We are really fortunate to have some of the best waterways close to where we choose to take the Expanda. We have always got in some fishing in any away trip we have done and want this to continue. Unfortunately or fortunately whatever your point of view, your not allowed to turn the caravan into a B Double and connect a trailer to it, can't image trying to reverse it neither. My mate has wanted a kayak for a while now but I was struggling to work out how to get it away with us.
The Jeep Grand Cherokee has a roof limit of 70kg, this is something apparently across a lot of vehicles manufactured in the USA. The Pro Angler 12 weighs 49 kg dry so not a lot of room to play with. A further problem is the distance between the roof rack centres this doesn't help as you need 1240mm between the centres of the front and back cradles. Design criteria number one, was to be able to open the back door of the Jeep and not come into any contact with the kayak. My idea is to use the front nudge bar to support some of the weight as we have the bottom support that came with our Reel Ezy rod holder. In total the roof rack weighs 16 kg so total weight is still less than 70kg.
The main frame is 40 by 40, 3mm aluminium with the cradles 50 by 25 welded across. The outriggers are 25mm square radius corner and work really well for lashing the kayak down. There is a nose piece to stop the kayak going forward during an unscheduled event and provides better stability for the front. The rack attaches to the Rhino cross bars via eight 12mm bolts and cage nuts, making it very solid.
We also purchased a Rhino T Bar loader and from videos online this makes the loading child's play. I watched one video of a guy loading a Pro Angler on a Ford Territory, it's much easier to control when the roof line isn't as high as the Jeep. At one stage the T Bar slid out and I ended up with the kayak on my neck / shoulder while on the second rung of a step ladder. Not happy Jan! After much more thought, I now have a small 12 volt winch coming, controlling the front and the pulling will help immensely. We are also going to pin the T Bar in one position and try from there. This part is disappointing as the rack with the kayak on at 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100klm an hour works really well. I'm even surprised there isn't much in the way of wind noise.
Still a work in progress but much closer than we were a month back.
Many thanks to Terry and the guys at The Welding Shed Caboolture for all their help.
John
The Jeep Grand Cherokee has a roof limit of 70kg, this is something apparently across a lot of vehicles manufactured in the USA. The Pro Angler 12 weighs 49 kg dry so not a lot of room to play with. A further problem is the distance between the roof rack centres this doesn't help as you need 1240mm between the centres of the front and back cradles. Design criteria number one, was to be able to open the back door of the Jeep and not come into any contact with the kayak. My idea is to use the front nudge bar to support some of the weight as we have the bottom support that came with our Reel Ezy rod holder. In total the roof rack weighs 16 kg so total weight is still less than 70kg.
The main frame is 40 by 40, 3mm aluminium with the cradles 50 by 25 welded across. The outriggers are 25mm square radius corner and work really well for lashing the kayak down. There is a nose piece to stop the kayak going forward during an unscheduled event and provides better stability for the front. The rack attaches to the Rhino cross bars via eight 12mm bolts and cage nuts, making it very solid.
We also purchased a Rhino T Bar loader and from videos online this makes the loading child's play. I watched one video of a guy loading a Pro Angler on a Ford Territory, it's much easier to control when the roof line isn't as high as the Jeep. At one stage the T Bar slid out and I ended up with the kayak on my neck / shoulder while on the second rung of a step ladder. Not happy Jan! After much more thought, I now have a small 12 volt winch coming, controlling the front and the pulling will help immensely. We are also going to pin the T Bar in one position and try from there. This part is disappointing as the rack with the kayak on at 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100klm an hour works really well. I'm even surprised there isn't much in the way of wind noise.
Still a work in progress but much closer than we were a month back.
Many thanks to Terry and the guys at The Welding Shed Caboolture for all their help.
John
