Hauling kayaks with a fifth wheel

[Red Wolf]

Well, poop. I totally forgot about my kayaks when we were rushing to buy the new trailer. :-D. We have a pair of 13' yaks. Will have to give this some thought!

[Cajun Po-Boy]

Originally Posted by Arefbee

Back of the trailer makes best sense. No view obstruction.

WELCOME TO RVKAYAKRACKS.COM - THE FIRST VERTICAL RV KAYAK RACK - YAKUPS ? brand WHY LEAVE FUN BEHIND?

Unless...you have the rear picture window and you pull into a site and do the minimum setup before retiring for the night and you find yourself staring at a pair of kayaks on the back of the unit vs staying put on the truck roof rack...just a thought...also, if where you're camping necessitates driving to the launch area, kayaks already loaded on the TV waiting to go...no reloading from the camper to the TV...again, very minor instances but reasons I'd prefer the truck roof rack option

[OldCoot]

Most light weight 5ers are not suited for hanging anything on the rear.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Cajun Po-Boy

Unless...you have the rear picture window and you pull into a site and do the minimum setup before retiring for the night and you find yourself staring at a pair of kayaks on the back of the unit vs staying put on the truck roof rack...just a thought...also, if where you're camping necessitates driving to the launch area, kayaks already loaded on the TV waiting to go...no reloading from the camper to the TV...again, very minor instances but reasons I'd prefer the truck roof rack option

I'm more curious what the maximum length of the kayak is for standing on the back of a fifth wheel. I'm betting it's less than 10'. While I'm far from a snob, I've never met an 8' boat that I liked. 10' is OK for most situations, but I really prefer as 12' boat for its ability to track (go straight). And, for my large tush- I've only found a few 12' boats that float me well and still perform nicely. All 5 of my kayaks are 14' or longer. The only one shorter is for my daughter (who was 6 or 7 when I built it- and even that one is stretched to 11'). To each his own, of course...

[lwalker6446]

We decided on the fifth wheel rack from usrack.com. Thanks for everyone's input.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by lwalker6446

We decided on the fifth wheel rack from usrack.com. Thanks for everyone's input.

Smart move. Hanging anything not factory on the rear bumper regardless of modifications(welding, etc) is courting disaster for you and whomever is behind you.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by lwalker6446

We decided on the fifth wheel rack from usrack.com. Thanks for everyone's input.

Thank you for posting this!!! I knew I saw something like it, but couldn't remember where.

Now that we've booked our Key West trip and are on a waterfront site, I've been told that I need to find a way of taking our kayaks. I also know that while she told me that, she's not going to be enthusiastic about a front hitch/goal post for that many days of driving.

[lwalker6446]

There is no goal post with this. Just suggestion a rope tie down for wind. I did not want a goal post either and we went back and forth. We should know how it works for Memorial Day.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by lwalker6446

There is no goal post with this. Just suggestion a rope tie down for wind. I did not want a goal post either and we went back and forth. We should know how it works for Memorial Day.

Yep. That's called a bow line. Back in my kayaking days, I installed these "Top Ties" onto my car (essentially a loop of webbing, a grommet and used an existing bolt on the car):
https://redrockstore.com/Catalog/ind...ories/top-ties

What I like about this rack is that it isn't a goal post. Their ads show pretty short boats up there- all of mine are 14' or longer. I want to take this idea and see what can be done to extend the deck and then maybe run supports down to the truck frame from there. We'll see...

[Red Wolf]

Originally Posted by lwalker6446

We decided on the fifth wheel rack from usrack.com. Thanks for everyone's input.

Perfect, thanks! I'm currently using their Rail Truck Rack, and it's been terrific. Very sturdy. Looks like I'll have that to sell pretty soon!