Just got a Portabote

[lozina]

I just received my portabote today. Can't wait to bring it out on a lake and try it out. Only thing is, not sure exactly how I am going to haul this thing on my SUV...

I've got a Honda Pilot with roof rails and cross bars, and the space between the crossbars is only about 3'. That's not much distance to balance 12' on top of. The nice thing is the folded down portabote is very light- but it's also flexible which makes me worry when I have a long section of this thing sticking out in front it would probably start flapping up and down in high winds..

Does anyone have any experience carrying something like this on their car, and would share some suggestions on what to do for this?

 

[Savarak]

cool how much are they??

 

[lozina]

Originally posted by: Savarak
cool how much are they??

pretty darn expensive.

i got mine (12' model) at discount at $1600. You can find it in places like Cabellas for $1800 I believe. I am very limited on storage space, I would have no place to store a rigid body boat which would be much cheaper. This folding boat should be the perfect thing for me.

 

[krunchykrome]

Thats pretty cool; I'd love to have one.

 

[PHiuR]

hmph, you can always get a trailer?

 

[Canai]

Can you fold down the back seats in your car? If so, you could just leave it hanging out the trunk, bungee the trunk down, and throw a caution flag on the end of it.

 

[DeviousTrap]

There's actually a Honda Pilot parked right outside my window. Looking down, the cross-bars are definitely a couple of feet a part. Are you sure you can't slide the cross-bars along the rails to separate them a bit more?

 

[Canai]

Oh I missed the bit about the cross bars before. You could center it on the cross bars, and then tie the ends to the tow hooks / random holes under your bumpers. I used to carry a 14' canoe on top of my last car like that.

 

[lozina]

Originally posted by: Canai
Oh I missed the bit about the cross bars before. You could center it on the cross bars, and then tie the ends to the tow hooks / random holes under your bumpers. I used to carry a 14' canoe on top of my last car like that.

Hey that's a good idea! I will definitely try this out first since it not only would be the easiest thing to do but also require the least amount of investment 🙂

 

[lozina]

Originally posted by: DeviousTrap
There's actually a Honda Pilot parked right outside my window. Looking down, the cross-bars are definitely a couple of feet a part. Are you sure you can't slide the cross-bars along the rails to separate them a bit more?

I just installed the crossbars on mine yesterday. The instructions gave specific position on the rails to install them- they have a mark on the rail for each crossbar to go. I am kind of scared to move them farther apart because the instructions didn't mention anything about positioning them where you want, and I read stories about some Pilot owners complaining about stress dents on the side panel where the crossbars are making me wonder if they didnt place them where they were supposed to