TheSamba.com :: View topic - Canoe on Bus

Sun May 17, 2009 4:41 am

Been looking for a nice big tripping Canoe for a few years now...Brought home this 1978 Old Town Tripper with full Sailing Rig today :) To transport I used 4 foam pads under the canoe and a few tie downs around. The Canoe is 17ft 2in and weighs 80 pounds. The Bus handled great going 60ish on the highway. No noticeable handling issues, no head temp/oil temp issues, just made sure to take it slow on those sharp on/off ramps...

Sun May 17, 2009 4:52 am

Cool - I've carried three canoes in a Bus; two on top (ladder racks) and one inside.

Sun May 17, 2009 8:13 am

Awesome!

I have a mid 80s Old Town Penobscot.

Sun May 17, 2009 11:27 am

No problem here either. The boat did shift a bit in high wind gusts, other than that is was 1200km trouble free.

Mon May 18, 2009 12:01 am

Cool. I carry my 15' Coleman canoe with no problems. I started out with a simple Quik-N-Easy set up, and then I made a more sturdy rack with 2x4s. Works great.

Mon May 18, 2009 8:55 am

BensBlueBus wrote:

Love the canoes up top! Anybody know if Yakima, Thule or other rack mfr makes a rack that would work similar to the pic above, but on a high-top? I'm assuming extended feet or whatnot to get it up there, just not sure if anybody makes, or has tried it. I'd love to take our canoe on our bus. Thanks!

Mon May 18, 2009 12:24 pm

Silent Running-

Oh no! You're not going to try and put a submarine on your roof, are you? :wink:

Mon May 18, 2009 12:34 pm

Cool! Looks kinda like....

That's why I like this forum just when you think that just about any topic in this world has been covered....I wish I had a canoe that would be the shit's when you went camping. :)

Mon May 18, 2009 12:50 pm

Silent Running wrote: Anybody know if Yakima, Thule or other rack mfr makes a rack that would work similar to the pic above, but on a high-top? I'm assuming extended feet or whatnot to get it up there, just not sure if anybody makes, or has tried it. I'd love to take our canoe on our bus. Thanks!

You could mount some of these up on the hightop to give you mounting point.
http://www.etrailer.com/pc-yak-roof~Y08005.htm?utm...liate=deal
You gotta drill a few holes. I've got similar ones on my Westy and on my pickup camper topper. The ones on my Westy mount to the side of the fiberglass top while the ones on my pickup are mounted on top of the topper..They both work great. Been hauling canoes for years on both of them and never had any problems..

Mon May 18, 2009 1:26 pm

When I was in HS my friend and I used to haul his 17' canoe on top of his '66 Beetle. We laid a truck inner tube on the roof, put the canoe on top of that and lashed each end down to a bumper so it was "squished" down into the inner tube. Worked great and got lotsa funny looks!

Sat Dec 11, 2010 1:35 am

16 foot Old Town Camper on my Beetle. (sorry, cellphone picture) Now that I have a bus, I am going to try a trip to the local lake this week. Proper pictures soon.

Sat Dec 11, 2010 8:38 am

In the 1980s I used to take everything I owned when I went to Baja Mexico. The bus didn't seem to mind.

This was at the Bay of Los Angeles. It was crazy. Never went back.

Sat Dec 11, 2010 9:21 am

Tuna Tim wrote: In the 1980s I used to take everything I owned when I went to Baja Mexico. The bus didn't seem to mind.

This was at the Bay of Los Angeles. It was crazy. Never went back.

Very cool pic! I see some nice vintage Coleman in there.

Sat Dec 11, 2010 9:47 am

Mike C wrote: I see some nice vintage Coleman in there.
Sure about that? looks like a Winchester stove from here :?

Sat Dec 11, 2010 11:06 am

Aaaaarrrrggggg! I just realized my plans to get a canoe and carry it on my Bus went out the window when I put an Adventurewagen top on it. It'll just have to go on the Bug.

Sat Dec 11, 2010 12:30 pm

Trailjunky wrote: Aaaaarrrrggggg! I just realized my plans to get a canoe and carry it on my Bus went out the window when I put an Adventurewagen top on it. It'll just have to go on the Bug.

Why? It can still be done.

Sat Dec 11, 2010 1:12 pm

BUSBOSS wrote: Trailjunky wrote: Aaaaarrrrggggg! I just realized my plans to get a canoe and carry it on my Bus went out the window when I put an Adventurewagen top on it. It'll just have to go on the Bug.

Why? It can still be done.

I suppose I could, but the top drops down in the back into the luggage rack. I'd have to build something to support the canoe at the rear of the Bus and carry a bulky step stool inside. I'd more than likely be putting it up and taking it down by myself. I'm 6' 5" and still think it would be too much of a PITA. If I want it bad enough though, I'll make it happen. :? :lol:

Sat Dec 11, 2010 2:39 pm

busdaddy wrote: Mike C wrote: I see some nice vintage Coleman in there.
Sure about that? looks like a Winchester stove from here :?

There is what looks like a Coleman 275 lantern on the table. The stove behind the bus looks like a Coleman suitcase stove.

Sat Dec 11, 2010 3:56 pm

perhaps 18 surfboards:

or 1 canoe, 2 kayaks and a tri bike

Sat Dec 11, 2010 6:41 pm

i made my rack out of unistrut and associated brackets stolen from work....kinda handy with all that attachable brackets and anchors and fittings.... and it was free