I want to carry a boat to wilderness

Years ago I brought an inflatable boat with small outboard in my old wagon to Trans-Taiga road in northern Quebec and it was awesome. I want to repeat that, now in Tundra. The problems:

- inflatable boat is hard to prepare for water, partly thanks to my herniated spine disk
- good inflatable boat is heavy and expensive
- rollup inflatable is not very fast. RIB inflatable is even more expensive, heavy and takes a lot of space in bed
- PCV decays under UV and apparently is less durable than aluminum boat. Ended up junking my not that old boat

So I'm thinking of getting a 13-16 ft aluminum canoe w/ flat transom and load it up on roof. Don't want to tow the boat behind, because James Bay Road and Trans-Taiga are littered with broken trailers. Also I really appreciate mobility of all-in-one rig that my Tundra currently is.

Currently the truck has no arrangements on cabin and cap roofs. Apparently need to install a couple of roof racks. This idea comes with its own set of problems:

- two roof racks will run me $2k+
- I would have to drill into roofs, which introduces non-zero possibility of rain eventually getting in
- roof load is bad for wind pickup (noise, stability) and catching tree brunches on tight trails
- LEER cap is flimsy

Water is what really stops me. I sleep in my bed, which has LEER cap, and want no water dripping on me or my equipment. Holes in cabin seem to be easier, because rack installation requires less holes, and the material around the holes is more rigid and easier to seal. I'm aware of airbags and can work around that.

Now, I know there's Spider No Drill roof racks, however I don't like the idea of epoxy glued rack. Epoxy goes goo in high heat weather, shrinks and become brittle in freezing weather, and does not like forceful shaking, which the rack will experience in overlanding. So passing that idea. Rack has to be bolted on.

I would really appreciate feedback of fellow overlanders who carry a canoe or boat in/on their Tundra. What did you get and did you have problems with the setup? In my hopes I'm looking for the setup which is as sturdy and reliable as V8 Tundra is. It shouldn't give problems hundreds of miles away from the closest human settlement.

 

You can install a front receiver hitch and use two convertible bed extenders to carry long items. The convertible versions go upright easily with pins and parts swapping around. I have these and a headache rack too. Works great! If your boat won't span the distance, just use a long plank under it and roll on. The downside would be rear door and tailgate access issues.

 

I know a couple of guys who had these on their Tacoma's and took them all over BC fly fishing. Really stout solution that is a game changer for people who can't lift a boat up themselves.

https://www.loadmyboat.com/

 

Yeah. I can lift a canoe up. I can't crawl into bed under cap and lift a 90 lbs bale with the boat with my back not straight up. My truck also has a winch and I can hack something up to aid with the loading/unloading.

 

The Leer cap can take whatever weight you can lift on top of it. A typical 17' aluminum canoe weighs around 90lbs.

I bought these ladder racks off of Amazon for under $100, then bought a flat rack for $170, then two cans of spray on bedliner, and for $300, had a very capable rack. I used lots of silicone sealer in the holes in the topper and have never had any issues.

 

I used just the racks to transport my old Montgomery Ward fishing boat on my 4x4 van...

 

https://images.app.goo.gl/gMagaWQqBgGxbBSDA

 

I always seen a tons of leer cap with canoe rack on them : When installed correctly : they are water tight , attached sits on rubber seals and you can add Sealant like winshield eurethane for extra seals.

That would be your best and cheapest options !

Btw Lake trout fishing is AMAZING in the upper bay james, where are you heading ? I did the trans tiga /Billy diamond hiway a few times but never in the fishing seasons , its on my list this years too , to take the tundra up-there again !

Personally i have a heavy duty trailer for those adventure and remote roads , with 2 heavy duty 3500 Pounds torsion axels : Those can take a beating and never brake down when well maintain , torsion axel is what you want for bad gravel and forest road. My trailer must have over 100K kilometer of abuse on thoses type of road and never fail on me , trust me i did abuse the poor thing bad over the years .

Those trailer you see up there broken down on the road sides are 99.9% of the time small axel with wheel bearing issues ( Small 12-13'' tires on typical boat trailer are way to weak for these places...) or a leaf spring axel trailer with a brocken shackel , bolts or leaf pack went in the ditch

You can also buy a smaller and light canoe trailer, and swap a heavy duty torsion axel under with real big wheel bearing and 14-15 Inches 10 ply trailer tire !

Most fisherman who go up these places often have these kind of home built trailer modified with heavy duty axel ! These are what you want for those roads and area !

If i ever built another trailer, i would be temp by the Timbren axel less system , those seems super heavy duty too !

 

Do NOT attach it to the truck cab and the cap. You'll damage something because the bed and cab move independently. Binding it together will mess stuff up. Just do a rack on the cap.

 

This is very wise advice.

 

Drilling into the cap affects resale value.

 

Wiggle wiggle wiggle

 

Yes and…

A bow line to the bumper is still very smart.

 

I would go the kayak route over a canoe. Easier to transport and dollar for dollar they will be more stable. There are also some damn nice inflatable kayaks on the market.

 

I know you said no trailers but what about a dedicated canoe trailer? I've seen some cool set ups with very small lightweight trailers that are maybe 4' wide and just long enough for a canoe/kayak. No floors or sides. Just setups to support a canoe. Would something very light ~2-300 lbs be light enough to not get completely torn up on roads like that?

 

I need to carry a lot of camping gear in that thing. And it has to be propelled by outboard.

 

Certainly an option. It's mostly about axles, bearings and wheels. As noticed above, the side roads are littered with subpar trailers.

Though it would seriously limit where I can go without dropping the trailer. If I have to stop and do something about the trailer before taking a side trail - I would most certainly skip the adventure.

 

This is fine, it can do it for 1M miles and be sold back to Toyota for a new truck

Also this flex is desirable when offroading. I need to make pictures of how unreal the suspension travel is on this Tundra gen.

 

Heading to Caniapiscau Reservoir, then to some desolate island.

La Grande Riviere Reservoir is also a good one, but it's too close to James Bay Road, so you do see people over there. Past Brisay - you are on your own. Especially on south route.

 

Yes, but now imagine latching a canoe to the roof and your cap while it's doing this.

That's why you attach to one or the other, not both.

 

And don't forget to tie it down securely to the wheels...

 

I thought surely this video had to be staged, but I could see no reason why someone would intentionally destroy a beautifully restored squarebody Chevy bed. It blows my mind how someone could be that stupid.



https://youtube.com/shorts/1qn8KlkWx6k?si=HuqpZ2DlzAfP_zjQ

 

What about an electric pump for an inflatable boat?

 

Now that’s a van!

 

Of course, and not one. But that does not make it faster

 

I was driving to wilderness the other day and saw an old Tacoma with rack this:



but it was sitting on top of bed cap. I haven't noticed any rails or other mounting, and the rack was apparently handmade, so I think the rack extended to the insides of the cap and attaches to the bed.

I wanted to do something similar, but that's a lot of time, need a better welder, so I gave up with the idea. Now I'm reconsidering it back.

 

Also a good option. I like nr.1, because the rack can be removed without touching the cap. I like it less with the frame going under the cap, because it adds to the external dimensions, air drag and wind noise.

 

What about maybe say a 4" thick x 24" wide x 10' long foam rubber pad. Lay it on top of cap and cab, place canoe on top and strap it to the truck frame nice and snug between the bed and cab. Then strap the tail to the hitch chain loops. Cheap, easy, and if you make it two pieces you can use it for a sleeping pad inside the cap too.

 

It will wear paint to bare metal in no time. I've done something like that in Yakima roof basket, had to repaint it.

Also I have a nice sleeping setup already: raised bed with firm mattress by the independently powered fridge with beer