I'm going to CA to pick up a canoe from some family. It's a 10 hour drive back here. I've been trying to work out a roof rack that won't cost me an absolute fortune. I attempted to get some extended gutter mount feet from Yakima. But they aren't quite tall enough to to clear the factory roof bars. I bought a commercial ladder rack. Still not tall enough even after modifying it to be higher. The rack does work on the rear of the truck.

I need some opinions on mounting the canoe on the ladder rack on the rear part of the roof. I'm worried about the amount of unsupported overhang. Any one mount one like this with success?

While on the subject... WTF is what those piece of sh $%t factory roof bars??? F'ING worthless!!! Can't put any weight on them. Can't anchor to them...ZERO options for cross bars (2004). I swear I feel like Sawzall 'ing them right off the damn truck!!

 

What are you talking about?

I have the factory roof and cross bars, and I've driven with almost 200# of lumber on them from Gowanus to LaGuardia on the BQE (which may as well be off road), and everything was none the worse for wear.

The crossbars (if you can find them on an '04, sorry about that) should be able to handle the weight of a canoe without any issues, one would think, unless it's huge.

 

I know the roof bars can handle the weight of the canoe I just mean in general. My roof rack on my Suburban was way more stout and useful than those two stupid bar sticking up.It came with factory cross bars. I put a ton of weight on that trucks roof. With no cross bars available(basically) this rack really doesn't do me much good either way. A roof rack on any vehicle with no crossbars is pretty much useless. Especially on a vehicle where the roof is two different heights and the bars only go halfway.