there and have had zero issues...

 

I like the idea of those hood loops. My last two Toyota trucks had full toppers with permanent racks on them for the canoes. Everything else I've had in the last 30 years had full factory roof racks.

 

That ditch light bracket idea could be a good one. Even has the holes for the strap hook.

 

ARB bumper is a pretty good spot to tie to

 

FWIW

 

That's almost exactly the setup I had on my last two Toyotas. The new truck came with the hard tonneau so I'm not looking at a topper at this time. If this new truck weren't so purdy I wouldn't be worried about a few scuffs. lol

 

Used the same setup on my 86, had the scratched sunroof to prove it!