Upgrades

Stainless steel roof rack

Our rack was designed by Matt and fabricated by a local guy that does custom metal work.   He has done several projects for us.   The slide out rod (see below) is for loading and unloading our kayak.   The idea was borrowed from the Yakima Boatloader design.   We had considered buying the Yakima rack, but we really wanted stainless steel
because we often kayak in salt water.   The sliding rod allows one person to handle our
90 lb. tandem kayak with ease.   Because our van is so high (and we aren't NBA basketball players), we use a very stable folding foot stool to assist with our height deficit.

Sliding rod in storage
position

Sliding rod partially
extended

Here is the procedure for one person loading of our kayak using our rack system

   The kayak is placed parallel to the van on the driver's side.   The footstool is placed at the rear of the van, and the slide rod is pulled out to a little more than the width of the kayak.

   You lift the front of the boat and rest the boat on the sliding rod.

   The kayak is left resting on the rod, then you go to the back of the boat.

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