[maclufrontier]

I bought a 12' aluminum fishing boat the other day. I went to load it up in the back of the truck, and much to my surprise, it's slightly too wide to fit in the box. Does anyone know if Yakima or Thule make racks that attach to the bed rails for the 2nd gen Frontiers? After this experience, I was cursing myself for buying a midsize, but I do love my Frontier. :crikey:

Thanks

 

[ffips]

Do you have a roof rack?

Asking because I bought a receiver hitch extender that can either go out from the end of the truck or up from the end of the truck making it cab height.

Basically it is a version of this.

To answer your original question. I think someone has adapted a thule or yakima rack for use with utilitrack, will try to find that also. Ok, found this link through another thread here. It isn't an exact match to what you want/need, but it is getting close.

I would think it possible to fab something using the spring nuts from home depot and some ingenuity to mount a bar across the bed of the truck.

Another option would be to trade that 12' in for a 10'. It fits in the bed of mine and with the above linked product all is well.

 

[roastbeef]

lots of rope.

 

[maclufrontier]

To answer your original question. I think someone has adapted a thule or yakima rack for use with utilitrack, will try to find that also.

I just found out that Thule doesn't make a roof rack for Frontiers with UtiliTrack, so if you can find the picture of the modification, I'd really appreciate it!

 

[ffips]

If you are going to go to the trouble of making something. You could probably just make a few bars that are strong enough to hold the boat with the stuff found at home depot. It will need to be a fairly large home depot, and you want to look at the unistrut stuff.

If you do get something fabbed up, I would still recommend the extend a bed item I originally posted as it will support that which hangs over the end.

If you have a roof rack (factory or aftermarket) + the extend a bed, you could get a john boat up there. Not sure if I have any pics of mine, will dig some more and get back to you.

 

[ffips]

http://www.clubfrontier.org/forums/f23/diy-utilli-trac-tie-down-points-41784/#post636575

http://www.clubfrontier.org/forums/f23/diy-writeup-utilitrack-unistrut-34948/#post539918

Two threads that go into utilitrack and "making" things.

Also, keep in mind that for a base, one can separate out the "cleat" from the "base" by unbolting the pieces. So that would give you a base with two drilled/tapped holes as a start point.

I think some here have taken angle iron (the aluminium kind) probably something like a 3" x 2" angle and then made things to run along side the bed from front to back. Then you could bolt down to those brackets.

 

[tholmes]

Maybe a $200-$300 trailer from Harbor Freight?

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

 

[maclufrontier]

Maybe a $200-$300 trailer from Harbor Freight?

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Unfortunately I have no place to store a trailer. I already own a tent trailer that has a boat rack on the roof. When I'm not using the boat, I'll store it on top of the tent trailer. So although a boat trailer would be handy, my only option is to carry the boat in the back of the truck. I'm going to try putting 2 2x4s across the bed rails tomorrow and lay the boat on top of them. It might work, but could be a bit of a pain to get the boat on top of the 2x4s. We'll see I guess.

 

[mike]

how about this.
Access Rollup Truck Bed Cover and Rack Combination

 

[weatherby 30.06]

Duct Tape It

 

[dubie2003]

Why not use 2x6s across the bed indents. Then tie that into the bed extender to make a new platform that is almost at the top of the bed. Then you just have to get the boat that high and use a bunch of tie-downs to hold it in place.

 

[dsent]

I bought my Dad one of these!!

Well First I have to say DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH , ever hear or use a tape measure,12 ft boat , 6ft truck!!! kidding LOL

Seriously though.


My dad was 70 years old and 67 yr old mom, he insisted on loading his boat into his dakota. First having to remove 5hp gas motor,gas tank oars,everything in the boat.

I bought him one of these for fathers day 10 years ago and still works good and know he does not have to lift anything.

Rugged Steel Trailer Carries a 600-Lb. Boat | Trailers | Northern Tool + Equipment



I made some guides out of 2" PVC sch40 white pipe that stick up out of the water on each side of the trailer so that it centers the boat on the trailer.

I also moved the trailer lights up onto the pipe to keep them out of the water when you launch or load the boat.


Dad will be 80 in 5 months and still uses his boat with no troubles.

Regards
Don

 

[TLBones]

I feel your pain. I've got a 17' Aluminum canoe I need to figure out how to load. I just got my 2010 SE CC SB a month ago and haven't yet tried to load the canoe. I have a canoe loader I got from cabelas that fits in the hitch. you put the nose of the canoe in the cradle and then swing the canoe around 180 degrees and can set it down on the roof. It worked well with my jeep, but haven't tried it yet with the Fronty. I'm not sure how well it would work with a john boat, but I bet the cradle would sit nicely inside the johnboat instead of on the gunnels of a canoe like it's intended. Cabelas also sells temporary roof load bars that have padding and a strap the goes through the interior of your vehicle through the door openings and you snug it down. I'm not sure how effective they would be..haven't seen them in person. They are about $50 bucks so kinda pricey for what they are. I'm also trying to figure out where to tie it down in the front since there is only 1 tow hook on the passenger side. I need to find some sort of eyebolt with a low profile that will fit the driver side or get a tow hook fabbed up somewhere.

 

[ffips]

I'm also trying to figure out where to tie it down in the front since there is only 1 tow hook on the passenger side. I need to find some sort of eyebolt with a low profile that will fit the driver side or get a tow hook fabbed up somewhere.

Someone here took a bolt out from under the hood on both sides, then used some nylon webbing to make a loop. When in use, it was outside of the hood, when not in use, it was inside the hood unseen.

 

[maclufrontier]

So today I put two 2x4s across the bed rails (one at the front, one at the back) and laid the boat on top of the 2x4s with the stern facing the front of the truck. Because it's a 12' boat, and I have a 5' box, the boat wants to tip backwards. I could strap it down to hold it in place, but I'm afraid there will be too much force trying to pull the front-most 2x4 upwards, as it's just held in place by a clamp on each side. Thule makes a 422XT rack that is supposed to fit all trucks, even those with rail systems. I'm going to look into it this week. If I can fit the 422XT on the truck, I'll be able to mount the boat tall enough so it's centered on the rack. Very frustrating indeed!:thatswck:

 

[carphreak]

maybe one of these products is just the thing you need for your application....
boatloader

 

[ffips]

What boat did you get? I can't believe it is this difficult to put a boat in the back end. What style of boat did you buy? Need more specs on the boat.

A 10' jon fits in the back of my cc, for added peace of mind I use the extend a bed II to support that which hangs over the tail gate.

The boat I have is 32" on the bottom side and wider at the top. The top still fits inside of the bed though.