Rooftop tents and canoes?

[mike h]

I've been considering a rooftop tent, but I usually travel with a boat, either a lightweight f-glass canoe or 2 heavier kayaks. Has anyone figured out any solutions to carry both on an SUV style roofline.

A staggered, or elevated roofrack that would not interfere with the tent hinge is one of my possible ideas.

I know the boat would have to come off to open the tent...that is OK. The only 'solution' I know of is a Sportsmobile (very expensive rooftop tent, with 4x4 van attached).

m.

 

[mountainpete]

Mike,

I've been working on this one for a while now. I love carrying a canoe but also want a RTT - even my wife is bugging me to buy one now!

A lot of it comes down to weight and centre of gravity. With the tent and canoe, you can easily have +200 lbs of dynamic weight up quite high. It also means for a very high height for loading the canoe.

But anyways, the concept I have been working on is essentially a custom aluminium exo boat rack. The mount is similar to exo shell lumber racks, but with a tweaked design. I have a guy that will make it for me, but I haven't made the decision yet.

Take a look at TACODOC's rack here: http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=53684&postcount=294

See how he has loops that are just higher then the closed tent? I think that would be ideal for a boat. As long as you have two hull tie downs and bow lines it will be quite solid off-road.

Again, the biggest problem is having all that weight up there. Not to mention the wind resistance on the highway.

Pete

 

[mountainpete]

Just to add - the concept would work with an SUV too. It's just a matter of having the loops added to whatever rack you choose.

Pete

 

[Willman]

Take a look at TACODOC's rack here: http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=53684&postcount=294

Ditto on that one!!! That is a great example of a awesome setup!!!

 

[grahamfitter]

For what its worth...

I carry whitewater kayaks on my Jeep Wrangler with beefy congo cage rack and cross bars. I've come to the conclusion that the only solution is a tent that occupies half the roof, leaving the other half free for boats. As far as I'm aware the only one like that is the Autohome Overcamp - $1299 from Autohome USA.

I haven't seen one in person yet but my girlfriend is keen and we'll probably buy one when we have the cash. My only reservations are:

• The tent is on the small side. That said I'm 5'7, my girlfriend is shorter, and my 6' paddling buddies are happy sleeping two-up in the 6' bed of an old Toyota truck with a cap.
  
• There are two side doors to the tent but one of them will open over the roof and kayaks, so won't be accessible during the night. I've been informed that's my side!
  
• The ladder could be knocked out accidentally by large animals. (Deer, moose, drunk paddlers, etc.) I think the ladder would need to be tied down or to the side of the vehicle to prevent this.
  

If anyone out there has experiences with an Overcamp I'd like to hear about them.

Cheers,
Graham

 

[Dave]

Thule makes a kayak rack that hinges off the rack to a lower position to make it easier to load and unload. It or something similar might be an alternative to completely removing the boats when deploying the RTT. I've never seen it in person, so I can't offer any first hand experience.

http://www.thuleracks.com/thule/product.asp?dept_id=10&sku=897XT

Is a trailer with the RTT an option?

 

[Nullifier]

You could do a narrow overlad tent and then do 2 yak on their sides with a stacker possibly.

I have the same issue but fortunetly when I do my upcoming tent platform I can have it lower then the roof of my pick up which still makes it easy to carry boats. Although I will have to take them off when using the tent. A small PITA for maximum comfot LOL! I'm not worried about the wieght since my Kevlar Morning star canoe is only38#'s

 

[Mike S]

Graham has touched on an important consideration - dynamic weight limitations. If you set that consdieration aside, there are a couple options from AutoHome that can work for you.

1. As Graham noted, an OverCamp tent will only use about 25" of rack space. This is a stout little tent, easily deployed and it has been around for years. It weighs about 110 lbs. packed, and is 51”x 79”x 39 ” when set up. It comes standard witha steel ladder that carries a portion of the weight of tent and occupants when set up, so it is stable and unlikely to be dislodged by a drunken moose.

2. Both the Maggiolina Grand Tour and the Columbus Variant may easily be fitted with a standard Thule, Yakima or similar guter mount roof rack that attaches to the sides of the top shell, and carries a load above the tent. heavier loads should be removed when the tent is opened, but with lighter objects like surfboards of bicycles it is not necessary. These models offer maximum comfort for two or more people, and the tent does not limit the size of loads that can be carried.

The limits of roof top loading are important but, it seems, often ignored. We live in a litigious society, so vehicle and rack manufacturers are conservative in specifying dynamic roof loading limits. For most 'expedition' capable vehicles, the limit is 165 lbs.

If you would like to have an off-line discussion of these subects, give me a call.

Mike S

 

[grahamfitter]

2. Both the Maggiolina Grand Tour and the Columbus Variant may easily be fitted with a standard Thule, Yakima or similar guter mount roof rack that attaches to the sides of the top shell, and carries a load above the tent. heavier loads should be removed when the tent is opened, but with lighter objects like surfboards of bicycles it is not necessary. These models offer maximum comfort for two or more people, and the tent does not limit the size of loads that can be carried.

I'm sure this would work really well for light loads but I would hesitate to carry a couple of kayaks on the top of the roof tent because of how its secured to the bottom of the roof tent.

For the same reason I never put a rack on the pop-up top on my VW Westfalia: The top is held on with a single clasp at the front and two hinges at the back which are mounted with sheet metal screws.

Paranoid maybe. But then again a friend of mine had a couple of lightweight Kevlar V-shaped whitewater racers on a car and the lift ripped off the roof. OK so he wasn't exactly driving 55 but the roof was welded on which is way more than the two halves of a roof tent.

Otherwise I'd prefer this solution - it would be nice to have a larger tent with access on both sides - and the clamshell design looks quicker to pitch and strike than the fold out versions.

Cheers,
Graham

 

[Ursidae69]

I don't have any bright ideas, but I am in the same situation, looking down the road at potentially having a RTT and wondering where to carry my yak. One option would be to go with a flip-pac and a normal thule bars for the yak up top. I hope you guys figure it out before I make a move on a tent.

 

[LJRockstar]

This may sound stupid cause I don't know the first thing about boats, but couldn't you just use those foam blocks I always see people with? Just lay the blocks on top of the folded tent, Boat on top of the blocks and a strap from the boat to each bumper. My Overland the top and bottom when folded are heavy plywood I don't see any reason why that wouldn't work. I was considering a small FREE canoe and that is how I was gonna do it on my M416. Than I realized... I hate paddling! LOL I'm a big land lubber

 

[Mike S]

I'm sure this would work really well for light loads but I would hesitate to carry a couple of kayaks on the top of the roof tent because of how its secured to the bottom of the roof tent.

For the same reason I never put a rack on the pop-up top on my VW Westfalia: The top is held on with a single clasp at the front and two hinges at the back which are mounted with sheet metal screws.

Paranoid maybe. But then again a friend of mine had a couple of lightweight Kevlar V-shaped whitewater racers on a car and the lift ripped off the roof. OK so he wasn't exactly driving 55 but the roof was welded on which is way more than the two halves of a roof tent.

Otherwise I'd prefer this solution - it would be nice to have a larger tent with access on both sides - and the clamshell design looks quicker to pitch and strike than the fold out versions.

Cheers,
Graham

Graham

I have had an 18" cedar strip canoe for over 25 years, and traveled all over with it on a number of vehicles - from a Buick Regal turbo to a Ford F250 to a number of Landcruisers. Made probably 75 to 80 mph with the boat on the rack. I have never had a problem such as your friend experienced. Never even an indication of a potential problem.

He was either really hauling ****** or had the canoes mounted on the rack upright?

Mike

 

[grahamfitter]

Graham

I have had an 18" cedar strip canoe for over 25 years, and traveled all over with it on a number of vehicles - from a Buick Regal turbo to a Ford F250 to a number of Landcruisers. Made probably 75 to 80 mph with the boat on the rack. I have never had a problem such as your friend experienced. Never even an indication of a potential problem.

He was either really hauling ****** or had the canoes mounted on the rack upright?

Mike

Yes, both!

Cheers,
Graham

 

[805gregg]

How about an inflatable kayak? I just bought a 15' Advancedelements inflatable kayak, that I will take to Baja in 2 weeks. At 56# a little heavy but one way to have a boat with you.

 

[Mike S]

Here is a LR with OverCamp and kayaks. This solution works very well. The OverCamp is also available in Medium - on special order - a bigger version that takes up somewhat more rack space.