Old Nuwa, ideas to tow kayaks?and more

[Francis]

The post I had on July 29th had one reply about adding the roof rack. But we have been rethinking this as the 2x2 rafters on the roof may not allow a rack. And, it would be a long lift to get our 2 43# kayaks up there, as there is no attached ladder on the rear of this 1978 TC. Perhaps we can TOW a small trailer for the kayaks, adding a storage box for extra gear...any ideas or suggestions out there? We are still considering buying this old NUWA as it is in such good shape.
Also, there is no grey tank and only a 5-gal black tank. Would this be a pain on our planned trip from Maine to Alaska in a year or so??? We have had the comforts of our 30 foot fiver, but did not want to tow that on such a long distance. Are we crazy?

[Francis]

The post I had on July 29th had one reply about adding the roof rack. But we have been rethinking this as the 2x2 rafters on the roof may not allow a rack. And, it would be a long lift to get our 2 43# kayaks up there, as there is no attached ladder on the rear of this 1978 TC. Perhaps we can TOW a small trailer for the kayaks, adding a storage box for extra gear...any ideas or suggestions out there? We are still considering buying this old NUWA as it is in such good shape.
Also, there is no grey tank and only a 5-gal black tank. Would this be a pain on our planned trip from Maine to Alaska in a year or so??? We have had the comforts of our 30 foot fiver, but did not want to tow that on such a long distance. Are we crazy?

[Harald]

It would be possible to add a rack on the roof if you bolt completely through the roof. I did this on my camper to install a generic rack system that allows me to mount a Thule roof box on my camper. The rack is bolted through the roof and secured on the inside by fender washers and cap nuts. These are painted white to match the ceiling so they blend in nicely. The rack mount holes were liberally gooped with Dicor sealent to stop leaks before everything was bolted down. This rack system allows me to attach anything to the roof of my camper that you could attach to a car (and I've seen kayaks on cars). Of course you'd also need to attach a ladder to the camper or carry a lightweight ladder to gain roof access.

[Fxrscotty]

Look for an old small boat trailer and build some 2x4 racks. A 12 footer will do you fine and you can prolly find one for around a $100.