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Topic: Loading a kayak on your vehicle from the side with a towel  (Read 5723 times)

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pmmpete

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Missoula, Montana
  • Date Registered: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 1989
For many years I loaded my fishing kayaks on the roof of my SUV by laying a towel over its rear wind deflector, lifting the bow of the kayak onto the towel, sliding the kayak forward onto my padded roof rack, flipping the kayak over onto its gunwales, and strapping it down.  This was quick and easy, and the only gear involved was a $3.50 discount store towel.  I always parked my vehicle on a flat spot before loading my kayaks, so I never had a kayak slide sideways off my wind deflector when loading it.

However, I bought a new SUV, and it has a thin and flexible rear wind deflector with a thin red light on its rear edge.  Because I can’t clean and jerk a 13 foot long kayak, I had to find another way to get my fishing kayaks onto the new vehicle.  I first bought a kayak loader which slid out of the end of one of the bars of my roof rack, but it was too flexible and felt very precarious.  I was looking at various loading devices which mount in a tow hitch, but they cost a lot, and would rock and swing around on the back of my vehicle unless I removed them from the hitch and put them inside the vehicle when traveling, which would be a big hassle.

So I have been loading my kayaks onto the side of my SUV using a towel, which is almost as convenient as loading them on the rear, and there is no risk that the kayak will slide off sideways if my vehicle isn’t parked on a flat spot, because the roof rack keeps the kayak in place.

First, I lay a towel over the side of my vehicle, and put my kayak on the ground next to the vehicle with the stern lined up with the towel.

Then I lift the bow of my kayak onto my shoulder, walk it over to the side of my vehicle, and set it on the towel, with a foot or so of bow above the towel so if the stern slides on the ground, the kayak won’t fall off the vehicle.

Then I pick up the stern of the kayak, slide the kayak forward on the towel, swing the kayak so its bow rests on the front roof rack bar, walk the stern around to the back of my vehicle, and lay the kayak on its bottom on the roof rack.  In order to do this, your roof rack bars need to be far enough apart so you can rotate the kayak between them.  If the bars are too close together, the kayak will be jammed between the bars.

Then I stand on the threshold of one of the rear doors, flip the kayak over onto its gunwales, and strap it down.

I already had a towel.  A problem with using a towel to load a kayak on your vehicle is that if it’s windy, the towel can blow off your vehicle before you can lift your kayak onto it, or the towel can slide out of place as you push your kayak onto your roof rack.  One option is to lay something heavy on the towel to hold it in place such as a length of 2x4.  My vehicle has a couple of holes in the sides of the rails on its roof to hold the factory rack in place.  I invested a couple more bucks in a bungie cord, shortened the ends of its hooks so they can go into the holes, and use it to hold the towel down.  I leave the bungie cord in place for a weekend of kayak fishing.

This is an easy, cheap, and secure way to get a big kayak on top of your vehicle. However, in order to use this method, you need to be able to position your roof rack bars far enough apart so you can turn the kayak at an angle to your car so you can put the bow of the kayak on the front bar, and then lift the stern onto the rear bar.  If the bars are too close together, the kayak will jam between the bars when you try to swing the bow onto the front bar.

Edit September 2020 - I've used this method to get my Revolution on and off the roof of my SUV hundreds of times since I made this post, and the side of the roof of the SUV is completely unmarked. And as was pointed out in "A Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy," the towel is useful for many other things.

Edit November 2022 - I've used this method to get my 12' Pro Angler 360 on and off the roof of my SUV dozens of times since I bought the kayak a year ago.
« Last Edit: February 07, 2023, 09:30:55 AM by pmmpete »


Nobaddays

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • Location: Central Oregon
  • Date Registered: Jul 2014
  • Posts: 409
I have been using the side mounting using a towell when I load the kayak on my compact car.  It has been very quick and easy to solo load the kayak.
Being retired, they pay me when I go fishing, therefore I am kind of a professional fisherman.


bb2fish

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Oregon
  • Date Registered: Feb 2013
  • Posts: 1499
I've had the stern slide out on the ground when the bow is on the towel as shown in your second photo, so I have used a strap (between the stern and the rear tow hook under my car) to keep the stern from moving. I have also used a rubber car mat to keep the stern from sliding. 

Thanks for the photo tutorial.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2017, 08:14:43 AM by bb2fish »


Tinker

  • Sturgeon
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  • Kevin
  • Location: 42.74°N 124.5°W
  • Date Registered: May 2013
  • Posts: 3304
I used a bath rug with a non-slip backing.  I could have saved $12 if I'd seen this first!  Good tip, pete.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2017, 01:01:40 PM by Tinker »
I expected the worst, but it was worse than I expected...


INSAYN

  • ORC_Safety
  • Sturgeon
  • *
  • **RIP...Ron, Ro, AMB, Stephen**
  • Location: Forest Grove, OR
  • Date Registered: Aug 2008
  • Posts: 5411
Pete, get a trailer.  8)
 

"If I was ever stranded on a beach with only hand lotion...You're the guy I'd want with me!"   Polyangler, 2/27/15


Spot

  • Administrator
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  • Cabby Strong!
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  • Date Registered: Jul 2007
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Excellent How-to Pete!

If you have a Yakima rack, you use a "Boat Loader" bar to similar affect.

https://www.yakima.com/boatloader

-Mark-
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.  --Mark Twain

Sponsors and Supporters:
Team Daiwa        Next Adventure       Kokatat Immersion Gear

Tournament Results:
2008 AOTY 1st   2008 ORC 1st  2009 AOTY 1st  2009 NA Sturgeon Derby 1st  2012 Salmon Slayride 3rd  2013 ORC 3rd  2013 NA Sturgeon Derby 2nd  2016 NA Chinook Showdown 3rd  2020 BCS 2nd   2022 BCS 1st


pmmpete

  • Sturgeon
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  • Location: Missoula, Montana
  • Date Registered: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 1989
Excellent How-to Pete!

If you have a Yakima rack, you use a "Boat Loader" bar to similar affect.

https://www.yakima.com/boatloader

-Mark-
I have a Thule Rack, and was not impressed by the Thule Outrigger II kayak/canoe loading bar.

By the way, I have a Thule Outrigger II kayak/canoe loading bar for sale!  It's really excellent!


INSAYN

  • ORC_Safety
  • Sturgeon
  • *
  • **RIP...Ron, Ro, AMB, Stephen**
  • Location: Forest Grove, OR
  • Date Registered: Aug 2008
  • Posts: 5411
Excellent How-to Pete!

If you have a Yakima rack, you use a "Boat Loader" bar to similar affect.

https://www.yakima.com/boatloader

-Mark-

I believe he mentioned that he tried something like that and wasn't comfortable with it.

I suppose another option would be to take a length of 3" wide webbing and sew some heavy loops on each end that you could slip over the bar ends to make a sort of bridge between them.  This would essentially do the same thing as the towel, but wouldn't blow away in the wind, and it could keep your kayak up off the car as well.  Spray on some Plasti-Dip to the area the kayak would contact to add some friction so the kayak won't slide away as easily. 
 

"If I was ever stranded on a beach with only hand lotion...You're the guy I'd want with me!"   Polyangler, 2/27/15


Spot

  • Administrator
  • Sturgeon
  • *****
  • Cabby Strong!
  • Location: Hillsboro
  • Date Registered: Jul 2007
  • Posts: 5930

I have a Thule Rack, and was not impressed by the Thule Outrigger II kayak/canoe loading bar.

By the way, I have a Thule Outrigger II kayak/canoe loading bar for sale!  It's really excellent!

 :laugh:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.  --Mark Twain

Sponsors and Supporters:
Team Daiwa        Next Adventure       Kokatat Immersion Gear

Tournament Results:
2008 AOTY 1st   2008 ORC 1st  2009 AOTY 1st  2009 NA Sturgeon Derby 1st  2012 Salmon Slayride 3rd  2013 ORC 3rd  2013 NA Sturgeon Derby 2nd  2016 NA Chinook Showdown 3rd  2020 BCS 2nd   2022 BCS 1st


Smitty

  • Rockfish
  • ****
  • Location: Tacoma
  • Date Registered: Dec 2016
  • Posts: 114
I use a bath rug as well and a piece of rubber exercise mat for the stern. 
2016 Hobie Outback


gnomodom

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • Location: Seattle, WA
  • Date Registered: Sep 2015
  • Posts: 211
I did this technique a few times with my thresher 140 since it doesn't have good handles like my Revo 13. That is until it creased a dent in my car. I now hulk it over my head, or I'll use my c-tug on the back window upside down as a roller guide to the roof.


Trident 13

  • Salmon
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  • Location: Kent
  • Date Registered: Jul 2016
  • Posts: 791
I tried this and found it works really well getting a trident 13 up and off the roof of a small SUV.  This little video has some good ideas.  I have a trailer but it's nice not having to use it so I can park in car only slots.  Pretty simple, takes a moment to layout some pre-set lines to attached the cart top and bottom as well as using the rope to the back of the kayak as a guide of where to start.


JasonM

  • Lingcod
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  • Location: Snohomish
  • Date Registered: Jun 2017
  • Posts: 282
I use essentially the same process as the "simple SUV trick" video above to load my 12' Third Coast Avalon 120 on top of my 2017 Mazda CX-5 using this cart. I've only had the car a couple months and I'm not willing to risk damaging it loading the kayak from the side.


Paddle Ninja

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  • Location: Pierce county, Wa
  • Date Registered: Nov 2015
  • Posts: 34
I wasn't even considering trying to get my PA on top of my focus hatch when I first bought it but I did the math on how much my trip around the peninsula was going to cost in my pickup and got started on a loading plan. No sense wasting $80 in gas...
I saw the Thule outrigger bar but my roof rack has the aerobars so that wasn't going to work. I liked the idea though so I just figured I'd load it offset perpendicular to the car and walk it over once the bulk of the weight was lifted and over the car. I just cut a regular 2X4 long enough to span the distance between my crossbars, routed and sanded a corner on it, and placed it against the kayak pads. It stays in place perfectly while I load it or unload it and I still managed over 30 mpg with that plastic yacht up there. No chance damaging the car, and as cheap as it was easy.
They might sound ill advised, but when I tell folks of my exploits, it's rare I don't find them smiling


pmmpete

  • Sturgeon
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  • Location: Missoula, Montana
  • Date Registered: Jul 2013
  • Posts: 1989
I have a brand new Thule outrigger bar which I would be willing to sell for a reasonable price.