Do You Canoe? Post your rack pix & how you're haulin it.

[Killroy Was Here]

Posts with pictures & info about canoe specific racks for the Gladiator seem to be scattered all over different threads.
So thought it would be good to have one thread dedicated to showing the different set ups, and list the parts you all are using to get your canoe safely to your favorite paddling spot.

I'll start it off with some pix from last week's annual remote canoe camping trip to the wild & wooly parts of the UP of Michigan.

Going to figure out a better solution for the bow strap anchor points that will get the straps completely off the paint of the hood.
This set up did cause some abrasion, but luckily I already had 3M paint protection film on the leading edge of the hood & it did it's job well in keeping the paint from being damaged or rubbed through on this 1,000+ mile round trip.

Roof Rack: Single Yakima 66" Round Crossbar w/1A Raingutter Mount Towers
Hitch Rack: Spring Creek Mfg. Double Hitch Rack w/telescoping loading bars
Bow Strap Anchor Points: Spring Creek Mfg. Quick Hood/Trunk Loops
Straps: Yakima Rubber Covered Buckle Straps for the canoe hull, & NRS Loop End Straps for the bow & stabilizing straps of the hitch rack.

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[Zswickliffe]

Posts with pictures & info about canoe specific racks for the Gladiator seem to be scattered all over different threads.
So thought it would be good to have one thread dedicated to showing the different set ups, and list the parts you all are using to get your canoe safely to your favorite paddling spot.

I'll start it off with some pix from last week's annual remote canoe camping trip to the wild & wooly parts of the UP of Michigan.

Going to figure out a better solution for the bow strap anchor points that will get the straps completely off the paint of the hood.
This set up did cause some abrasion, but luckily I already had 3M paint protection film on the leading edge of the hood & it did it's job well in keeping the paint from being damaged or rubbed through on this 1,000+ mile round trip.

Roof Rack: Single Yakima 66" Round Crossbar w/1A Raingutter Mount Towers
Hitch Rack: Spring Creek Mfg. Double Hitch Rack w/telescoping loading bars
Bow Strap Anchor Points: Spring Creek Mfg. Quick Hood/Trunk Loops
Straps: Yakima Rubber Covered Buckle Straps for the canoe hull, & NRS Loop End Straps for the bow & stabilizing straps of the hitch rack.

Reviving from the dead - what's the length of your canoe? And what ended up being your bow line solution? I was hoping one of the taller front bumper hoops would bring the line high enough to avoid the paint.

 

[Killroy Was Here]

Reviving from the dead - what's the length of your canoe? And what ended up being your bow line solution? I was hoping one of the taller front bumper hoops would bring the line high enough to avoid the paint.

Was beginning to think that I was the only one on the forum that hauled a canoe with their Gladiator.

The canoe is my Brother-in-Law's 17 ft. Souris River Quetico.
https://www.sourisriver.com/quetico-17

Liked the idea of having anchor points located at the hood front corners, but didn't want to tie the straps to the latch handles. They are just plastic, and the side pressure of the straps could fatigue & break them. The other issue with this was with the high crown radius at the sides of the Mojave hood, the straps would still be rubbing on the paint.

Wanted anchor points that were removable when not in use, provide plenty of clearance for the strap to eliminate paint damage, and didn't require drilling any mounting holes in the truck.
Don't ask for much, do I ?

Decided to get crafty, and rounded up some 304 stainless steel rod, tubing, clevis pins, & 16ga. sheet stock, then broke out the MIG welder & the stainless wire.
When finished sprayed it all with mat black epoxy paint.
This is what I came up with.

The result locates the base of the new anchor point under the latch bail tab on the hood.

When the anchor loop is not in use & removed, unless you are looking for it, you can't see that any modification has been made to the truck.

When the anchor loop is installed into the receiver tubes on the base, it is held in place by stainless "E" clips at the bottom.

It's close, but when the hood is latched there is plenty of clearance between the end of the loop & the latch base on the fender.

The anchor loop was made tall enough so that the bow strap has plenty of clearance to the crown radius of the hood surface.

Overall it came out well, & it's all stainless steel, so don't have to worry about rust.

 

[BtrLtThnNvr]

Creative! Looks like a great design to sell to Yakima or market yourself. Bet there are other folks here that would love these but can’t weld stainless! Nice job.

 

[Killroy Was Here]

Creative! Looks like a great design to sell to Yakima or market yourself. Bet there are other folks here that would love these but can’t weld stainless! Nice job.

Thanks. It made a good fabrication project for an afternoon, & kept me off the streets. LOL

Total cost was around $50(shipping included) for the 304 stainless materials from McMaster-Carr.

Judging from the endless pages of replies to this thread over the last couple months since first posting it (sarc), am thinking the market demand for this product would be pretty slim.

There really isn't any magic mojo involved in MIG welding stainless vs. mild steel. Just have to change the shield gas over from Argon/Carbon Dioxide mix to 100% Argon, and use stainless steel MIG wire.
The welding process is the same as for mild steel.

 

[Higher_Ground]

Seriously though these would sell in a catalogue like Quadratech. They look clean and offer a functionality that's missing with every other set up. You need to get on shark tank

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