Canoe question/opinion

bendingsea said:

Hello
I purchased a new to me 2014 ridgeline sport about a month ago. LOVING IT! ...

My question is how do guys feel about me just throwing it up on my truck and using some straps around the canoe and the roof rack rails and front tie downs and rear tie downs? ...

some opinions would be great! Thanks

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Congrats on your new Sport! I just picked up a used RTL, so not at all surprised that you are loving it - me too! I too am planning to add a roof rack.

The thing about the Thule and Yakima rack accessories, is that they are single-purpose and expensive. There is absolutely nothing wrong with your plan to put the canoe on the rack and secure it with tie-down straps. You can put some of the foam loading pads on the crossbars, which always help to pad and secure the load.

At least, give that a try before spending extra money on the Thule system. You may find it works perfectly fine. And if it doesn't for some unforeseen reason, the Thule system will still be available.

Thanks for the replies!

I'm familiar with the load limit of the roof rack I believe its a 110lbs load capacity. That should be no problem for the canoe. Not sure of its weight but I portage that beast on my own and it doesn't feel that heavy.

I going to agree with ISO. The thule gear are nuts with their pricing. I did some further searching last night and ended up buying some rope locking ratchets. I think I'll be fine without spending over 100 bucks on the thule portage. Im more concerned with protecting the top of the roof rack than I am with the gunwales of the canoe. So I"ll keep an eye out for some foam.

Hopefully Ill post some pics as soon as the weather breaks its a balmy 20 degrees today:| Im itching to get on the river!!!!!

I have seen several pictures here of canoes on top of the Ridge, many have straps or lines securing the bow forward to tie downs attached at the fenders at the edge of the hood. I would expect gust loads could exceed rack limit if long load not secured forward.

Not sure if these are home made brackets of purchased. I have an interest as a couple Hobie Mirage drive kayaks on on my Christmas list.

dannyv said:

Just bought a 2019, I need to be able to haul two full size canoes. Waiting for the dealer to install the rails, looks like Yakima has bars. But I'm wondering if anyone has tried to make a (homemade) tower that bolts right to the studs on the roof. An alternative is to use a single bed mount, with a single Yakima rack on the cab. With the unibody construction, is there much movement between bed and cab? Keep in mind, I want to haul two 17 and 18 foot canoes, and I am not generally inclined to drive slow. just for reference- here is a picture of a typical outing with my (gone-) Taco.

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Read this thread till the end. G1 Roof Rails -- ??
Pretty much exactly what you are talking about except for GenI. I believe the front studs on the GenII are similar. I can remove the front Yakima cross bar when not in use and only have the landing pad remain in place. Backrack portion was A LOT of work but works very well. Have fun!

That post helped a bunch, thanks for sharing. Still have a little head scratching to do, but I have some direction now. The rear rack thing clicked for me too.

I have a discovery 168. VERY heavy canoe! One note - IMO, the square bar Thules make more (wind) noise than the round bar Yakimas.

Those discos are heavy, I've loaded many. But two full size Royalex boats will weigh more then one Disco! Always wondered about those Thule bars. Thinking, the fancy new Yakima ones with the wing shape might be quieter, but damn, I have all the accessories to fit the round bars. Not to mention, I already have round bars too! I'm also liking the idea of the Yak landing pads, I could pop the rack off easy then. Still, most weeks finds me with something on the rack- lumber, canoe, ladder, what ever. Easier to leave it on.

dannyv said:

Those discos are heavy, I've loaded many. But two full size Royalex boats will weigh more then one Disco! Always wondered about those Thule bars. Thinking, the fancy new Yakima ones with the wing shape might be quieter, but damn, I have all the accessories to fit the round bars. Not to mention, I already have round bars too! I'm also liking the idea of the Yak landing pads, I could pop the rack off easy then. Still, most weeks finds me with something on the rack- lumber, canoe, ladder, what ever. Easier to leave it on.

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I use my Ridge for construction work and need the rack for longer items / ladders etc. I leave my front Yakima crossbar + towers under the back seat and it literally takes 30 seconds to mount it on the permanent landing pads.
It is VERY noisy when mounted but I tolerate it when I am using it for work as usually its just a trip from my house / lumberyard to the job site. If I have the rack on for a long trip (I carry a tandrem kayak on it) then I will mount the plastic wind deflector to it and that quiets it down enough for the trip.

GenII's aeros are undoubtedly different than the GenI but I would expect that the Yakima cross bar / landing pads mounted at the front of the cab will be a very noisy rig unless you use the wind deflector and then it will be just mildly noisy. Best solution IMHO is to remove the rack when you are not using it and in the case of the Yakima system this is a toolless and quick process.

Can I ask- are you using round Yak bars? or the Aero style? Or the heavy duty?