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Roof rack for boat...?

jpt

Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2022
Member Number
5378
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8
Exploring the idea of not having to take a second vehicle on vacation to be able to tow my toyhauler and my boat. Can't double because my toy hauler is a bumper pull. I'm trying to see if this rack is something that is homemade or possibly available to buy. I've googled hard and can't come up with any definitve answers. After a lot of searching I figured you this is about the best place to find info on some shit like this.

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i would like to see that in a cross wind, like the high way in WA over on the western side that gets crazy wind..
 
Aggie06 said:
I would like to see that being loaded.
Click to expand...
I seen how boats get loaded onto their trailers. I can’t imagine this going very well at all for more than 1-2 times.

Around here they just hook the boat to the camper and pull a double.
 
That looks very homemade.
I'm not against it really but I am not sure the trailer is required.
I might try to build that with the "trailer" integrated to the rails so you back it down and slide it right into the water.
A little boat like that shouldn't be to ass heavy to drop in at steep angle.
 
I've got a 2021 dually and between my boat and the tongue weight I'll still be well within the payload capacity of the truck. I probably wouldn't head across the US with this setup due to winds in the middle states/plains. I am curious as well how this would play out and feel to drive.

I think I'd still want to be able to unload it from the truck, hitich to the truck like normal and launch it that way.

Check this guys setup out....I'm pretty sure in the comments they identify this as a custom build setup.

 
ThePanzerFuhrer said:
I seen how boats get loaded onto their trailers. I can’t imagine this going very well at all for more than 1-2 times.

Around here they just hook the boat to the camper and pull a double.
Click to expand...
Not only would I be towing double behind a bumper pull, but I'd also be over length in every state. IF it was just one violation or the other I'd roll the dice, but both of those combined is too much for me to gamble. A one time deal maybe an hour away so be it, but we'd be going several times a year on 2hr trips and then at least once on a 5-8hr trip.
 
Fuck that noise. 2500#+ on the roof?

Get a welded Valco and a 15HP and the old school Eide boat loader.

That looks horrible.
 
Etyler2 said:
Fuck that noise. 2500#+ on the roof?

Get a welded Valco and a 15HP and the old school Eide boat loader.

That looks horrible.
Click to expand...
There's a trucking/hauling company out of TN that's been hauling brand new boats for some of the manufactures on the roofs of dually's for decades now. Only difference is they lift his off with the boat gantry's at the marinas. Belcher trucking I think it's called. I get it, it looks sketch, but seems reasonable if you're smart about it. Lots of guys put UTV's up on those racks and those weigh more than my boat.
 
I know a guy that did that. He made a platform, he could haul his boat, or 4 wheeler or whatever up there. I think he hauled a willys jeep a few times as well.

It became a massive project. Basically built a frame on the front of his truck to support a winch and pulley system.

He pulled the item up onto the platform he made with the winch. Much like what is pictured.
Then cinched the item to the platform.
Moved the winch from item(boat) to platform and pull the platform up.

Once it was standing up he pinned the legs into place. Left winch line attached.

the stands for the legs went through the flat bed (flat bed instead of a box) to the frame on which he made his own crossmembers. Stuck up from the bed a foot or so and that was the pivot point.

It worked. Wasn't all that hard to operate. He was pulling a camper behind it. This was on an old IDI so he was never moving very fast.
Felt top heavy to drive but you got used to it.
 
Stupid picture (fish eye?) but you get the idea.
Drove 16 hours (850 miles) straight through last Saturday, a non issue.
The scale ticket tells the story.

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1658781264964.png
 
CarterKraft said:
Stupid picture (fish eye?) but you get the idea.
Drove 16 hours (850 miles) straight through last Saturday, a non issue.
The scale ticket tells the story.

1658781232282.png


1658781264964.png
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Nice setup. I've seen those and some other similar setups. I just really felt like I'd seen one for a boat similar to what I'm talking about that a company actually made and wasn't custom made per se. I could very well be wrong. I'm pretty confident in the structural integrity of my fabrication, but not quite confident enough to build something like this so I was hoping to stumble on something. Of course in the end the price may outweigh the benefits of this. Now you've got me thinking if I could modify one of the UTV racks to do what I want. At least there would be a base starting point.
 
Tiha said:
I know a guy that did that. He made a platform, he could haul his boat, or 4 wheeler or whatever up there. I think he hauled a willys jeep a few times as well.

It became a massive project. Basically built a frame on the front of his truck to support a winch and pulley system.

He pulled the item up onto the platform he made with the winch. Much like what is pictured.
Then cinched the item to the platform.
Moved the winch from item(boat) to platform and pull the platform up.

Once it was standing up he pinned the legs into place. Left winch line attached.

the stands for the legs went through the flat bed (flat bed instead of a box) to the frame on which he made his own crossmembers. Stuck up from the bed a foot or so and that was the pivot point.

It worked. Wasn't all that hard to operate. He was pulling a camper behind it. This was on an old IDI so he was never moving very fast.
Felt top heavy to drive but you got used to it.
Click to expand...
Yeah now I've gotten to thinking about modifying one of those UTV racks to work for what I need. It would at least give a base to start from and I've gotta assume a 4 seat Razor weighs similar to what my boat does.
 
jpt said:
Thank you!! that's what i was looking for. I don't know why I couldn't find that when I searched.
Click to expand...
IMO if you can fab and are sort of handy you build a much simpler version of that setup.

Since you know the exact specs of your trailer you could easily build a light weight/simple frame to do this.
I ended up copying a pre-made SXS deck (toyup) for resale in case I didn't like it.
I could have made it much simpler/lighter for my machine.

IMO a simple headache rack frame to sit in the bed. Then a pin on triangle frame with a uni-strut slide rail for the tongue would get you in business.
If you can buy the ramps, they are a pain in the ass to build and the material costs for the aluminum make them almost cost what production ramps cost.
These are what I built, they are $100 more expensive than when I built them....
longramps.com

11' ATV/UTV Ramp Set

Safely load an ATV, UTV or side-by-side into a truck with a 4" lift or higher using these high-quality 11 foot aluminum loading ramps. Made in the USA.
longramps.com longramps.com
 
Looks like all those boat setups are gonna scare the shit out of a 13'6" bridge. I'd bet folding money that pontoon in the video is a permitted load.
 
Taller than the motor coach, not taller than the motor coach?
The owner says it's as tall as the bus, and has been pulled over in CA by DOT and "inspected" and let go.
It looks to me if it was too tall it would be easy to remove the bimini to lower the height but must have not needed to?


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