Transporting 15.7' kayak

[Duster_BB]

Looking for advice or tips on how to transport a Jackson Kraken 15 ft. 7 in. kayak without a trailer.

I'm starting to think it's not legally possible to do without a trailer, but here are some details.

PS - I found some info searching these forums, but it is pretty old. I believe it said only 4' of cargo can be hanging out of the back. Wondering if there is new law/regulation. I also wonder if the bed extender "counts" as part of your vehicle, so I could have 4' past the extender??

My truck:

• I have 91" of length with the bed down (7.58 ft)

• I have a 3' bed extender, which would bring the total bed length to 10.58 ft

If I went this route, I'd have 5' of the kayak hanging out the back...

Any help would be appreciated. I'd love to not have to get a trailer.

[Duster_BB]

I had someone recommend a ladder rack, which would make sense.

Anyone else run a yak on top of these? If so, where do you ratchet down?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pickup-Truck ... gn_id=9383

[Neumie]

Anything extending more than 4 feet will need a red flag during the day and red lights at night or adverse weather conditions (Transportation Code Sec. 547.382). Adding a bed extender doesn't "reset" the 4 foot rule as the measurement is made from a permanently attached piece of body (also does not count with the tailgate down, since tailgates are removable).

I haul my Perception Search 15' (it's 15' 2") in the back of my F150 Crew Cab w/ Short bed (about 5' 6") with a bed extender; so almost 10'. I've never had an issue. I do take a lot of precautions and built a light rig to keep me compliant.

[Duster_BB]

That is wonderful news. I always put red flags on, but didn't put two-and-two together that a red flag bypasses the 4' rule.

[Ron Mc]

I have a full size bed and like Josh, I use bed extender.
I zip-tied magnetic tow lights to the bed extender, and put a bicycle tail light on the back of my kayak. T160



Makes for easy loading and unloading- I back up to my garage and slide my boat onto saw horses.
Also makes it easy to work on rigging - it's been stored this way over 12 years.

[Duster_BB]

So the lights/lamps are only required for night or bad weather?

Regardless, I will get some.

I just need to get the kayak to my house first...

[Ron Mc]

you can get decent tow lights on Amazon for $20-30.



Another good thing to have on your bed extender is a hitch tightener or stabilizer - also cheap, and keeps the bed extender from flopping and bouncing your boat on bumps.

[Duster_BB]

Solid stuff, thanks guys. Ordered magnetic lights on Amazon for cheap and will get a hitch tightener.

[Fishtolive]

Agreed about using the ladder rack is making more sense (unless the kayak is too heavy like Pro Angler). Because sticking out so far from the truck bed will be more difficult for parking at restaurants or public parking.

[Ron Mc]

In 12 years never had a problem parking, from Sinton HEB to Los Comales and MoonDog's - also Van's BBQ - or here, Aransas Pass motel hauling 4 boats.





This, however, is a booger to load 70+-lb boats The Yakima rollers help a bit at one end (Yakima saddles at the other), but you still have to get the weight up there.



Stevo has a system to single-hand his Revo or Outback up there that begins with the big trolley wheels and a 6' step ladder, staging the boat in 3 lift points with a final walk up the Yakima rollers.
A second person makes this more feasible.
My 39-lb Kestrel (hand-laid kevlar) is no chore.

[Neumie]

I've never had issues parking and what not when hauling my Search 15. Most places you can find a spot to back in over grass or whatnot or pull through two spots (be courteous and park away from everyone). The only other thing is to pay attention during turns, turning too sharply can put your kayak into another car or pole.

[Duster_BB]

I do like the ladder rack, but it might be hard loading & unloading the kayak by myself. It's 85 lbs bare. I'll know once I get the yak tomorrow and get a feel for the weight.

I guess it's still not crystal clear on where the trailer lights need to be. I have seen people put them on the bed extender, and others on the end of kayak like the custom rig posted here.

[Ron Mc]

These are the best photos I have - they're underneath, held up by the magnets but secured with 20" zip ties.
My lights have loops in the magnetic bases that make the zip-tie around the bed extender channel easy.



The extra tow light cord, fold it up and zip-tie it in a stack.
The photo above was really to show my cable locks, which keep boats and bed extender integral with the frame hitch.

[Neumie]

I do like the ladder rack, but it might be hard loading & unloading the kayak by myself. It's 85 lbs bare. I'll know once I get the yak tomorrow and get a feel for the weight.

I guess it's still not crystal clear on where the trailer lights need to be. I have seen people put them on the bed extender, and others on the end of kayak like the custom rig posted here.

I think the law is clear; any projecting load past 4 feet from the body of the vehicle needs to be flagged and/or lighted at its extreme end. Adding lights and reflectors to a bed extender demonstrates a good faith effort to warn other drivers of an extended load but it's not 100% compliant with how the law is written. I will say, before I built my light rig, I had lights on my bed extender like Ron and I never had an issues with LEOs. I would say 99.99999% of LEOs wouldn't even give you a second look as long as you are making a good effort to mark your extended load.

If you want to add a light to back of your kayak just to be cautious I would pick up a cheap red LED light for bicycles from Walmart.

[Ron Mc]

Josh, I've talked with a couple of LEOs about my rig, and they liked it.
The tow lights function like trailer lights, and seem to gain respect on the road.

This is the single-best bike tail-light I've tried for this use, liked it enough to go back for spares.
The stretchy base will secure on your stern lift handle, and the light angle easily adjusted to point back.
https://blueskycycling.com/collections/ ... rear-light
Apparently not very popular with bikes, but Perfect for kayaks.
It has 3 modes, including two blink modes, which I run driving down Broadway during lunch traffic to pick up Lou and his boat.

(I've tried a couple of USB-charge models claimed for the weather, but very pervious to salt. Also lost one of my nice Cygo bike tail-lights, trying to rig it on the kayak.)

On the Sigma Sport Cuberider, I've even replaced the base pivot screw with stainless so I can leave the base on my kayak lift handle when I'm paddling.



The slipstream driving this rig down the highway also smooths out your truck ride - Lou always comments on this - your truck with a keel.

[Neumie]

Josh, I've talked with a couple of LEOs about my rig, and they liked it.
The tow lights function like trailer lights, and seem to gain respect on the road.

I agree, I believe if you are putting forth an effort to show an extending load LEO's aren't going to take a second look at you.

[SWFinatic]

The lights on the bed extender are handy. Having the lights at the end of the kayak like Josh has is best in terms of not only meeting law requirements but staying out of any gray areas if someone runs into the back of you. LEO's might not care whether where the lights are mounted but it may make a difference in an accident.

[Ron Mc]

I seriously doubt that Josh was soliciting that opinion.
I'd be impressed to see a fishing report.

[TexasJim]

All good ideas, I bought a cheap, small round 12 volt clearance light, with an attached angle bracket, and I use a little c-clamp to temporarily attach it to my rudder, which is the aft-most thing hanging off the back of my truck. My bed extender is about 5 feet, and my Viking 13.5 hangs about 4 feet past it. I've taken it to the RGV, and all over the Gulf coast with no problems with John Law. I wired it into a 12 volt power source in my truck bed.

It didn't take me long to get over car-topping my 60 pound kayak onto my truck cap. Going's easy. Loading to go home after a 5-mile paddle is tough. My late fishing buddy always said he thought my kayak had "taken on water" while we were out. Nope. Just age.

TexasJim

[Duster_BB]

I got the kayak home successfully without the law giving me a hard time.

The bed extender method worked great. Thanks.

[Ron Mc]

Another use for the bed extender - it's a great place to wash out and drain the inside of your boat.
Three simple cam straps will keep this metastable balance point.

[Onski326]

Kinda hard to tell by the picture but I have a Tarpon 160 and my old truck (sold last year) had an 8' bed on it. I had a 2"x12" that was 12' long that I put in the bed and then would secure the kayak to it with 2 straps and then secure the kayak to the truck with 2 straps. I got the idea from my days quad racing. We put 2 of those in the bed and would park 2 ATV's on them. The weight from the front ATV and majority of the weight from the back would be in the truck and hold it in place and the back ATV would only stick out a couple feet. Sketchy...yes, cheap...you bet. Now I have a SUV with a luggage roof rack and I just put it up there. Hauls just fine. I do tie off the front now on a couple rings I installed on my front bumper. I don't have any pics of it but I'll try and get some.
(I know this thread is a little old but wanted to share my means to haul in case it helped anyone else out.)

[Onski326]

Here's a recent pic of the same Tarpon 160 but on my new-to-me SUV.

[Kitsune]

Is it just me or does car-topping seems oddly easier than the bed of truck? One would think the opposite, but my experiences are telling me different. I guess this only applies to Kayaks that one can lift high, but with Yakima products, that has become much easier. Both have their perks, but I have found car-topping to be a not-so-bad endeavor if one is capable. The benefits of a smaller vehicle without using a trailer does seem advantageous for some.

[Onski326]

Is it just me or does car-topping seems oddly easier than the bed of truck? One would think the opposite, but my experiences are telling me different. I guess this only applies to Kayaks that one can lift high, but with Yakima products, that has become much easier. Both have their perks, but I have found car-topping to be a not-so-bad endeavor if one is capable. The benefits of a smaller vehicle without using a trailer does seem advantageous for some.

When I was hauling in my truck bed I could load a lot of equipment ahead of time in the kayak and have it ready to go. On top of the car, I have to take everything out, remove rod holders, depth finder, transducer, battery box, crate, etc. As it's 76lbs empty. I do miss that. Tying down in a truck was easier by far, 1 strap vs 3 with this 16'. Even my Tarpon 100 was much simpler in the bed of a truck. I'm actually looking at converting an old double jet ski trailer I have laying around to accommodate kayaks just so I don't have to pack and install everything at the launch site. I can do it the night before and loading it up on the trailer to go home would be considerably faster too if I don't have to take everything out so I can get it on the roof.
I guess if I were just going for a paddle and not fishing, I wouldn't need much and then car topping would be quicker and less hassle but all the extra fishing equipment makes it a bit time consuming for me. Just my experience.