Kayak management at home

[DJ Davis]

Hey, Y'all!

I've been storing my kayaks on a pulley-trundle system with a counterweight that puts them over the door when opened. When ready to load, I'd pull the Outback into the garage and drop the trundle right onto to the roof racks, strap 'em down, and off we'd go. I upgraded to an Ascent 3 yrs ago and its cross bars are too high to drop the kayaks on top and then pull out of the garage. I had been wrestling them one by one from the trundle to the garage floor, then hefting them up on top of the car outside the garage. It sucks getting further "chronologically enhanced."

So...I built a "kayak mover" that will receive the kayaks in the garage, raise the trundle out of the way, open the garage door, and wheel the mover to the rear of the Ascent. From there I just push them onto the roof rack, strap 'em down, and "Bob's yer uncle!" When not in use, the cradles slip off of pins of the mover's arms and the mover folds like a tray table. I use a pair of vise-grip pliers on a cable loop to hold the trundle in the up position and leave the counterweight raised when out with the kayaks.

Here's the counterweight; pvc pipe filled with concrete:

The mover in position to receive (I re-purposed the kayak cradles,the back thingies, I made for the Outback's crossbars):

Trundle lowered:

Kayaks on mover:

Mover positioned behind vehicle:

View from inside:

[Indiana Rambler]

Nicely done. I’ve been trying to figure a way to do this as well!

[DJ Davis]

Andy,

I hope this gives you some ideas and/or inspiration! Here's the Instructables link I created this morning: Kayak Management Systems : 7 Steps (with Pictures) - Instructables

DJ

[Indiana Rambler]

That’s fantastic DJ! Thanks for the info! Only issue I have at the moment is the TD is right in the way of where I’d mount the second kayak.

[Zach]

Pretty slick! Great idea!