Posted on 10/09/2017 6:13:11 PM PDT by Chickensoup
I bought the Jeep Sahara Unlimited Altitude Wrangler that we discussed last spring. I love it and I smile all the time that I drive it. Yes I am a Pavement Princess.
Great vehicle.
Now I have a conundrum.
I want to buy and transport a kayak. I have wanted one of my own for years, and heck, it is my birthday this week.
I smile when I kayak.
I went out and looked at them and I can get a 10 foot 38 lb injection molded cute kayak at a decent price to paddle around the lakes and streams in my area.
Problem. It is too long for my vehicle so I cannot stuff it inside. I cannot remove the spare to have it hang out the back, for that cannot happen. It is too heavy to remove, and it looks cute back there.
I am way too short to put the kayak on the detachable roof. It will never get up there. That is a fact.
I have a trailer but transporting the kayak in the big trailer that my son uses to transport big things like snowmobiles, lawn tractors etc. seems like overkill...and I cannot back up with a trailer. It is encoded in my female DNA to be unable to back up the trailer.
I have been looking at some of those little trailer-ettes that hang off the trailer hitch. They are little platforms that hang there and they stick out a bit. I am trying to see whether I can somehow strap a kayak to the back of the vehicle standing upright sitting on that hitch platform. Would this be a good idea. I would not be going on highways, just back roads here in the area. Never more that 50 mph.
I don't want to harm the Jeep, the kayak or anyone else.
Your technical advice would be appreciated.
Thank you!
chickensoup
Get a rooftop carrier rack.
Get an inflatable kayak
I hope you have a roof-rack. Otherwise, you will need a roof rack.
As for the muscle problem, that was difficult for my wife too, which is why she keeps me around.
An alternative, unusual for a kayak, would be a mini-boat trailer, but that too has its drawbacks (hooking up, license plate, makes backing up difficult, etc).
I hope you have a roof-rack. Otherwise, you will need a roof rack.
As for the muscle problem, that was difficult for my wife too, which is why she keeps me around.
An alternative, unusual for a kayak, would be a mini-boat trailer, but that too has its drawbacks (hooking up, license plate, makes backing up difficult, etc).
Er, hit send too soon - you can get a rooftop carrier rack of many different designs - some will also allow for a ladder to be mounted so shorter people can access the rack.
"I'm too short...Fact..."
"Cannot back up a trailer..."
my advice would be to buy or rent a male to do 1 of the above. Choose carefully. Some models of male are deficient in certain areas -- for example, I am a male, and I cannot back up a trailer either.
Go out and purchase any vehicle other than a Jeep. Then, attach it to the roof of that non-Jeep vehicle with a standard carrier.
Easy peasy.
I am too short. Jeep is too tall.
I want something more durable than that.
Do an image search on “kayak carrier”. Many types available, the ones listed for an RV look like what you want, and they fit in a standard hitch receptacle.
The way to use a roof rack is to avoid trying to lift the whole kayak at one time. You do this by getting the kayak’s bow on to the rack and then pushing the rest up onto the rack. That way you only have to lift a part of the board’s weight at one time. If you have any good sporting goods stores near you, go to one and seek their advice.
There are no men to put the kayak on the roof. I could hire a galley of slaves to carry the kayak to locations for the cost of a good man.
My friend is able to get his 8 footer inside his Suburu Forrester, have you tried to see if you could make it go into the Jeep? Not sure what kind of rear door it has, but lots of people carry 12’ kayaks in pickups and SUVs with the top glass down or open and the kayak sticking up at an angle.
It’s a challenge to get a rotomolded plastic kayak up on a roof rack, but if you go to sites like rackwarehouse.com you will find racks that load from the side, so all you need to do is lift the kayak up to about waist height. Unfortunately they’ll cost more than the boat! It’s not a bad idea to paddle with a friend(s) anyhow and many hands makes for light(er) work. Have fun!
The mini boat trailer probably wont work for I suspect that the backing up part would be disastrous.
I also have a Sahara Unlimited and use the Hullavator from Thule (https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/sport-rack/kayak-roof-racks/thule-hullavator-pro-_-1685448). It allows the kayak cradle to be lowered to the side of the Jeep. It also make putting it on the roof a piece of cake.
Just use a lot of duct tape.
“I cannot back up a trailer either.” LOL
I managed to have to back up work trailers with my 3500 express, no rear or side windows, just mirrors. If I use a pick up, all the windows that allow me to see behind me are confusing.
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