Canoe on the roof racks

[diesel Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close diesel]

Gday Guys

Heading off around the top end for 6 months this year but am keen to get a dinghy for the roof of the 120 prado. I have a tracklander roof rack and we are trying to find a good tinny to go on top. I have a couple of questions and if people could help me out that would be great.

1. How many more kg can i put on top of the roof rack before im over the limit

2. What is a good tinny that will be reasonably comfortable to put up on the roof and be reasonably croc safe.
I have looked at the quintrex 350 explorer but am worried at 75kg it will be too heavy for the two of us to lift up. Im steering towards the savage jabiru 340. Any helpful information would be great.

Have a good one

[tileys Member Find all posts View Profile Close tileys]

Re: Cartopper tinny

I've been considering this recently myself. The tinnies people use as car toppers tend to be broadly speaking:

punts (flat bottomed, stable at rest, not much freeboard for your application !)
'cartopper' boats (ie specifically designed and marketed as such e.g. 340 Quintrex cartopper or Stacer 340 Proline) - (narrow beam, not much freeboard to keep weight down, generally under 60kg)
just common or garden tinnies of all descriptions (can be heavier, longer, deeper and better at handling chop than the ones above).

I would advise you look at the general purpose ones if you can find one that is a weight you can manage and I would also advise you look at models with a fairly flat and uncluttered topside profile e.g. lack of upwardly aligned front grab handles and flatish foredeck - look at a picture of an Ally Craft Explorer to get the idea. In fact - these Explorers are labelled in the Ally Craft brochure as 'car toppers' but they go up to 3.75m and 80kg. Obviously the deeper hull boats need more power to get them onto plane.

With a 'boat loader' system you will certainly find it easier to handle a larger boat but these are pretty expensive.

Check the manual as to the roof and/or roof rails limit but I have read quotes between 90kg and 120kg - I imagine the differing limits quoted reflect the weight limits of certain bars rather than the Prado 120 roof per se.

I'm keen to see the responses and real-world solutions others have.

[Grey Nomad Member Find all posts View Profile Close Grey Nomad]

Re: Cartopper tinny

Gday Guys

Heading off around the top end for 6 months this year but am keen to get a dinghy for the roof of the 120 prado. I have a tracklander roof rack and we are trying to find a good tinny to go on top. I have a couple of questions and if people could help me out that would be great.

1. How many more kg can i put on top of the roof rack before im over the limit

2. What is a good tinny that will be reasonably comfortable to put up on the roof and be reasonably croc safe.
I have looked at the quintrex 350 explorer but am worried at 75kg it will be too heavy for the two of us to lift up. Im steering towards the savage jabiru 340. Any helpful information would be great.

Have a good one

Hi Diesel

I have a Quintrex Nipper 310 that I have carried on the roof of my old Patrol. As well as weight, you need to consider beam as even small tinnys get wide when they are up on the roof. I looked at every brand when I bought mine about 5 years ago and the Quintrex Nipper won hands down. I weighs in at just 52kg and, being a Quintrex, it cuts through chop not bangs over like a semi punt does and believe me, you will encounter chop. It also has the highest freeboard for its size.

Your profile doesn't indicate your location. If you are near Brisbane, I could do you a deal as I am currently selling the BMT (Boat, Motor & Trailer). Motor is a 8hp Evinrude. That's another point - 6 and 8 hp engines are basically the same but go up to a 9.9 and it weighs nearly twice as much as it is really a detuned 15hp. Lastly, a trailer is handy for local use.

Cheers - John

[diesel Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close diesel]

Re: Cartopper tinny

Gday John and Tileys

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I live in broome but will check them out here. I cant workout how to edit my profile to say im in broome. I found the sea jay nomad 350 to be a possible contenter as it weighs less than 70kg and is reasonably deep.
Ill let you know how i go.

Have a good one

[Morwong Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Morwong]

Canoe or tinny on the roof racks

I have just brought my new toy home (Diesel GXL) on which I had two cross bars fitted between the standard rails, which as we all know do not cover the full length of the roof. On my old Pajero I had 3 aftermarket racks fitted, which made carrying my canoe which is nearly 5 metres long, an easy proposition. Now that I look at the short distance between the bars on the new toy, I am a little concerned about how the canoe will go on the roof and remain in place. Has anyone had any experience of carrying long objects on their roof and can pass on any tips? Obviously I will need to ensure that the canoe is properly balanced and fastened down properly

[tileys Member Find all posts View Profile Close tileys]

Re: Canoe on the roof racks

I saw a Prado just this afternoon with no roof rails but aftermarket bars - 3 of them spaced across the roof...couldn't see who they were by. There's a bit of an issue with where the bars sit (supposed not to sit midway along a door e.g.) but I think if you're only tying down your fancy-pants Hobie (my mate's got one) to it then you should be OK weight wise.

[Brett Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Brett]

Re: Canoe on the roof racks

Hey Morwong,

I have carried a canoe on the Prado a few times out the back of Kempsey, on rough dirt roads, fishing the Macleay for Bass. Same setup as yourself, with Rhino roof racks on roof rails. Best thing is to have racks as far forward and as far back on the rails as they will go, and then the canoe balanced. The canoe I carried was a big 2 man job and quite heavy but all went well. I tied the canoe to the roof racks, and also put a rope to the rear towbar (not really doing anything accept stopping it sliding forward if I brake sharply. As I didn't have a bullbar at that stage (do now) I had could not tie a front rope. I would have if I could.

It should be OK. Just check occasionally on trip. If in doubt use 2 straps each bar to secure. I find the carbuckle straps to be better for this, than the ratchet ones.

Cheers and good fishing
Brett

[begs Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close begs]

Re: Canoe on the roof racks

We have two surf skiis that we often carry on trips. We have a Rhino Sportz bars, and due to width restrictions we use the rhino kayak carrier with a Thule Kayak rack (craft sits on its side). This works very well and there's no problems travelling at highway speeds for long periods of time. If you're going to go down the cradle path I would recommend that you get the ones that have sliders on the back set (called Rear Loading - part #561). They allow you to slide the water craft on from the rear which makes loading a breeze (though make sure you have all the sand off the craft as it scratches the sliders).

Cheers,
Ray.

[plucker Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close plucker]

Re: Canoe on the roof racks

Currently we dont need any of that in NQLD as there is enough water in the street to launch it on the footpath :shock: :shock:

However, I have considered this problem and think the only true solution would be for the 3 bar setup, after removing the stock setup. I see Rhino and Rhule both make enough adaptions to fit canoes and most accessories too.

My problem also lies in the fact that the potential new roof rack must also adapt to carry a roof toppa, on separate occasions. This led me to the idea of camper trailers for motors and fuel etc. I haven't worked out which way to jump yet, although finances have meant nothing has happened at all.

One thing I would be concerned about though is tying to the bullbar. While this might work and hold, the bullbar is attached solidly to the chassis, while the wagon bit is attached via rubber mounts which is evident by the jumping bullbar you can see from the drivers seat. The tied rope will bounce and sway and probably end up scratching the bonnet paintwork like what happened on the ol Lux because of the same thing.

[Brett Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Brett]

Re: Canoe on the roof racks

Hi Morwong,

Just to confirm, the canoe I was carrying was quite large. ie If I had tired a rope down to the top rail of a bullbar it would not come anywhere near the paintwork. To support Pluckers concerns, that is why without the bar a front rope was not tired as it would have rubbed the paint work. Also the use of a tensioner (bike inner tube would do) would also assist the front rope. The idea of the front rope is to ensure that the front end does not slide left or right, so is not tired that tightly.........

Bare in mind the canoe probably weighed 45kgs, and the roof racks and rails are designed to carry this load. We have kept this setup as I only do this 3-5 times a year and the existing setup suits our needs all of the other times.

Cheers
Brett

[plucker Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close plucker]

Re: Canoe on the roof racks

Also the use of a tensioner (bike inner tube would do) would also assist the front rope. The idea of the front rope is to ensure that the front end does not slide left or right, so is not tired that tightly.........

Hey that sounds like a great innovation. I didn't even think of that but it is definately something I will consider for the future.

[Mrs Two+Four Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mrs Two+Four]

Re: Canoe on the roof racks



We carry both our kayaks on top of the Prado with the aid of the Rhino Rack canoe holders. The kayaks are designed to sit on top of one another, they're too wide to sit side by side. We tie them down with the Rhino Rack straps.
We also use occy straps through the handles on the kayaks to eyelets that fit onto the sportsbar, this prevents forward and backward sliding.
We're going out on them tomorrow so we'll get a photo when they're on the Prado.

[two+four Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close two+four]

Re: Canoe on the roof racks

Pics as promised





cheers

[tileys Member Find all posts View Profile Close tileys]

Re: Canoe on the roof racks

Thought for a second you had some heavy duty rear bumper on there LOL - then realised it was your letterbox ops:

wrt the thread merge - Not sure the cartopper and canoe threads were addressing the same issue as such...you can always fit a canoe on but some tinnies are too much work.

[Golly Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Golly]

Re: Canoe on the roof racks

Strangely enough Tilleys, so did I.... hahaha must be a Flinders Red sympton - halucinations. :shock: