I frequently carry a 17 foot canoe on my roof rack and need to tie a rope from the nose of the canoe to the front of the FEH. There is not much of substance below the grille (all plastic). To get around this, I took a short length of rope and attached a snap hook on each end and attached these temporarily to the two front tow hooks, underneath the chassis. I then attached my rope from the canoe to the middle of this rope. I thread the rope through a length of soft foam rubber insulation designed for 1/2" water pipe (available at Home Depot) at any spot where the rope would touch the paint. There is enough spring in the short rope to keep the rope from the canoe tensioned.

Good idea!



Is that canoe heavy? How do you get it up there? Slide it up on the rear roof rack crossbar?

Best trip: 48.9 mpg over 17.9 miles (scangauge)
Best tank: 40.7 mpg over 606 miles (calculated)

I load a canoe from the side and slide it across the bars.. My canoe is Kevlar, so I can load it myself. The front rope really helps keep it from shifting in cross winds.

I load my kayak by sliding it up on the rear roof rack. I have a strip of carpet that fits between the rear roof rack supports. I slide it under the rear crossbar. I let it hang down the back so it covers the rear glass wiper. After the yak is loaded, I remove the carpet.

2008 FWD Escape Hybrid

Slick idea.