Thread: Roof rack suggestions - inflatable boat

So last duck season was a disaster, tinnie got stolen, truck went in for repairs and took 6 months to get back.......... i had even bought a little inflatable



I think we can all see the issue i was going to have! ive a few more decoys too!

Long story but I acquired this,



she is 4.2 meters long (13.9 ft) its twice the size of my tinnie!

now i was planning on making / fabricating / buying a roof rack , flat with mesh to allow some air movement, bad enough its going to have a boat on top!but sturdy enough to inflate and put it on top of the truck and before people say but its an inflatable why don't you just roll it up, i have thought of that, but its rather large, im going to loose a fair bit of space on the roof rack it has at the moment, before i factor in a larger outboard and fuel tanks etc. i was going to fill the boat up with decoys etc giving me more space in the back of the truck?

option b is a trailer

has anyone made up their own roof racks or something similar????

Originally Posted by Tertle

So last duck season was a disaster, tinnie got stolen, truck went in for repairs and took 6 months to get back.......... i had even bought a little inflatable

Attachment 108826

I think we can all see the issue i was going to have! ive a few more decoys too!

Long story but I acquired this,

Attachment 108827

she is 4.2 meters long (13.9 ft) its twice the size of my tinnie!

now i was planning on making / fabricating / buying a roof rack , flat with mesh to allow some air movement, bad enough its going to have a boat on top!but sturdy enough to inflate and put it on top of the truck and before people say but its an inflatable why don't you just roll it up, i have thought of that, but its rather large, im going to loose a fair bit of space on the roof rack it has at the moment, before i factor in a larger outboard and fuel tanks etc. i was going to fill the boat up with decoys etc giving me more space in the back of the truck?

option b is a trailer

has anyone made up their own roof racks or something similar????

That is going to be about the same length as your wagon. Will also be a right mission to get it up there too, was bad enough with the 10' (rigid) tinnie on the Safari, would be fairly awkward with the extra length, width, weight a floppiness of the inflatable. What is the overall width? Go Plan B.

@gadgetman im coming to your place to problem solve this, you know that eh!

run two offset rollers at the rear? i think overall weight was 56 kg with the floor in, don't have the width measurement as its off getting a new belly, but yes, she's about the same length as the truck, wouldn't be much wider i thought?

even thought of a ARK Tow Bar Cargo Carrier from burnsco? that would sill allow me space on the roof?

Plan B...........hmmmmm

Plan b, you can always use the trailer for other things as well.... Roof racks suck on tight bush tracks when. You forget them and will always use a bit more gas

Originally Posted by Tertle

@gadgetman im coming to your place to problem solve this, you know that eh!

run two offset rollers at the rear? i think overall weight was 56 kg with the floor in, don't have the width measurement as its off getting a new belly, but yes, she's about the same length as the truck, wouldn't be much wider i thought?

even thought of a ARK Tow Bar Cargo Carrier from burnsco? that would sill allow me space on the roof?

Plan B...........hmmmmm

Bring it on. About all we're missing for plan B is spring set, coupling, guards and tyres maybe.

Originally Posted by 223nut

Plan b, you can always use the trailer for other things as well.... Roof racks suck on tight bush tracks when. You forget them and will always use a bit more gas

Trailers are versatile. I don't really need another one, but I have a fair chunk of the parts and itching to build one.

@gadgetman if i get a chance i will try and swing by tomorrow, we are on for the next 7 days i think? new roster as you could expect! we can discuss options.......

Sounds like a plan to make a plan.

hire a trailer for a weekend and find out if its going to suit you....plenty of big flat ones out there..... the plastic tank guys have heaps of them.... having just recently got an old boat trailer and replaced the axle etc etc off our old normal trailer we now wonder why the hell we didnt do it earlier...having a hand winch and 2 rollers makes the task so much easier...13' tinny 15hp outboard....oh and find/aquire/buy some 200-250 litre plastic drums...there are ones with a screwtop lid...put your decoys in them,you will fit about 24 from memory...they dont get bashed about in transport,quick to load n off load and you can store them down back of section no worries....we get 4 drums in the tinny,I zoom over and drop them in place then ferry guys n gear to camp....we set dekes then stash drums under willows till Sunday.

My suggestion would be trailer also, winch on push off its a piece of cake and as such you will use it.....if it takes 3 or 4 of ya to get on and off the roof rack it will get used twice then sit gathering mould or it would if it was mine.
Ive got a 10 foot/11 foot and 15 foot alloy boats but only two trailers. having them on trailers built for the job is key to ease of use and enjoyment.

Yes, all your point were taken into consideration and........



Your voices of reason won gentlemen

Heading away tomorrow morning, small inflatable still hasn’t seen water........but so can’t wait!!!

Warm barrels mate.

this setup worked well. i put a roller on the back of the roofrack so i could roll the boat up onto the roof easily.