Extend-A-Truck

The law and rules are so obscure that I don't know it the average police would know it by heart anyways.  I think I'll just continue to use it as is but add a flag.

I think I'm about 1.5ft beyond the limit though.  My back hurts just thinking about getting the Yak to the top of the truck....

If you have the rear rack installed in the upright position, and have a front installed near the front of your canopy, there is a cool way to get a kayak up there without much effort.
Just pick up the front or rear of the kayak up over your head and rest the upside down kayak on the edge so that the tie down loop catches somewhere inside the kayak.  This keeps it from getting away from you when you let go and head for the other end.  Once you have a firm grip on the other end of the kayak, just lift it up and maneuver the kayak towards the front rack.  Once it's up there, get your tie downs out and slap it down.  Done!

My experience has been that in case like this, it won't be an issue until someone smacks ya. In most rear end cases the person behind you will be ticketed for not keeping safe distance. But if your technically illegal, then if the can show you are one inch over, all the sudden the responsibility will be yours. I don't have experience in this particular case but I've seen similar thing enough time to make a semi educated guess that it would be the outcome.

So its just another cost benefit analysis. Not saying don't do it, but the price of the accident would exponentially increase and you just need to take that into account. If course it's a bummer since you can't control what the driver behind you does.

In anchorage recently the chief of police at an intersection was checking his messages the car ahead starts to move, he assumes its going to keep going, the car stops and bam!  So it can happen to anyone. He didn't get a ticket at first but after public outcry, I think something was done...not sure.


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I'm going to have to do some trial runs with it.... 

I'm kinda worried about dragging the nose or tail across the ground while i'm lifting the other end up or down.

I just ordered some wheels for it so this might help out.

You won't need to drag it while you lift.  Just place the kayak offset to the vehicle a few feet before you lift it.   It just takes one or two attempts and you'll know where to start from.  It really makes it go faster.  If you still feel you need to drag it, lay down your floor mat first so it has something less abrasive to slide on.

since I usually go out by myself, I don't really have the energy at the end of a long day to put it back up on top. 

It's a little known mystery of the mechanical universe that mass of a kayak increases in direct proportion to the time and distanced paddled. 

The boyz down here have developed yak hauling to a low art. The bed extender school is very concerned with trailing idjuts and place their emphasis on being seen, especially at night.





I tend to take a lower profile approach and I just hang my red led headlamp over the stern (which doubles as my wireless 360 degree white light when I put it on top of my head) for night-ops and the redfish wrench as my day marker. Like Alton Brown, I detest single use devices.



I too was concerned with the distance my boat hung off the back of the truck, but conversations with a state trooper and a sheriff (who also happen to be kayak fishermen) said that as long as its marked with a flag and its secured properly, your covered. Your Oregon Millage May Vary. kardinal_84 makes a very good point though; it won't matter until some idjut hits you.

I'm kinda worried about dragging the nose or tail across the ground while i'm lifting the other end up or down.

Your boat is a lot tougher than your think. Its made of the same material as garbage cans* and can put up with quite a bit of abuse.
You don't want to go dragging it for miles behind the truck**, but just standing it up on end to put it in or out of the truck is not going to harm it.  I'm pretty sure I don't have to say "don't stand it on the rudder", but loading it with the rudder inside the truck is a good idea***

BTW: Harbor Fright makes a great bed extender for about $30 bucks on sale. I slipped a couple of sections of 4" pvc pipe over the "T" and tied a loop of rope through them. That works great as rollers and you can set the boat in between the rollers if you don't want it to slip.






*Ok, garbage cans are usually cross-linked plastic that makes them slightly more UV resistant. But they're also more brittle and can't be welded easily.

** DAMHIK

*** Ibid

 

Holy Crap!! I thought that you had a still shot from Area 51, or the sequel to Close Encounters of a Third Kind