Newby dumb Q No.1 Canoe and Bike Racks

I've searched the forum and have formed the following assumptions. Has anybody else had the very same research to do and decisions to make?

1. I want to carry a Linder Inkas 465L open canoe: 4.65m long, 0.85m wide, 28kg. I want assisted lift. My only option is a Karitek as my canoe is too big for a Thule Hullavator. True or False.

2. If I want to carry two bikes at the same time as my canoe, I will have to get a ball hitch fitted and use a ball hitch mounted Atera bike rack as VW, Thule or Fiamma tailgate bike racks will carry the bikes too high when also carrying a canoe. True or False.

Any tips or advice would be appreciated.

Don't write off the Hullavator... I can measure the max opening at the weekend on mine if you like. As you can get the roof bars quite far apart on the Cali then the Hullavator won't need to open to the maximum width of the canoe (they'll be closer to the ends). Problem with having the bars far apart is that they won't work with some bike racks but you've already identified that they might be better on the back anyway.

That would be very kind Stuart. This is my canoe

http://linder.se/en/products/canoes/inkas-465-latt

I currently carry it top down on Thule bars on a Volvo V50 estate. We can lift it on to the Volvo, but age is taking it's toll and it's getting harder. There's no chance we can lift it straight on to Cali roof bars, so need the assist. I liked the look of the Hullavator, but discounted it as being for a kayak rather than open Canadian style canoe.

Regards.

I have a Karitek rack. It is very good, albeit a bit commercial looking. I can load my 16' Canadian on my own, unless it's windy when I wouldn't risk it. You are correct in saying that you couldn't carry bikes on the vw rack at the same time as a canoe.

Okay:

1. So I need to measure the distance between the roof bars and width of the canoe at these corresponding points. If less than 80cm then the Thule Hullavator might work. Otherwise it's the Karitek.

2. Just saw the thread on the Thule Racetrack bike carrier. That look an interesting option to avoid any canoe hangover and without the need to fit a ball hitch.


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Does anyone have the best solution for a Canadian canoe on top with the VW bike carrier loaded with bikes ?
With picking are Cali up in a few weeks and would like to carry both on are adventures .
Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

How long is your canoe, do you plan to carry it upwards/downwards and how much slope is there to the decks?

Ours is 4.6m and quite heavy, we couldn't carry it with the VW bike rack as this rack holds the bikes too high.

In the end we went with a Karitek assisted lift canoe rack, we are not getting younger and it's too heavy to lift straight on. We carry it bottom upwards so that it doesn't fill with rain. The decks slope down over the ends of the vehicle and barely miss the wing mirror when loading. If younger and fitter, maybe consider roof bars with a roller.

The bike rack is a 2-bike Thule Raceway which you can position on the tailgate to suit. Care is needed to avoid using the rear wiper. A ball hitch bike rack might have been a better solution, but I don't have a tow bar, so for reasons of cost thought I would give the Thule a go.

In this picture, the bike rack is high to allow the rear wiper to operate and to see the number plate. I am going to mount it lower for convenience when loading bike. I'll also try shifting the canoe further forward on the rack to try and create more space between the canoe and wing mirror. The picture shows my first attempt.




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Thanks Billycasper
My canoe is much the same ,Old Town camper very similar size and I transport it on the roof rack of my T6 works van . I don't have a problem with the weight as is really light.
We already have the vw bike rack but haven't bought the roof rack for are cali ,wasn't sure how the canoe would perform on a cali pop top, I thought it would be a lot of stress on the pop top due to the wind pushing in and under the canoe . How does it perform in your experience?
Is there anyway you think I can make it work carrying my canoe with my VW tailgate bike rack ?
Thanks for your help .

I think I would use my kayaks a lot more with one one of these, but at nearly £500 I just can't bring myself to get one. The bic is brilliant as a casual kayak but a bit big to get on the roof of a van easily. Doable but a pain.

MattBW said:

I think I would use my kayaks a lot more with one one of these, but at nearly £500 I just can't bring myself to get one. The bic is brilliant as a casual kayak but a bit big to get on the roof of a van easily. Doable but a pain.

Click to expand...

On the plus side, the Karitek are industrial so unlikely to wear out and as such do hold their value pretty well.

We just started using a 33kg tandem kayak, Thule roof bars and VW bike rack. No snags so far. We put the roof partially up to load / unload. The boat slides on and off. Also bought a set of canoe wheels. Trying those out Friday. Idea is the back of the boat trails behind the front 'puller'.


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stuarta said:

Don't write off the Hullavator... I can measure the max opening at the weekend on mine if you like. As you can get the roof bars quite far apart on the Cali then the Hullavator won't need to open to the maximum width of the canoe (they'll be closer to the ends). Problem with having the bars far apart is that they won't work with some bike racks but you've already identified that they might be better on the back anyway.

Click to expand...

Hi Stuarta,
I am looking at the Hullavator system but can i just clarify the width of the roof bars you use to get the drop of the Hullavator down the side of the Cali?

Many thanks

Craig

CraigPeaps said:

Hi Stuarta,
I am looking at the Hullavator system but can i just clarify the width of the roof bars you use to get the drop of the Hullavator down the side of the Cali?

Many thanks

Craig

Click to expand...

Hi Craig, my bars are 135cm. I only used it on the passenger side (non-awning side) so offset them slightly that way.

I’m actually selling both bars and Hullavator as I’ve swapped to a Karitek rack for carrying more than one boat. I’m in Scotland but could travel to help with delivery. I’m looking for £350 for the lot.

Regards

Stuart


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stuarta said:

Hi Craig, my bars are 135cm. I only used it on the passenger side (non-awning side) so offset them slightly that way.

I’m actually selling both bars and Hullavator as I’ve swapped to a Karitek rack for carrying more than one boat. I’m in Scotland but could travel to help with delivery. I’m looking for £350 for the lot.

Regards

Stuart


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Click to expand...

Stuart,

Couple of questions please:

Do you have the Thule Pro Bars?
How old is the kit?
Does "the lot" include the bar feet also?
How far could you travel, we are down south (Somerset) but have relatives in Penrith?

Rgds

Craig

There have been posts on here where people have adapted the VW tailgate cycle carrier to hold the bikes with the front wheel removed. This drops the height of the bikes to below roof level. Might still not be enough clearance loading the canoe hull side up though.
I can carry a kayak + bikes on a tailgate rack (Atera Linea). But I load the boat hull side down to get the clearance needed. Posted a video a while ago on the system I use to load the boat but not sure it would work for a larger canoe.
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/gallery/loading-a-kayak.1578/

CraigPeaps said:

Stuart,

Couple of questions please:

Do you have the Thule Pro Bars?
How old is the kit?
Does "the lot" include the bar feet also?
How far could you travel, we are down south (Somerset) but have relatives in Penrith?

Rgds

Craig

Click to expand...

Craig, I’ve sent a PM. Let me know if it doesn’t come through.


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camper-x said:

We just started using a 33kg tandem kayak, Thule roof bars and VW bike rack. No snags so far. We put the roof partially up to load / unload. The boat slides on and off. Also bought a set of canoe wheels. Trying those out Friday. Idea is the back of the boat trails behind the front 'puller'.


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Click to expand...

Do you pop your roof up with the kayak attached?

Bearreds said:

Thanks Billycasper
My canoe is much the same ,Old Town camper very similar size and I transport it on the roof rack of my T6 works van . I don't have a problem with the weight as is really light.
We already have the vw bike rack but haven't bought the roof rack for are cali ,wasn't sure how the canoe would perform on a cali pop top, I thought it would be a lot of stress on the pop top due to the wind pushing in and under the canoe . How does it perform in your experience?
Is there anyway you think I can make it work carrying my canoe with my VW tailgate bike rack ?
Thanks for your help .

Click to expand...

HI Bearreds - do you pop up your roof with weight on? We can't seem to get an answer on whether this is possible or not. Our dealer advised us we can before we purchased, but now we are getting conflicting advice....! Gail

Gail Willows said:

HI Bearreds - do you pop up your roof with weight on? We can't seem to get an answer on whether this is possible or not. Our dealer advised us we can before we purchased, but now we are getting conflicting advice....! Gail

Click to expand...

Hi Gail
I have not yet tried this as I haven’t yet purchased a roof rack for my canoe , I am very sceptical whether I can put a 16ft Canadian canoe on the roof of a Cali !!!