A while back Ralph Diaz mentioned racks he used on rental cars. Wyoming River Raiders (riverraiders.com) has something that looks like those noodles with straps running through them. The straps go under the roof/through the windows. $50 I got something call the HandiRack (Part #DO10462) from Target for $60. It's a pair of inflatable racks (tough laminated nylon) that "fits all cars" and "conforms to ISO standard." Award-winning design! I quote: Fitted and removed in minutes No screws needed Folds away into compact carrying bag Stores in glove box or boot [trunk] when not in use Multi purpose (max load 80 KG - 2.2 LBS = 1 KG) Load floats on cushion of air fully complies with ISO/DIS11154-1E Each "bar" has a double chamber with straps that fit along the wedge between the chambers. The photos show boxes, luggage, surfboards, ladders, and skis. Yaks should be fine - No, I haven't tried it out yet! The cordura bag is roughly the size of half (cut horizontally) a brief case and it comes with a small hand pump. Made in China by Delcor Industries Group Limited in Hong Kong but I assume they have a US address also. Something for you web surfers to look for. sandy kramer miami *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I like to add some comments to what Sandy Kramer discusses below and also to followup on comments by Joan Spinner and Dave Gutierrez. 1. Those inflatable pads from Target would worry me based strictly on the question of reliabliity of anything inflatable under lots of pressure. While the payload seems OK at 80 kg, that is just laying downt the weight on the inflatable pad. You really are going to add more pressure in tying the boat down on to the inflatable pad. Regardless, if the the inflatable pad fails, you are in trouble. 2. The foam pads found in all sorts of forms from all sorts of sources work well. I have used them. The problems I see (really more nuisances and pains in the butt) are: a) The straps need to come through the car doors. In several cars that I have used the setup on, the straps come through in awkward places. In some instances the strap has been at forehead level, risking a scalping in a sudden stop let alone a traffic accident. b) You must triangulate bow and stern tieoffs to your bumpers. I once tried using just a single bow to front bumper and single stern to rear bumper tiedown and the boat shifted incredibly quickly in a very short distance. No matter how much I pulled down these front and rear bumper tiedowns the boat continued to shift. Only when I went back to the triangle on front and back (i.e. a teepee strap arrangement with two points of contact on each bumper) did the shifting stop. The accessory tiedowns sold by companies like Voyaguer specifically state you need to triangulate in a very specific manner described in instructions coming with the package. Another point regarding the pads, there is that great variety I mentioned. Opt for the wider ones if you can. Campmor has them as well as the shorter variety. This gives you more roof surface hold to minimize slipping. Also, the slot underneath varies in size among manufacturers. Some such foam pads have slots that work perfectly with ordinary roofracks such as Thules and factory installed roof racks. So hunt around if you have several places around you to source them from. Also, an alternate are the garden kneeling pads sold in places like Home Depot and Brookstone. I think I mentioned the reader who uses these quite successfully in carrying two K-Lights at freeway speeds in California. He uses them on his Lexus and, with that kind of car, is certainly more conscious of scratches than one would be in an old clunker. The kneeling pads have lots of grip on the roof's surface, keep the boat(s) closer to the roof for less wind lift forces underneath and can be used for sitting if you want. 3. Still consider getting some regular steel bar racks that can go from car to car when I rent. I have the Barrecrafters as I mentioned. They go on incredibly easy with no tools and the standard hook that comes with them fits quite a few cars. I purchased a few extra styles of hooks that cover most of the rest of models around. The bars are not all that portable (i.e. you couldn't bring them with you in air travel like you could the foam blocks for use on rental cars). But if you are renting from near home they do work well and are quite a bit more secure than the foam blocks or the inflatable ones, I would imagine. I also have the foam blocks when I run into a car that my Barrecraft hooks won't fit and provide a fallback to the steel bar rack. ralph diaz Gypsykayak_at_aol.com wrote: > > A while back Ralph Diaz mentioned racks he used on rental cars. > > Wyoming River Raiders (riverraiders.com) has something that looks like those > noodles with straps running through them. The straps go under the > roof/through the windows. $50 > > I got something call the HandiRack (Part #DO10462) from Target for $60. > It's a pair of inflatable racks (tough laminated nylon) that "fits all cars" > and "conforms to ISO standard." Award-winning design! -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
ralph diaz wrote: > > I like to add some comments to what Sandy Kramer discusses below and > also to followup on comments by Joan Spinner and Dave Gutierrez. > > 1. Those inflatable pads from Target would worry me based strictly on > the question of reliabliity of anything inflatable under lots of > pressure. While the payload seems OK at 80 kg, that is just laying > downt the weight on the inflatable pad. You really are going to add > more pressure in tying the boat down on to the inflatable pad. > Regardless, if the the inflatable pad fails, you are in trouble. Agreed the pads can puncture. How likely is that? Even if made of cheap vinyl, they probably can withstand the service pressure -- see below for my rationale. Assuming surface area of contact to the pads measures 3 inches by 10 inches on each pad (conservative estimates, I think), that makes a total of 60 sq inches to distribute the added load over. If you are really a buff brute, you might double the load by pulling extremely hard on the straps to make the kayak press harder on the pads. Suppose your kayak is a Doug Lloyd tank (80 lbs), and you double the load to 160 lbs. Now the miracle of division: 160 lbs / 60 sq inches = 2.7 lbs/sq inch That is a very small pressure increase (compare to atmospheric pressure of 14.7 lbs/sq inch and an ordinary tire pressure of 30-35 lbs/sq inch), not "lots of pressure." The actual pressure increase will be smaller yet, I suspect, probably close to less than a half of what I have calculated, because a typical single kayak weighs only 50-60 lbs, and pulling hard on the straps probably only increases the loading another 30-40 lbs, max. I would not worry about the pads failing unless someone purposely punctures them. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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