2015 PA14 Roof Transport

So I am excited to hear the new PA should be released next month. I know many people have talked about roofing there PA and yes over time most say you will end up getting a trailer. I don't mind the thought of getting a trailer but I do love the fact of not pulling something. I mean this is a kayak. My wife and I are both young and I am not afraid to lift it up. If I wanted to pull something behind me I will hook to my aluminum boat, haha.

My question. I own a Jeep Wrangler 4 door, 3" lift. Full rack system that will support weight of both plus gear. I want to know if anyone has ever tried to roof two PA's? I am more curios about width issues, which is not a major issue but more focused on being top heavy.

Any thoughts?

I would not do it and I currently cartop my PA12 on a Nissan Altima. It's much lower and easier to handle in regards to loading and unloading, and I still can't wait to get a truck one day. It's just so much work and I would never, ever put TWO PA 14s on a Jeep Wrangler. Get a nice $500 to $600 trailer (which is less than I paid for my rack system) and be done with it. If I didn't have a car and limited garage space, I would have went with a trailer without any doubts.

I totally respect that, and agree with you. I am not against a trailer, just curios if anyone has tried. I figured there is some redneck out there that said I can get two up there, Sure!!

Many times when I go fishing I don't want a trailer. Just my gear and my Jeep. This also comes into play if I want to pull my jeep behind my RV then I have everything I need in my jeep to go straight to the water.

There are people making custom welded frames to store stuff on top of a Jeep and this will provide a much stronger support for the 220 lbs. or more of weight (more weight than roof racks are rated to handle). The higher the rack though the more difficult it is to handle the weight as you are using the smaller muscles in the shoulders to a much greater degree than they were designed/evolved to manage. Ever hear of a torn rotator cuff?

For heavy boats like the PA14 I know I would go the trailer route as it simplifies transport and launching and retrieving the two boats. I would buy the Hobie cradles for the PA boats and mount them on a trailer designed for jet ski boats. These trailers are designed to get wet and to be low enough that the boats float off and the tow vehicle do not have to get into the water.

With this approach you can rig and load both boats in the parking lot and then back the trailer into the water and launch them in minutes. Same benefits on retrieving them when you can float them back onto the trailer and pull the trailer out of the water.

For saltwater use the trailer keeps the saltwater off your vehicle and the jet ski trailer keeps your vehicle out of the water including its rear brakes and wheel bearings.

As to lifting the boats, just because you can do something it does not necessarily follow that this is the best approach.

One condition, I never see mentioned when you are lifting a kayak, to a roof rack is in WINDY CONDITIONS......I live in a windy area...Hood River, Oregon where windsurfing, kite boarding and basic sailing is done on the Columbia River.....we are the "windsurfing capital" of the USA.
You can't imagine how much of a "sail your kayak becomes" on a windy day....if you lose control of it while loading, anything can happen to you, your vehicle, kayak, surrounding vehicles and lord knows what else.
Safety first!

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

You guys make perfect sense, and I never consider wind being a issue. I am convinced I will need a trailer, especially with two 14' PA's. I still love the thought of being able to top both. I am sure with time and going out a few times I will come up with the best solution. Until then I have a flat bed trailer I can move one around with, haha.

Still a few weeks out for ordering the new 2015, local shops here are not expecting them to come in until around first of October. I am on the East Coast.

What i love about using a trailer is i can rig the boat outside my house and drive straight to the water with hardly any work to do. Same with retrieving it. You can more or less pack everything away out in the water.come back clip on and give my mate the bird as he is still dismantling all his gear so he can cartop his boat. Im usually home before he has left the beach
In

You guys have talked me out of it. I talked to a welding shop owner today and planning on designing a trailer that will serves two purposes. A light weight flat trailer, something that could haul a lawn mower or 4-wheeler. Then design a simple rack system that will hold 2 14' PA's but stay with the trailer when not needed.

Anyone that has a thread on something like this let me know. I have seen a few online, but nothing setup for holding two PA's side by side.

I would go the jet ski trailer route, but I would need a tandem to start out with. Those are not as easy to find and the prices are rather high.

I can custom build one for a little more and haul something besides my PA's

There's about a million ways you can do it, limited only by your imagination and wallet. I bought a regular 4 x 8 cargo trailer (used), has the car type tires, ramp for loading mower or whatever. I then built a box that would slide into the trailer and lock in. Use the box for storing mirage drives, tackle boxes, paddles...., space fwd and rear for extra gear, usually coolers in rear, dollys bait buckets, ... whatever fwd. Holds PA on top and Revo, Outback on each side. Could easily rebuild to carry two PA's, but only own one.

When I want to use for reg cargo trailer, just slides out and I'm good to go.

Do you have any pictures you have ever posted here. Always up for looking at what others have done, that is the best way to get your own ideas.

I am thinking I want a big chest type box up front for the mirage drives, lift jackets, tackle. I wanted to build a custom lock box down the left side that would allow storage of rods and paddles.

I have a PA14 recently we had a tournament in Salem Ma.and I transported A PA14 and an Outback on my roof .I drive an 2002 Ford Explorer there is no way to safely put two PA's on my roof .I didn't think the two I had on there would make it. But the PA I laid flat and the Outback I put on J Hooks we did 75 mph on route 95 with no issues.There is no way to get two PA's on my roof though and I had 60 inch Thule bars Even with rollers I think it would not be wide enough.

I carry a 14' PA on top of a post WWll 1/4 ton Bantam trailer and have to lift the PA about 5' to put the PA on the trailer racks. I have done this for 5 years, usually by myself and I am almost 60 years old. Those old 1/4 ton trailers were just about bullet proof (the trailers shared the same hubs, springs, tires and wheels as early Jeeps) and have lots of ground clearance (mine has about 11" of clearance at the lowest spot). I also changed the coupler to a multi-axis coupler (Max Coupler) which means the trailer will follow the tow vehicle just about anywhere, even off road without flipping or popping off a ball hitch.

My buddy has a full size 1/2 ton 4x4 pickup with Thule Xsporter racks, this puts the height of the PA around 6' to 6.5'. Having to lift a PA that high is not easy and it takes two strong guys. BTW, the Thule Xsporter rack is not wide enough for two 14' PA's.

have put my PA on the top rack and carried all three.

I have spent too many dollars on repairs to "boat" trailers that were in theory designed for immersion in salt water to even dream of using a utility trailer. What I would want in a trailer to launch a PA or two would be the following:

extendable tongue to provide more distance between trailer and tow vehicle when launching
fully sealed LED lights
galvanized frame
sealed bearings with Buddy Bearings
12" or larger wheels

The lower the trailer the more practical it is for use to directly launch the boat into the water without need for a trolley. Jet ski trailers are designed for this type of use and so are lower to the ground than regular boat trailers, including the kayak/canoe trailers.

Hobie sells the boat cradles that make it easy to adapt a trailer to use for PA's.

Something to consider is that two PA14 boats have a combined width of 76" before you add the space needed for straps and cradles. For ease of launching having them flat on the trailer is important. All the kayak trailers I have found are not wide enough for doing this with anything wider than the 29" wide Revo's.

I use the Jet ski trailer but I adapted the Hobie cradles to it for the PA but my issue is that it scratched the hull bad.I am beginning to wonder if I'm going to switch over to the pac pipe idea .The worst area is were the cradles hit the bottom during transport.