Topping a Jon boat( tracker topper 1432) on my vechile??

[fishin4ever]

Hello to all my bassin family out there. As you can see from my post, I am planning on buying a 14foot tracker Jon boat and I will be transporting it with my chevy astro van. I know some might say" get a trailer", but the boat only weights 113 ponds...so Im confident that I can handle this task alone. So can anyone give me pointers on how I need to mount this on top of my van? If it helps my van is 9 ft in length and 5 feet wide. Thanks

[Carrington]

i hope you have someone helping you lift it up there, i can barly put my 12 ft jon boat in the back of the truck.  but for securing it to the roof, get some of those rachet clamp down things and loop them through the windows and then over the jon boat and make sure they are very very tight so the boat does not move forward or backwards, if you do that through the font and rear windows you should be good.

[fishin4ever]

Thanks for the advice and to answer your question I'll be doing this( or attemping) alone. It does worry me that you have a hard time loading midway to your truck bed, while I'll have to load this boat way over my head. But I keep reminding myself that it's just 113 pounds.

[burleytog]

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it's just 113 pounds.

Have you ever tried to lift 113 lbs. above your head in such a manner?

Buy a trailer, your back will appreciate it.

[Carrington]

honestly its not the weight that will kill you, put it this way, goto the gym and try and lift 113lbs when it is 14 feet away from you body, the boat is to wide for you to lift from the middle.and not to mention you will most likly tear your vans roof up if you try this by yourself.  your gonna need another person to help you i guarentee it.  btw for my age im the virginia power lifting champ and i have a hard time lifting that weight in the truck lol.

[Fishing Rhino]

Car-Topping

Car Racks If your boat is small and light enough to be lifted five feet or so onto the roof of a car, little beats the freedom and ease of car-topping. However, when traveling on a highway, you need to make very sure that your boat is well secured. The only way to safely transport a boat on the roof of your car is to use a set of car racks built specifically for your car and this purpose. Buying car racks at garage sales can be risky, as can using makeshift padding materials such as foam blocks or rolled towels. These makeshift devices often don't control the side-to-side or see-sawing motion of the boat. They may appear to hold well enough when in your driveway with the boat secured by lots of rope, but rope stretches and padding can shift, which leads to trouble or frequent stops on the highway. Be aware that racks that come on some cars, SUVs and station wagons are often for show, and the bars may not be spaced far enough apart or be sturdy enough to support your boat (check your manual!).

Securing the Boat The first step in car-topping your boat is to place the boat on the racks upside down with the bow at the front (to be more aerodynamic). Be sure there are enough people to lift the boat comfortably to avoid possible injury or damage lift with your legs, not with your back! The boat can be loaded on the car from the rear or the side, whichever is easier to do. Next, secure the boat with straps or low-stretching, abrasion-resistant line such as Dacron. Do not use nylon line because it stretches. Some people like to use webbing straps with buckles that automatically lock and allow you to adjust the straps quickly. Tie down pads that slip onto the straps can be used to protect the boat from possible chafing by the straps or buckles. The boat should be tied down with straps or lines from the bow and stern of the boat to the front and rear bumpers of the vehicle preferably to each corner. These tie downs will keep the boat from sliding forward and backward or twisting. Another set of straps or lines are tied across the boat at the front and rear rack bars to prevent the boat from sliding sideways. If using a line, secure one end of it with a bowline to the load bar on the inside of the rack post. Throw the line over the boat, and secure the other end to the opposite side of the bar on the inside of the rack post. A trucker's hitch tied into the line about a foot above the rack bar can be used to adjust the tension by passing the line under the rack bar, then up through the loop of the hitch and pulling down on it. Then secure the line to itself with a round turn and two half hitches (double half hitch). A disadvantage of the trucker's hitch is that it may be hard to untie if you want to remove it. Never attach the line to the bar on the outside of the rack post, because if a gust of wind or bump makes the boat shift, the line could slip off the end of the bar and send the boat flying. Tie off any loose ends of the tie downs to prevent them from flapping on the boat or car and causing abrasion.

[Tip: If your tie down straps vibrate in the wind, try putting a half-revolution twist in the strap to stop the vibration.]

http://www.smallboat.sailingcourse.com/boat_transportation.htm

[fishin4ever]

i was worried that a 14 foot jon would be to much, i just wanted to make sure and now it's confirmed.  To Carrington, thanks for your sharing your personal experience with loading a jon boat.  I just kept telling myself that at 23 years old, that 113 pounds would be a piece of cake.  But i didnt account the boat would be away from my body and so fourth.  As for Fishing Rhino, once again, thanks for sharing your knowledge on loading a boat.  I've got answers here and there but yours was very in depth and im grateful.  Tight lines gentlemen.

[damian777]

ebay!!ebay!!ebay!! I bought a boat trailer in mint condition for my 14' jon boat for 100.00! save your back!!! then you can enjoy fishing

[IwillChooseFreeWill]

have a look at the racks on her:

http://www.discountramps.com/roof-bars.htm

[donmac]

Using high quality racks like Thule or Yakima, place a piece of carpet right above the rear door of the astro (to protect vehicle), drag boat along side vehicle, pick the bow of the boat up and place bow (upside down of course) on the carpet, then go underneath boat and walk/slide it up onto the racks, use high quality straps to secure, remove carpet. Been there, done that (solo), not all that difficult - but time consuming...

When you combine the above with having to pack and unpack all your other fishing junk, and assembling/reassembling the boat (battery, trolling motor, maybe gas tank and motor, rods, tackle, safety equipment, etc.....) you'll eventually find a trailer makes life MUCH easier.

[zerofivenismo]

I'll chime in my two cents. I had a 10ft bass raider which was a blast to fish in and an inexpensive means to get off the banks. No trailer, just loaded into the truck bed. I thought about the cons (loading/unloading gear during launch and retrieve), but it never occurred to me how manual intensive it is after a long day of fishing. When you're fresh and excited, it's not bad However, when you're a bit tired, you don't want to think about transferring all your gear from the boat to your vehicle, and loading up the boat onto the vehicle, and then strapping everything down.

I agree with the others about getting a trailer. I shopped for a trailer, but ended up selling the BR and getting a wide bottom jon w/trailer. Pros and cons for everything and everyone, but to each its own.  Good luck to you however you decide.

[bass or bass ?]

Check out this website. This guy invented this rig. www.tdipowerrack.com.

[CFFF 1.5]

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Check out this website. This guy invented this rig. www.tdipowerrack.com.

For 2K he could buy a new boat with a trailer.

[mettler]

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i was worried that a 14 foot jon would be to much, i just wanted to make sure and now it's confirmed. To Carrington, thanks for your sharing your personal experience with loading a jon boat. I just kept telling myself that at 23 years old, that 113 pounds would be a piece of cake. But i didnt account the boat would be away from my body and so fourth. As for Fishing Rhino, once again, thanks for sharing your knowledge on loading a boat. I've got answers here and there but yours was very in depth and im grateful. Tight lines gentlemen.

Thought I would chime in as I had the same thoughts as you regarding topping my 100 lb Fisher 1232 onto my lifted Wrangler and didn't find many answers from others with first hand experience. After trying it out, I confirmed that I can manage to load and unload the boat by myself.

I'm 25, 5' 8" and about 160lbs. My Jeep is lifted a couple inches with 33" mud terrains.

I can fairly easily lift the boat (from being on its side) onto my shoulder and walk with it. To get it onto the Jeep, I carefully set it down on its side behind my Jeep. Then I carefully lift and turn the front up to the roof rack and walk to the rear of the boat and slide it up and on top. Strap it securely and safely as mentioned above. Taking it down is pretty much reversing these steps.

If you buy or make a type of boat dolly/wheel cart that you can set the rear of the boat on, it would make the task even easier to do alone. This would also help with the issue of loading the boat after a long tiring day of fishing.

Obviously, it is going to be easier to have help, but there will be times I will go without a partner.

Hopes this helps.

[Jeepnwayne]

Mettler:

I just bought a 1232, and have a wrangler  w/ a 2" lift w/ 32's. Do you have the hard top roof rack or a congo cage setup. I was thinking of just putting a moving blanket on top then sliding the boat on, bottom down since it's more narrow, but didnt know if the fiberglass roof would crack. Pics would be greatful.

[mettler]

Jeepwayne:

I do have a Congo Cage and soft top. No hard top, so I can't speak much on that, however I am not sure how you would secure it well enough by laying it only on the hard top. Also not sure about put the boat bottom down as I go bottom up.

I really like the Congo cage and I found that you need to also get the Crossbars or at least mount Yakima bars onto it. I put it directly onto the Congo Cage only, but the boat slides too easily left and right while getting it in place.

I'll find some pics for you. Feel free to message me.

[John D.]

I recently just bought a 1236 and own a Wrangler Rubicon and had the same concerns about topping with the hard top on. I purchased my boat from someone that has sold aluminum boats for over 25 years and he showed me how to rig it up properly. Basically he put two pieces of foam on my roof and the put the boat on right side up. Then I used ratchet ties threw the doors and some rope in the font and back. I drove over an hour at 65-70 miles an hour and the boat did not move. I was skeptical at first and check it many times. All the lakes by my house are only a mile or two so I am confident in this solution. The next step will be to figure out how to get it strapped to the roll cage when the soft top is down. I attached a picture to show you what it looks like.

[grahamb]

The Yakima Boat loader may help...

It basically slides out from one of the crossbars from your roofrack, so that one of your crossbars is extending well beyond the side of your car.  Then you only lift half the boat onto the extended crossbar.  Then the other half the boat.  So at any one time you're only lifting half the boat.

 

[Jeepnwayne]

Nice pic John D. I was wondering how well the boat would do at highway speeds with it bottom down, seemed to work fine for you. I just bought a used congo rack and now waiting for the crossbars to come in the mail. It would be easier for me to put it up bottom down since I have transom wheels bolted on.