fitting a jon boat in the bed of a truck

[mja900]

anybody have some tips on how to tie down and hold down a jon boat in a short bed pickup (01 F150 extended cab)? I dont have the money to buy a trailer and Ive seen some people carrying it in the bed of the truck.

[ring fry]

A couple of ratchet straps ought to do the trick.  On my old Crawdad that I use to carry in a pickup, I put a strip of reflective tape on the part of the boat that stuck out the back. 

[Team_Dougherty]

[Brian4618]

When I haul mine (12'), I put the back end first and use 3 ratchet straps. One going from the front hand down to the hitch on the truck, the other two going from the front handle of the boat to the left and right eyebolts on the bed of the truck. Keeps the boat from bouncing and slidding

[South FLA]

Do it all the time when duck hunting the storm treatment areas around S. Florida or fishing hard to reach canals. I load the stern end first and the bow sticks out pointing away from my cab.

I use 3 ratchet straps. Two ratchet straps connect the bow handle to the back securing post on either side of my truck bed, make sure you come across the top and not the bottom of the boat since you don't want to apply downward pressure thus lifting the stern up and possibly having the boat down bow first out of the back of your truck! The 3rd strap goes across the top of the stern from one side securing post to the other, I tighten it down really to prevent my 14' jon boat from bouncing.  It also helps to pack the stern and middle of your boat with the heavy items (battery, trolling motor, etc and keep the bow end empty or very lightly loaded.)  Make sure you secure all loose and light items and put a orange or red flag on the bow if it sticks out more than X amount of feet, check you state motor vehicle laws.

[Wayne P.]

If your jon boat has the oar sockets, put the boat in the truck bed transom first. Use two tiedowns straps, one in each socket and the other ends to the front corners of the truck bed.

Cross the tiedown straps for a more solid hold.

Use a floatation cushion between the transom and truck bed.

A red flag on the bow may be a requirement.

[CFFF 1.5]

Put the boat in transom first and if you are using a trolling motor put the battery in the rear of the boat and then use some type of strap to secure the boat to the bed of your truck. You really don't need much holding the jon boat in the bed of your truck. My buddy puts his 12' jon boat in the bed of his long bed without even strapping it down. He just puts his battery in the rear of his jon and takes off.