Hauling 12' Aluminum boat with canopy

I'm ordering an ARE MX series cap for my 2014 DCLB in the near future. I will use it mainly for camping so I want to be able to put my 12' Aluminum boat on top. I know there are other canopies that would be better suited for the weight of my boat however I am pretty dead set on this cap. I also do not want to purchase one of those Boat loaders that go on the outside of the cap. Buying a trailer is also out of the question. Don't want that headache off road.

I have emailed ARE and they say their canopy is rated to support 150 pounds in motion and although i'm not sure of the exact weight of my boat i think its somewhere between 100-150 pounds. However, the additional drag caused by the boat will put more pressure on the cap.

I want to buy the Yakima roof rack w/rails with crossbars long enough to accept my boat but i'm not sure just this alone will be sufficient. Mainly because of the weight issues and also the spacing of the crossbars with this cap and rack system.

I do own one of those old school Totem poles that uses the 2" receiver with a single mast and a clamp that holds the boats transform. I could use this on the back to take some of the weight off the cap, but then I lose access to the tailgate and back of the canopy. I will however be buying the Windoor option with my cap so that might not be that big of an issue.

The other option i'm thinking of is buying a rack that would go over the cab to also take some of the weight off the cap. However, I'm not sure if someone makes one that would line up with the rack on the canopy because of the mid rise?

Heres some pictures of the cap I want to buy (Thanks to user Hanz) as well as the totem pole with the boat in question on my old ranger. It should help you get a better idea of what I'm talking about. Any ideas and recommendations are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

My suggestion would be to get a rack for the roof of the truck to share the load. A side benefit is that the boat will be more balanced. Using the ARE rack will have the load bearing racks about 4 1/2' feet apart, on the 12' length of the boat.

 

Pretty hardcore to go four wheeling and then launch your boat.

What kinda water?

You might maybe look at a longer boat, Grumman Sport boat like mine is 15' 4", about 130#. You might could get away with a totem pole at both ends and not put any weight on your canopy that way.

Or it might not be a good choice for the water your running, beam is only about 32" max.

Just an idea, trailer guy myself.

 

Based on how the cap is designed is there some way to support the rack internal to the cap? Like running supports up to the rack on the inside of the cap maybe?

 

I like the size of my boat for the lakes I fish. Mostly small lakes, looking for rainbow trout. Some of the dirt/gravel roads into the lesser known lakes are pretty bad. The boat will definitely be getting throw around on the top of the truck. Trailers out of the question. It will be too difficult to turn around and I'm worried about the ground clearance.

As I will be sleeping in the canopy I don't want to add any braces that would get in the way of my bed.

I'm leaning towards getting a rack for the cab. And maybe only using one of the racks over the canopy.

Can anyone recommend a tall rack that would go over the cab of the truck that would line up best with a rack on a mid-rise cap?

 

http://youtu.be/lKDtMPlaY5E

http://youtu.be/HmljjlWJ8nQ