How I made loading a kayak onto a sedan easy for $20

[Aussieonyak]

Hi - I'm new to kayaking and loving my new Hobie revolution. I'm not tall and lifting my kayak onto the roof of my sedan can be real tricky so I figured there had to be a better way without spending a lot of money - and there was! I decided that the rather expensive(but very good) wheeleze that I bought to carry the kayak across sand may also help me to load the kayak - here's how i did it.

First I needed a way to mount the wheels so that they would be in the perfect position for loading onto the roof - in my case the trunk of my sedan was a good option (it could also be a good option to use the hood). But how to protect the paintwork? I decided rubber suction cups but where could I get them cheaply? A trip to Home depot got me all the parts - belive it or not I used 3 sink plungers, a pvc T junction and 2 worm clips from plumbing. The pictures tell most of the story - FIRST the parts:


next a close up of the sophisticated suction cup system :


Now a close up of the T bar and worm clips - these were needed to attach a 3rd "leg" to wheeleze that could be easily pulled apart.



some slight modifications to the parts were needed to make it all work . The two Rubber suction cups for the wheeleze have a rubber thread to attach the wooden handles - you may need to remove some of the rubber thread on the inside using a thin sharp knife to get a nice fit on the wheel struts.

The next modification involved the PVC T junction - cut a slot in the side that does not have the junction (see photo) - this is needed to get it onto the wheeleze cross bar as it is welded in place.



The T junction after cutting with a hacksaw:


The T Bar is going to be used to house the handle end of the third plunger so that the wheeleze will have 3 suction cups on the trunk in a triangle formation for stability. Attach the T Bar to the wheels using the two s/steel worm clamps:



The new device is now ready to use but needs bracing to stop it from sliding around because these suction cups weren't really made for this job.

The final result - loader in place. I found the best bracing was obtained by using 3 or 4 straps with rubber coated hooks (Home depot $9.95 for set of 4) to hold the frame in place1 or 2 straps forward, hooked on the rear bar of the roof rack and the other two straps to the towing hook under the back of the car - you may get away with one forward and one rear strap.








I think you get the idea - it was cheap and easy to make - under $20 including straps - It took after 15 minutes to make - and it does not interfere with the normal usage of the wheeleze and there is nothing that will rust. I use bungee cord to keep the T junction centered on the bar - there is probably an easier way to do that.
With this arrangement I just lift the front edge of the kayak onto the wheeleze and push from behind - it is so easy to do. I like to carry the kayak upside down on the rack so once it is on there I flip it but that is not necessary.

hope some of you find this interesting and helpful.

Happy yakking