Has anyone mounted a Kayak on the roof of 5r

[tbarb]

We want to carry our 2 man Kayak with us and I want to put it on the roof of the 5th wheel. I don't want it on the tow vehicle. Its my daily driver.
The kayak is 16 foot and will fit along side the rear air conditioner.
Any pictures out there? Anyone done this (of course there is) and want to share your knowledge? (please)

[RobH063]

We had a 2 man Kayak before we bought our 5th wheel. I thought about all sorts of ways to try and mount it to take with us. We couldn't mount it on the back of the camper because it would stick out too far if we mounted it on an angle and if we mounted it upright, it wouldn't clear bridges. We also mount our bikes to the bike rack that is attached to the ladder. We didn't want to mount it on the roof because that meant drilling holes in the roof to mount brackets and the increased possibility of a leak. Kayaks also aren't light so it likely meant rubbing the kayak against the edge of the roof while lowering it and putting it back up on the roof and we thought we might damage the rubber roof at the edge. In the end, we sold the 2 man kayak and used the money we got for it to purchase 2 inflatable single person kayaks. They work great and store in bags that came with them. Easily stored inside the 5th wheel basement or inside the camper itself. Inflating and deflating takes 5 minutes. It solved our problem.

[rp53]

we have inflatables as well, buyer beware you get what you pay for in an inflatable, if you are interested we have had our Aquaglide for going on 3 yeas without a problem.

[RobH063]

rp53 is right. We bought Sea Eagles but Aquaglides are very good as well. Just don't cheap out if you decide on inflatables.

[Schvarak]

Originally Posted by rp53

we have inflatables as well, buyer beware you get what you pay for in an inflatable, if you are interested we have had our Aquaglide for going on 3 yeas without a problem.

I owned a Hobie Mirage Inflatable Tandem Kayak i14T pedaled or paddled! Rudder too!! Great fun kayak! Even the DW had fun kayaking with me. Packs up in a bag. Comes with a hand pump inflator. I bought a inflate/ deflate lighter powered that inflated and deflated so much quicker than the hand pump. Google it [emoji16]

[Schvarak]

Originally Posted by Schvarak

I owned a Hobie Mirage Inflatable Tandem Kayak i14T pedaled or paddled! Rudder too!! Great fun kayak! Even the DW had fun kayaking with me. Packs up in a bag. Comes with a hand pump inflator. I bought a inflate/ deflate lighter powered that inflated and deflated so much quicker than the hand pump. Google it [emoji16]

Here's some pics!

[Schvarak]

Originally Posted by Schvarak

Here's some pics!Attachment 176387Attachment 176388

One more

[ependydad]

I was an avid sea kayaker before kayaking and debated this for quite a while after we got our fifth wheel. The closest mental design I ever came up with was a roller on the back. You’d have to prop the kayak up and then pull it the rest of the way. I always assumed some kind of rope for the bow line.

But, once it’s up there- I don’t know that I’d entirely trust the roof joists to the stress of a rack.

I just didn’t find it feasiable.

The only possible solution is the kayaks on the truck top with a front goalpost mount for support. But you’re still fairly limited on length.

An alternative that I’ve debated are the Oru origami foldable kayakas.

[merrykalia]

We also went the way of Sea Eagle Inflatable kayaks. They are small enough to throw in the back of my Honda Pilot or they get stored in our bedroom closet in the fifth wheel.

They are fun, handy and pretty stable unless there is a lot of wind. We have two, one is a three person, 650 lb weight limit and a two person, 500 lb weight limit. There are 4 of us. They work well and the DDs (14 and 11) can take the smaller one out by themselves and paddle around when we are in a lake setting. Otherwise, it's one parent, one child.

[Gsykora]

I've seen some smaller kayak's mounted upright on the roof ladder but even then, you probably couldn't have anything over 10ft long or it would stick over the top or hang dangerously low below the bumper. We've got inflatables also. I use my Sevylor Fishhunter all the time - love it.

[Joe_GA]

This is what I built to carry my kayaks. This one is a 16 foot long Hobie. Since it is not mounted on the camper I have a way of hauling it to a launch site.




Here's another shot.

[stephndudb]

We've have our Advanced Elements inflatable kayaks for many years. Love them.

[D W]

Probably can be done,... but is it feasible? Don't think so. On the average, that's about 12 feet from the ground to the rooftop. It would be a PITA to load and unload. Once you get it up there, then you have to decide what you're going to tie it off with? Don't know as if I want that tie down pressure on the rubber roof. All the kayaks I have seen out and about are either inflatables, and solid hulls mounted on TV racks.

[FLTBIRD]

We have regular sit-on-top kayaks we carry on the roof of our TV for near-home trips. We also went the way of the Sea-Eagle (465) for long trips. Sea Eagle is pricey for an inflatable, but I'll say that the quality was higher than expected when we got it. It really resolves the issue pretty well.

[millman75]

Couple years ago we camped next to a couple with two kayaks on top of their fiver. We were at one of the Finger Lakes in NY, which are perfect for kayaks. Our neighbors never took them off the top of the fiver (said it was really a hassle taking them on and off especially if they were on one spot for just a few days).

When we first started camping with a fiver, we had a 10 foot hard shell, which obviously didn't fit in the truck box. I snaked it into our fiver and laid it down in the aisle, then covered the ends with old blankets so it wouldn't bang against doors, etc. That was doable, but got old real fast since you had to clean it well before loading.

Like others have mentioned, we solved that problem when going with two Hobie inflatables. I have the 12 foot model with front storage that can hold my camera equipment (if desired), has rudder control and either peddle or paddle, which peddling frees your hands for photography or fishing etc.. DW has the 9 foot which is easier to carry for her. We can transfer them from the fiver basement to the truck if we want to find other lakes around our campsite. I also have a 12 volt powered pump that puts most of the air into the chambers, then I top them off with the supplied manual pump. Your leg muscles are much stronger than your arm muscles and we can go for hours without tiring.

We love our kayaks, and like others have said, "you get what you pay for"!

[tbarb]

Thanks for all the replies. We have decided to take your advice and start looking for an inflatable. We will look at the ones you have suggested and make our choice from those.
Again, thanks for your help and the reality check on the difficulty in loading and unloading off the roof of the 5r.

[Skyliner]

Silly question, it won't fit inside the camper? My 5th wheel has a rear door, a deep slide opposite the door, and a pretty wide and tall sliding window. I'm pretty sure I could fit a 12 foot kayak in my 5th wheel.

If I couldn't, I would probably install an aftermarket or residential rear picture sliding window to allow it to be loaded form the back of my RL (rear living) 5th wheel instead of mounting it on the roof of the fiver or tow vehicle.

With that all said, we have a cheap inflatable kayak that works for us and is stored under the bed but I wish I had a non-inflatable one.