Wondering if anyone has used the square bar behind the bottom of the grill (see photo) as a tie-down point for light-duty use (canoe)? It will help my visibility to attach the tie-down strap staight down from the bow of the canoe.

In case anyone has considered using a Warrior Products Safari light bar and a Yakima Dry Dock hitch rack combination for canoe hauling, I've been very pleased with the combination. I've included pictures of my set up.

Thanks for your help,
Steve

 

I have been traveling to the BWCA for 15 years and always pull a trailer for gear and canoes. It looks like your set up would work well. If you tied thru the grill and the canoe shifted to one side it looks like the grill could be damaged. If it can't shift maybe it's not a concern.

 

Look at your pictures and then look at what's directly below the bow of your canoe. The metal bracket/loop in the middle of the hood is a perfect place to use your strap to secure your canoe; it's centered to the midline of your vehicle and it's plenty sturdy for what you want to do.

I've carried a kayak and an 8' pram where the bow is tied to this loop and it keeps the boat centered and from slipping back. In the rear I just use another strap to the spare tire. With these two tie-down locations, I didn't have any problems with the boats moving; even in strong cross-winds (you don't need two straps going to the corners of your vehicle so long as the one strap to the loop is tight and can't stretch). This also avoids draping the strap across the paint on your hood; something that will inevitably lead to scratches.

 

The two straps attaching the canoe to the front and rear racks really handle the load. The bow strap is just for an emergency, and if it comes in to play, I probably have more things to worry about than the grill... So it sounds like you're saying that, other than possible damage to the grill, that bar behind the grill is strong enough to support a tie-down strap?

 

I've always wanted to use that hood loop but I swear I've read on more than one occasion that it shouldn't be used for that purpose. I'm glad to hear you haven't had any issues doing so--that would certainly be the easiest solution for me. Anyone else do this?

 

I always use the hood loop

 

Use the two straps to tie it down to the racks as you already are and instead of tying the front and back the way you are, tie the front canoe handle back to the front light bar/rack to keep it from flying forward should something fail, then tie the back handle to the top of the back rack to keep it from flying backward should something fail. Worst case if the two main tie down straps fail it won't go flying off, but will slide to the side and stay on the jeep. Hope this makes sense. Don't over-tighten the front and back straps tied to the handles or you'll bend your racks. Nobody likes a crooked rack. Tying the front and back like this would prevent the canoe from jerking forward or backward a couple feet before there is tension. Slack like that could snap the strap should the canoe go flying then suddenly have tension when the slack is out. It also keeps all straps off your jeep paint.

Sorry for the long reply.

 

Also I wouldn't tie down to the hood loop as my opinion is that it wouldn't handle a heavy tension load in a traffic incident. The hood is pretty thin and the bolts are pretty small.

 

I use these, positioned on the outside of each hood hinge.

Seattle Sports Quick Loops - Pair at REI.com

 

Yes, I'm using something similar to those right now, but with the bow strap extending down to the two sides of the hood it crosses right in front of the driver and front passenger's field of view. Not a big deal--I've done multiple trips with it this way--but it I would prefer to just tie the bow straight down to get it out of my line of sight. I like the suggestion above of tying the bow and and stern to the closest rack crossbar instead of down to the vehicle. I don't see many people tie down canoes that way, however--are there potential problems with that method that I'm not considering?

Thanks for everyone's input--I appreciate it.