Mel Grindol wrote: > > >From: Dave Kruger <dkruger_at_pacifier.com> > > > >On my Toyota canopy-equipped PU, I mount the forward rack over the center of > >the cab and the rear rack at the rear of the canopy. > > Do you have any problems with flexing between the cab of the truck and the bed putting strains on your kayak? It strikes me that you would be better off with both the front and rear rack at the ends of the canopy/bed shell. That way both mounting points are on the same vehicle structural component. I was concerned about that at first, also. There is flex, probably the reason Yakima does not endorse the arrangement I use. There was less flex when I used this arrangement on a Mazda PU. A canopy manufacturer told me Toyotas were notorious for lots of flex. However, the flexing has never been a problem, even on rough roads. Traveled on a couple very long hauls with yaks up top, which included an aggregate of a couple hundred miles on very rough logging roads. I suspect one of the reasons the flexing seems not to hurt my yaks is that there is a distance of some 8 feet between racks. Note: I use saddles up front and Hully Rollers in the rear. And, I have never seen any wear marks from yak motion side to side or front to back. On the Mazda, I had saddles fore and aft, and, again, never saw any wear marks. My yaks suffered more when a strong outfitter lashed them to racks on a Zodiac, back in '98, and took off on a heavy swell day. Oh, yeah, same trip an 8-inch diameter branch fell onto the nose of one. Gel coat crack, but no structural damage. YMMV. -- 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Apr 18 2001 - 15:17:23 PDT
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