Ideas needed

[bignose]

I sold my Center Console a couple of weeks ago, so I traded in my SUV because I didn't need a big gas guzzler to tow with any more.

My new car, a 2015 Subaru Outback, has no substantial structure in the back of the car to attach my tie down ropes too. In addition, the attaching holes in the front of the car are almost under the front wheels.
I passed on the trailer hitch when I bought the car, now I may have to shell out the big bucks to have it installed post sale.

Any ideas out there on how to anchor the front and rear ends of the canoe?

The bumpers are all plastic.

[Cowpokey]

Bubble gum and duct tape.

Get a couple frame hooks (make sure your car has the tie down holes in the unibody/frame) and use webbing or rope to make a bridle to tie to the center in the rear. It will still have to go under the bumper, but much cheaper than installing a hitch.



http://www.truckntow.com/c-147164-ca...own-hooks.aspx

[Frogsauce]

Straps through the windows! That's how I did it when I had a car long ago.

[bignose]

The car has a built in roof rack with crossbars. Holding it down is not a problem
The issue is the front and read bridles used to keep the canoe from twisting in a cross wind or stabilizing it, particularly in the rear, there is nothing structural, no tie down holes, no frame rails, no nuthin that is easily accessible, except plastic fascia and a minimal about of light support brackets. Tying to the exhaust system isn't an option!
And it's not much better in the front. The tie down holes for the front places the ropes too close to the front wheels-hard to reach.
I've made something like what as pictured above out out of some heavy duty S hooks, been using them for 30+ years, but ya gotta be able to hang them from something that won't tear loose.

[Cowpokey]

There has to be solid points that they use for shipping the cars from the factory on car trailers. I don't know where those would be on your new car....but those hooks I posted are what most vehicles have oval holes on the undercarriage for.

[bignose]

The rear anchor points are actually in front of the rear axle.
Not much help to keep the canoe from pitching forward under braking.

[susqeyaker]

I've made an anchor by taking an 8 inch piece of nylon strapping and use a bolt under the hood poke a hole in the strap and tighten it down. They work good and hide easily under the hood when not in use.

[susqeyaker]

A loop under both sides of the hood and your yak won't go anywhere

[sparky1423]

They sell them at Amazon. One goes under the hood, one goes under the trunk lid. They work great

[susqeyaker]

That's awsome. Didn't know they made them. I made my own.

[bignose]

Now that's what I'm talking about!
$19.95 per pair sure beat the hell out of $650.00 for the trailer hitch install.
Thank you so much!

[sparky1423]

Now that's what I'm talking about!
$19.95 per pair sure beat the hell out of $650.00 for the trailer hitch install.
Thank you so much!

Glad I could help!!

[coastal_dan]

I use the tow hook that is supplied in the back of the car, screw it in up front and bam...front tie down. You could even get another at the dealer or on Ebay for the rear.

[ComeOnFish]

I never used used string or strap for bow and stern because I didn't want any scratches before I purchased a truck.
I use 3 straps or 4 straps from roof rack to kayak. The most people use two straps. As long as the kayak is upright or upside down, and the kayak is tightly secured, The kayak does not move side to side. When I carry two kayaks (one is laid on the side on J bar), the one on the J bar moves to one side only when I didn't angle the kayak correctly. This happened once after driving 5.5 hours at 79MPH.

I usually drove 3 hours one way at 78MPH most of the time. My 16' adventure never been moved side to side.

One of the reason I used 3 straps was to prevent the kayak sliding forward when I slam the brake at high speed. It happened once at 60MpH. The 16' kayak moved about 2.5'. So I made an adjustment.

One strap starts from the rear rack , goes through the scupper hole in the front, and goes back to the other side of the rear roof rack.
I had a similar situation on I 64. A huge tire (for construction vehicles) was unleashed and rolled toward the incoming vehicle. Around 05:30 AM, because of the light traffic, none got hurt. The drivers did S turn and slamming brakes to avoid the tire and the vehicles around.
I pulled over my SUV and inspected the straps. Everything was fine.

One reason I used 4 straps was that one day, a spring on one of the ratchets broke when I was tightening the strap. Iti might happen while driving at high speed.

I tested the bow and rear string at home. i don't think they will help much at high speed.

Joe

[bignose]

I had a canoe pivot at a 45 degree angle once when crossing the Bay Bridge in a stiff crosswind despite having two tie down straps and front and rear bridles. They weren't tight enough, I was only going 45 mph.
You can't make them too tight, because of the leverage issue, it puts too much stress on the crossbars if you crank them tight, just tight enough to cut down on the canoe getting twitchy at speed.

And in my much younger days, I was driving a plumbing supply truck with a load of pipe on top, got cut off on Bel Air Road, and launched about 500 lbs. of iron pipe off of the front of the truck. It was ugly, and fortunately nobody got hit.

So, yeah, I am darned concerned about making sure the craft is secured properly.

I just received the Quick Loops recommended by Sparky1423, and they are exactly what I needed.
They won't scratch the paint (important-it's a new car, want to keep it relatively nice for a while).
At $19.95 per pair, they are an excellent value.