Cartopper Boat for Hilux tray

[Parrot_King]

Hi all,

I need a bit of assistance as I am in the process of purchasing a cartopper/punt for creek, dam and river fishing. I don't want a trailer and want to put it in the back of my dual cab hilux ute in the tray.

Can anyone advise if this would be possible? The size I am looking at is 3-3.6m punt.

Are there any racks I can buy that attach to the towball to use as a support? I will use the factory bar above the rear window with the 2 tabs to hold it but need something for the back cause if I just put it in the tray and on the bar it would be 1.2-1.4m in the air. is this legal?

Any info you can give me would be great.

I have also attached a photo of my car with a 8foot tender in the back.



cheers mike

[Parrot_King]

Can anyone advise if I could put roof racks on and strap a 3.6m punt to the roof?

Has anyone done this can you please share your views?

[whereswoody]

Mate check into 4 seasons tinnies. 3.55 high sides and only 55kg. Had one on top of my camper trailer and could lift on and off by myself no worries.

[banksmister]

My Hilux
3.3m Dehavilin on the roof.
Canopy made by me.

[Parrot_King]

Thanks all. What options have I got besides roof racks and towbar rack? I would rather not spend money on the racks at all and more on the boat

[Axl]

Thanks all. What options have I got besides roof racks and towbar rack? I would rather not spend money on the racks at all and more on the boat


A trailer.....;)

You will spend $500 or more on a good set of roof racks (Rhino or similar) that are strong enough to hold a tinny and with the ute you have you may even need a way to load from the side which will mean a boat loader. They are between $1500-$2000, trailers for a boat that size are a lot cheaper than this.

Here is another option but they are dear around 4k I think http://www.flipneasy.com.au/boatneasy.html and I dont know what there top speed is. I have been researching my options to get my punt to onto my next camper trailer, this will require side loading this mob also do boat loaders http://www.flipneasy.com.au/goneasy.html but as I said they are not cheap.

Rhino also do boat loaders http://www.rhinorack.com.au/products/water/boat-loaders I saw one of these in action last time I was up at Somerset camping, they are good but you need to carry a 18V cordless drill for these.

[Parrot_King]

Thanks axl, maybe im better off sticking with a smaller boat like the quintrex 250 explorer at least this will fit in my tray as its only 8foot like the poly boat in my photo. This would definitely save on costs as it all sounds quite expensive. Are there any other boats around in the 8 to 10 foot range?

[Jabiru658]

Have you thought about a Porta Boat folding boat?

There have been a few for sale on ebay recently, I suspect that some people are upgrading to the newer Aussie built quick boat folding boat.

Of maybe an inflatable?

[Parrot_King]

Thanks jabiru658, what are the porta boats worth? What is a decent inflatable boat to buy?

[Jabiru658]

I've seen Porta Boats selling second hand on eBay from under $1000 for the older ones to several thousand dollars for newer ones with larger motors.

I'm not an expert on inflatables, a friend of mine has an Island Inflatable with a small Parson outboard on the back and it goes ok.

[Parrot_King]

Thanks jabiru658, im not real sure on the strength or stability of the inflatables. My first opinion is aluminium is always stronger than any inflatable but heavier too. I will look into the inflatables