dolly when car-topping?

nonamebrand

New Member
Hi,

I am facing the decision on trailer or car-top to a regatta like 500 miles away, I've searched and find opions divided.

My question though is when you car-top, what do you do with your dolly? Surely you can't park it on the roof or it would destroy your boat/car?? If you don't take it with though, what do you do to launch on the other side?!?

Thanks
Mark
 
I car top and put the dolly on top of the overturned hull. Strap the whole thing down. At regattas there's lots of folks that will help you get the boat off the top and you'll end up helping a few as well.
 
Ok, cool, I didn't think that would work, with the dolly over the hull.

In your "expert" (!) opinion would you say theres a size limit to the car that this is practical on? I drive a Opel Corsa Club [not sure what its equivalent is overseas, i know the Astras are vauxhalls in UK] [http://www.corsa.co.za/content_data/LAAM/ZA/en/GBPZA/019/corsa/gallery.html], its a 4-door hatch?

The reason I am not keen to trailer is trailers are not easy to come by here, expensive plus I don't know where I would store it when I got back, as my home club does not have trailer parking and I have a one-garage townhouse in a complex.
 
That car sounds small. I car top on a Jeep SUV or Chevy Tahoe SUV. I don't like trailers because they are also hard to see cause they ride so low for single boats. I always worry about someone hitting it from behind.
 
In the US, most of the dollies are alum construction, so the additional weight on the roof is minimal ( less than 20 lbs w/o wheels)

There is additional drag obviously, which will lower your mpg approx 1-2 mpg (taking the wheels off does help)

I have the luxury of being able to break my dolly down and carry inside my vehicle if I choose. For less then 100 mile trips, I travel with the dolly on top since it saves me time, longer then that I will break it down and put it inside.

If I had no option to put it inside, I still prefer to cartop vs trailer
 
You'll probably be ok with that car. Don't need a very big car to cartop a laser =p

I figure the car probably has some limitation on how much you're allowed to carry on the roof, I guess you could check that.
Around here most of those small cars has limits that are just about what a laser weights so with a dolly it might weight a kg or two to much but who cares =P
 
Thanks for the tips guys.

The dealership is close to my office, so I am going to inquire there as to suggested weight limits and roof-racks.

I don't mind loosing some mpg , I won't be traveling fast anyways!

Interesting on the dolly that breaks down I dont think mine dows but maybe I'll check!!
 
That is a small car but I dont think you will have any problems car topping. I would slap the dolly upside down on top of the hull and take the tires off.
 
I would slap the dolly upside down on top of the hull and take the tires off.

Exactly right! The Corsa's pretty small, but I've seen a laser on a ford Fiesta, which I think might even be smaller! I dont think the guy travelled very far with it though, just from another local club to an open at our club.

I cartop all the time, dont have a trailer as have no space at home either. Slightly bigger car tho, but have done the full length of the UK four times!
 
what my family does is strap the laser to the top of the car without a dolly.I'd be afraid to strap on the laser with the dolly for fear that it would not be tight enough, i don't know. I use those straps that get the beast really on there, and a set of padded roofracks that tighten over the standard roofracks and go horizontally across the top of the car.

are you going to have passengers? because i think you'll need all the space you can use to get that dolly in there.
 
what my family does is strap the laser to the top of the car without a dolly.I'd be afraid to strap on the laser with the dolly for fear that it would not be tight enough, i don't know. I use those straps that get the beast really on there, and a set of padded roofracks that tighten over the standard roofracks and go horizontally across the top of the car.

When you put the dolly on top, you tie the dolly to the boat, and tie the boat to the roof racks. Don't try and tie them both to the racks as one.

Be careful when strapping the boat down, you can overtighten them and cause stress cracks on the rounded bilge area of the bottom, especially if you strap it down in the evening when temps are cool and then have the hull expand in the sunlight during the day.
 

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