Kayak Management Systems

I store my kayaks on a homemade pulley-trundle system with a counterweight that suspends them over the garage door when opened. When ready to load, I'd pull the Outback into the garage, close the garage door, lower the trundle right onto to the roof racks, release the trundle support straps, strap down the kayaks, and off we'd go. I upgraded to an Ascent and its cross bars are too high to drop the kayaks on top of the roof racks 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 to hold the trundle in the up position and leave the counterweight raised when out with the kayaks.

3/16" steel cable

3 - 150 lb rated pulleys

3 - 6" screw hooks to anchor the pulleys

6 - cable clamps

6" pvc pipe filled with Kwikrete (plugged the bottom end with a piece of plywood cut in a circle)

1 - 12" length of 1/2" rebar bent into a loop and set in the Kwikrete at the top of the counterweight

1 - cable hook to attach the cable to the counterweight

2"x4"s to make the trundle's frame

An old boat trailer winch strap cut into sections long enough to support the bow/stern of the 2 kayaks

8 - grommets for the support straps' ends

8 - large head woodscrews to hold the straps on the ends of the trundle frame

This shows the cable and pulley system and frame for the trundle.

I used a length of 6" pvc pipe filled with concrete as the counterweight. The two kayaks weigh about 60 lbs, so I added a couple more pounds to the weight to compensate for the trundle, cables, etc.

Four lengths of 2"x4"s with a ripped 2"x4" for cross braces form a large tray table frame. The black cradles at the top are the ones I made for my Outback's cargo cross bars. They are held in place at each end of the upper frame by 3/8" dowel sections (pins). Two lengths of 90# strength chain hold the legs in the proper position to slip the cradles on the pins at set up. Four swivel caster wheels are mounted on blocks at the end of each leg. To store the mover, lift off the cradles and fold the frame like a tray table. It "scissors" on 5/16" bolts in the center of the X to about 6' high, 4'-3" wide, and 5" thick.

When ready to load, position the mover centered under the trundle and lower the trundle. Counterweight stays raised and supported by a lean-to "half-stool" as I call it. Undo the trundle slings and let the kayaks rest on the cradles.

Leaving the counterweight on the support, I raise the trundle by pulling on the cable, make a loop, and using a pair of vise grip pliers I hold the trundle in the up position so the garage door can open.

The last step is to position the mover behind the vehicle, slide the kayaks onto the roof rack crossbars, and strap the kayaks down. My preferred method of transporting the kayaks is to flip them upside down and strap them directly to the crossbars with a bowline for peace of mind. I'm hoping that the Vs of the upside down kayaks act of a form of wind deflector to improve gas mileage. I can dream, right...?

I decided to make my own kayak carts with scrap 2"x4"s, 7" lawn mower wheels, 1/2" lag bolts and washers, and cam lock straps. Note: if you decide to make these, try to find sections with good grain and no wood knots

To form the 'X' of the frame, cut dados at 45 degrees the width of the board and half the thickness of the wood deep in the center of each board. The lower ends of the X are squared off for the wheel shaft hole and to prevent dragging and the top ends are squared vertically. The shaft is a lag bolt the size of the hole in the lawn mower wheel, 1/2" if I remember correctly. Drill your bolt holes centered in the squared off lower ends of the X. Make the hole the depth of the threads on the bolt.

Measure the angle of the hull of your kayak and cut a corresponding notch 3-1/2" wide by 3/4" deep on the top ends of the X. Note: depending on your hull's V shape, the notch should be 3/4" deep on the inside and taper off upwards toward the outside end of the arm. Screw and counter sink 2 wood screws into a piece of 1"x4" that is 10" long on each end of the upper arms of the X. Cover the top surface of the 1"x4" by gluing a piece of scrap carpet to it to protect the hull from scratches. Use a non-water based glue.

The lag bolt should have a shaft below the hex head about 1 1/2" wide before the threads. This acts as the wheels' axle. Place a washer next to the hex head, insert the bolt through the wheel, then add a second washer. I coated the lower threads (the "pointy" end) of the bolts with JB Weld before screwing the bolts into the wood. Tighten until just snug and the wheels spin easily.

The frame is held together by a 2" long 1/4" bolt, washers, and wingnut. If you don't care about being able to disassemble the cart for a smaller footprint in storage, just glue it together with non-water based glue.

A 1" wide cam lock strap is cut about 2' from the cam buckle, the end is melted with a lighter/candle to prevent fraying and attached with a screw to the underside of the 1"x4" on one side of the cart. The left-over end is attached the same way on the other side and shortened as needed/desired.

Moving the kayak: Position the cart slightly aft of center of the kayak. Slip the cam straps ends together and pull until snug. For a sit inside kayak, you need to tighten until the cockpit flexes slightly. This prevents the strap from slipping down to a smaller diameter area and falling off. If pulling over rough ground, check the straps every once in a while.

Note: I made these carts for our his 'n hers kayaks with the 7" wheels just to see how they would perform and not take up too much cargo space. They work well on level, hard ground, but drag in loose sand and gravel. Yes, larger wheels would do better and I've seen home-made pvc frame models with such, but they're big and bulky, plus by that time you're close to the price of a manufactured cart. I had the wood and carpet scraps, so all I had to buy were the wheels, lag bolts, washers, and cam lock strap. I had the other materials on-hand (misc bolts, glue, etc) thus the cost of making one cart was around $25. The cheapest that I've seen online is $40.