Hi all, I'm looking to buy an old 17' Grumman aluminum canoe and was wondering if anyone around here has experience transporting canoes on the excursion roof? How do you do it? do you use the stock cross bars of aftermarket setups? suggestions? Haven't bought the canoe yet but hoping to get the transportation worked out before i do.

 

I just use the stock crossbars, you can put pool noodles on them for added height/protection. Then tie a rope to the front bumper and rear bumper from the ends of the canoe and a strap around the middle.

 

I had some pads that fit on the canoe rails and sits on the roof.

 

I made a rack to hold our yaks.

Attachment 288449

Attachment 288447

Attachment 288448

 

I have eight Yakima crossbars and most of the appropriate accessories with which to carry my 17' canoe, 17' kayak, 40' ladder, skis, bikes, MegaWarrior (with two extensions), and more other stuff than you can imagine.


Most of the Yak stuff is new or used off of Craigslist or eBay, I'm cheap.

 

I found a 17' grumman for a hundred bucks online. Tempting. Anyway DO NOT use factory crossrails. They cannot hold weight without digging into the factory paint. I pulled mine when I first got my truck and was fortunately able to to use rubbing compound to get the scratches out of the paint that were already up there. I use the Yakima crossbars with two 3k ratchet straps (one anchored to each bar). With that setup you don't need the rope front and rear which really makes life easier.

 

EVERYBODY gets reps for demonstrating why Excursion owners are the most AWESOME folks around

 

Here's a couple of other roof rack mods that may help with the canoe transport.
This one is a pretty slick mod that lengthens the side rails.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-b-up-cam.html
And this is a great and cheap hardware store parts rack setup.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ory-rails.html