Either put a ladder on the top, with foam protecting the hull, or get a folding kayak! Tord *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Derek asked: >>>>I recently purchased a used Type III ambulance for commercial purposes. The type III ambulance has a square box (it is *NOT* a van with a raised roof). I have been pondering how I might transport a Kayak with this vehicle.<<<<<<< Get a Yakima or Thule rack with the longest cross bars (78" in Yakima). Mount them to the top of the box using artificial rain gutters (or one of the other types of mountings available). Add and extension bar to one or both sides of the rear rack. To load the kayak pull out the extension bar and lift the stern end of the kayak up on to it with the bow on the ground. Move to the bow and pick it up and hold it over your head. Step up on the footstep for the cab and lift the front of the kayak on to the cradle of the front rack. If your kayak is long enough it will stick out past the back end of the box a bit. You could step up on the rear of the box step and lift the stern over into the cradle on the stern rack. If you didn't have a step back there you could make a pole with a V or cradle on the end to use to lift the stern up and over. If your kayak doesn't overhang the stern over the back of the box you could probably step up on the rear tire and get hold of the rack bar with one hand and use the other hand to lift the kayak over and on to the rear cradle. This is much like what I do to get a kayak up on my Winnebago Rialta with racks that are about 8 feet above the ground. Actually, with my set up there is enough overhang of a sea kayak over the front bar that (if the kayaks deck is strong enough and the kayak light enough) I can just pull down on the bow to teeter the stern up and swing it over on to the rear cradle. It is harder to use that teeter totter technique to get the back end of the kayak out of the rear cradle and over to the extension bar to unload because I have to pull the bow down and push the bow away from me at the same time to move it that direction. I stand on the rear tire to tie the kayak to the rear bar. I can tie to the front bar standing on the cab step. I carry the kayaks upside down as they seem to be more streamlined that way on a high rig and it is easier to reach the end toggles or U-bolts to tie the bow and stern to the vehicle as well. I have a loop of heavy nylon cord tied around the engine hood hinges. That location is right below the kayaks bow to fasten a bow line to. The more vertical the bow and stern lines the better. A trapezoid is better than a parallelogram for the bow and stern lines (to form the verticals of) as then at least one line is being put under tension if the kayak tries to shift. With a parallelogram a shift could loosen both lines. Vertical lines are best because any movement puts both lines under tension. If the stern toggle is too high to reach then tie the stern line to it before you lift it up to the extension bar in the first place. I'm 61 and I can get a 65+ pound heavy duty 17 foot kayak up there by myself without need for ladders or stepstools this way. My kayaks have a heavy stainless steel U-bolt at the ends so I'm not likely to damage the gelcoat when the bow is on the pavement (up-side down remember) but if that might be a problem you could probably make a special high friction ground pad or padded bow sock to use while loading and unloading the kayak. Matt Broze www.marinerkayaks.com *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Derek wrote: >>>>Matt Broze posted a message about how he does it on an RV. I'd have to do something similar.... though his process does sound a little bit precarious.<<<<< It doesn't seem precarious at all to me, but you could probably make it easier to tie down by carrying a step stool. Of course if you didn't have firm ground the step stool itself could become precarious. The Yakima Hullivator isn't out yet I don't think, but the Thule version should get things low enough from an 8' rack that you could load it about like you might load to the roof of a car. They cost about $400 and only work on one side so you would need two of them for two kayaks. Ouch! Bar extenders are many times less costly. But if you don't already have some cradles to use you wouldn't need them using the Thule system with its built in cradles (so that cuts the cost of that unit some). The Yakima extension has a sand dollar sized stop on the end of the extension bar (to keep the kayak from sliding off). I do need to lift the stern of the kayak over my head with both hands to set it on the extension bar. Lifting the bow over my head is easy with one hand as it teeters up over the rear bar and is set on the front cradles. Being upside down on the flat rear deck with the rear bar just behind the cockpit means the bow has no tendency to want to tip to the side when loading the bow. Matt Broze www.marinerkayaks.com *************************************************************************** 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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