Anyone ever tried carrying a canoe on a minivan using the rack that comes from the dealer on many as opposed to buying one that goes on and off? Particularly for a long trip like 1k - 2k miles.

I used the dealer rack all the time. I only drive about 300 miles to get there but I wouldn't be afraid to drive longer distances with it. Last year I carried two canoes on top with two 2x4 across the dealer rack.

tony

sirbill,
I'm currently looking for a more permanent canoe carrier. I'll let ya know what I find.

Tony,
How did you secure the 2x4's to the roofrack? I've got the ones that run down the side, but not the cross beams from the dealer. I just dint't want to spend $300 on something that would hardly ever get used. Thanks.

Tim

"Not all those who wander are lost."

I have a minority opinion here, but I would NOT consider using the factory rack to carry my $$$$ canoe.

The construction of the standard factory rack is that the cross piece is lightweight sheet metal - perhaps 28 gauge with plastic end caps. If you attach the canoe to that, expect flexing, over 1,000 -2,000 miles expect hundreds of thousands if not millions of flex cycles. I've observed canoes thus attached porposing - oscellating front to back - at highway speeds. Expect the endcaps to eventually break.

The design purpose of the factory rack - I think - was to secure a roof mounted load from sliding frontwards or backwards.

However an inexpensive but solid and workable alternative mounting method would be to use two 2x2x72" pieces secured - and I do mean secured - to the aforementioned sheetmetal crosspieces and further secured to the roof mounted rack components. Securing, in my mind, does not mean bungee cords or duct tape, rather SS hose clamps, firmly locking the wood 2x2 cross pieces in place and to the fixed rack components. Then use flat webbing to secure the canoe to the 2x2s and use rope to secure the bow of the canoe to the front of the van.

Expect 30 postings telling me that I'm nuts and that bungee cords and duct tape will work just fine. Not for me - I spent too many years in the automotive industry with designers - they design to the lightest and cheapest standards possible.



Thule rack on my wife's Barbie SUV.

I have a luggage rack system that I got at a garage sale years ago for $3. Two cross pieces with brackets that are supposed to fit into the rain gutters which none of my current vehicles have. I can fit the bracket into the roof rack channel and I then I bolt it to the roof rack with U bolts. Very sturdy. I carry two canoes from Arkansas to Ely with no worries.

Thanks for the detailed post Beemer01. I had a good roof rack for my old van but totalled it in a remote area of Wyoming a while back and was in so much pain afterwards I just bought the first van I saw so I could get home as there wasn't much of a selection within 200 miles. Wasn't till later I started worrying about the rack. Here's some good advice on buying cars - don't show up getting out of a taxi walking with a cane carrying a suitcase.

Since I still have the crossbars from my old rack maybe there is some way like using the clamps you mention to attach them to the standard rack that came with the van.

You mentioned that you still have the cross bars from your old rack. If they were from a major brand like Yakima of Thule, you can probably get towers to attach them to the side rails of your factory roof rack. I used Yakima Lowriders to attach a set of bars to the side rails of the factory rack on my Suburban. The factory rack has cross bars, but for the reasons Beemer points out, I chose to mount sturdier bars.

Yakima with factory racks

timfaraway,
I drilled four holes in the 2x4 and ran hose clamps around the factory rack and the 2x4. I also drilled eye bolts toward the end of the 2x4s to secure the canoe too.

tony

My cross racks on my chrysler minivan are aluminum. I do a lot of helping out with extension ladders on various church projects, because I have a 30 footer and my neighbor does also. These ladders are heavy, about 80 #s each. I put them on my rack by doing the following: I put a towel wrapped 2x4 about a foot long under the cross bars in the middle of the span. They just fit. Then load the ladders side by side, tie securly. No doubt the cross beam deflects onto the 2x4. Have done this many times, for 100 + mile trips, max, but no problems. The point is as made by Beemer, don't trust the cross bars for weight, they are not made to hold it unsupported. But I have had no trouble with mine, when the span was supported. I will also say mine are pretty thick gauge aluminum.

So in a nutshell, don't trust the cross racks but the front to back racks are ok to secure something a little beefier, like a 2x4?

My old rack was a Thule (round bars) if there is some means of attaching them to the factory rack rails that would be perfect especially since I maybe own a screwdriver and pair of pliers but probably only operated either of them about 3 times my entire life. I'm not exactly a handy man . I'll check into that it would be perfect and I'd be a lot more comfortable than using the standard rack or whatever else I'd do. Failing that I'll see how attaching them directly works out.

Well after looking at Thule's website it does appear something is available to attach my old bars. I'm surprised the car dealership didn't know things like that considering I almost walked off the lot over the rack and would have if I hadn't showed up in a taxi with a suitcase walking with a cane in severe pain after a car wreck and the nearest other van dealer being 100 miles away. Maybe it will actually wind up being simpler to attach than without the factory rails.

Thanks for the tip.

Sirbill,
I went out yesterday and looked at Thule cartop mounts. To get what I need is a bout $210 bucks. Then you have to add $80 for a lock. If you can hold on I have designed a very practical rack that will be as safe as Thule for about $20 bucks. I will post a pic when I have it completed.

My Toyota van has a decent factory rack. IF you tie onto a factory rack, tie the straps to the side rails because they are permanently fixed. I strap it down with 2 camstraps and tie the bow down with a rope. At the first sign of shifting I stop and retighten everything. Usually stays tight after that. For me its about an 800 miles trip to the Northwoods. No problems so far, but the '05 Toyota Sienna does have a very nice factory rack. It's the first thing I look for when shopping for a new car.

Another good thing to do is protect the contact spot on the canoe gunwale where it touches the rack. I had the black finish rubbed off the aluminum gunwale from vibration during the 11 hour ride one time.

Now I take a small piece of closed cell foam and cover it with a shop rag to slide under the contact spot. Works great.

I have a set of 78" round crossbars from Yakima that I put on top of my Subaru Outback. They make great racks. I bought the canoe carrying pieces from Yakima as well. Carry 2 canoes on the gunwales no problem. I trust Yakima and a system designed to carry canoes before I trust some wood and clamps that I put together myself. Use straps too (or good rope), not bungies. Be sure to secure the front and the back of the canoe(s) as well. Have a canoe come off the top of your vehicle once and you learn really quick.

I have carried canoes both ways. 2x2 or 2x4 U clamped to the racks will work fine. I've done the same to my trailer for carrying the canoes. I now have Yakima racks for both my van and truck and love them. More spendy then wood racks but much better and stronger IMHO. To save money instead of buying new, I'd keep checking Craigslist for a used setup. I picked up several sets of lowriders (works to clamp on van, sub racks) for around $50 per set with bars. You can also post wanted adds on Craigslist, I picked up the canoe L gunnel brackets for half the price of new.

canoepaddle

Ok, if you got an old junkie boat and van, use the 2x4's and u-bolts. But when you have a $1000 to $2500 boat on the roof and a 15-hour drive ahead, spend the $200-$300 for a good Yakima or Thule rack. When we bought our minivan, we made sure we choose one that had a roof rack, since it makes putting the canoe rack on/off fast and easy. Plus I am sure my extra wide NRS straps will hold it on in all but the strongest breeze, so we do do add front/rear ropes for long trips, like the BWCA.

I am cheap, but not where roof racks are concerned...

Does anyone worry about a $300 roof rack being left unattended for days at a time in a remote parking lot? Don't worry about locks, if they want it they will remove it from your van one way or another. The nice thing about wood racks is they work great, protect the canoe, and unlikely to be stolen.

Do we worry? Well, yes, I am sure some of us do and in my 25 years of paddling, there have been a few people who have returned to their cars/truck and found their racks removed.

That said, the locks make it very hard to remove the rack if someone wants it and, since many racks/towers/clips are specific to the vehicle, they are not very desirable to the average thief. Just the one who owns the same make/model/year car as you, how likely is that?

Plus, used racks are not worth alot, a $250 rack (new) is probably only worth $75 hot, to the right person.

So, worry not, buy the locks, and enjoy the trip.

When I first bought my THule rack with locks before I got a chance to put it on my van with $1200 canoe on it was stolen. Canoes on top of minivans being a little conspicuous in California the canoe was dumped in the forest where some nice soul found it and turned it in so I got it back. If I had put the rack with my locks and my titanium cables to attach the canoe canoe it might have wound up trashed being removed. Whew. I'd still get locks though not necessarily because of the value of the rack but because of the hassle coming back from canoeing and not having one.

I don't worry about theft of my racks because I take them off and put in my truck during the time I'm canoing. Taking them on and off takes about 2 minutes which is worth my peace of mind. I do have the locks on my racks but I think if someone really wanted them, they could get them off. Easier to just take them off and store in the truck.

Yakima/Thule racks with the gunwale brackets are a great way to carry canoes. The brackets make the canoe very stable, no movement at all, even in the biggest winds.

canoepaddle

I have a Ford Escape on which the factory crossbars are moveable. I push them together to a predetermined spot and lock them down. I then have a square piece of wood (forgot the dimension but just big enough to rise above the crossbars) that I've covered with old carpet. I lock this down between the supports with bungee's around the crossbar. It fits in perfectly so it doesn't touch the roof and is just higher than the metal crossbars. With a Cabela's hitch style canoe support I can load up by myself and really snug the canoe down. On long trips, should the canoe move around some, it's moving on the carpet surface and avoids damage to canoe or vehicle.

Sirbill,

I carry canoes on our Honda Odyssey rack all the time and last year had two 70+ lb. canoes up there.

For one canoe I just have the car top dealies that have the notches in them for a rack like ours.
http://www.rei.com/product/662054

For two canoes, I screwed two sets of two 2x4s together and strapped them to the carrier so they rested on the side parts of the carrier and strapped them to the sides and the cross bars so they weren't going anywhere. The 2x4s stick off the side of the van about one foot on each side - don't cut them too short! Then I strap the canoes to the 2x4s and not to the rack (because it's underneath the canoes at that point. There is about 2" between the canoes so they don't scrape. It's sturdy, safe and the canoes don't move at all. I'd drive 1k miles with this setup.

I can try to find pictures if you'd like?

I just returned from a family trip. I tied 2 Souris River 18.5's to the roof. Based on the previous comments in this thread, here is what I did:
- I bought two 2x4 studs (8 foot long)
- I used long u-bolts to attach the studs to holes at the end of my factory racks.
- I tied the canoes to the 2x4s
- - tied rope to 2x4 and rack bar in middle of van
- - looped rope over top of canoe
- - tied end of the rope to the 2x4
- I tied the front and the back of the canoe to the van

Here are some pictures: