How to climb up onto voyager top?

[tobyberk]

I am in the process of ordering a chevy based SMB with a voyager top. I want to carry a canoe on top. I can pull the canoe onto the top and fasten it to Thule crossbars, but I need to be standing on the top to get it up there and fasten it down. The top is 24 in taller than the base van, and the standard ladders (rear door or side) only go up to the raingutter. Does anyone have a good solution for this?

[Pschitt]

I already saw custom ladders going up to the rack. Probably the best solution...

[bratworst]

Search Brent Haywood's posts (haywoodphotomaccom). He has a ladder up to his rack.

[kwilliam8]

Here is another option. Sportsmobile put two rungs above the normal ladder for us. I'm not sure where they got them, but the ladder is from Aluminess. Might be worth calling Aluminess up, if you want to pursue this option. Hope this helps.
Keith W.

[Pschitt]

An alternative seen in kwilliam8's gallery:

[tobyberk]

Originally Posted by kwilliam8

Here is another option. Sportsmobile put two rungs above the normal ladder for us. I'm not sure where they got them, but the ladder is from Aluminess.

This looks like a good solution. How is it to climb on?

[kwilliam8]

The rungs are just fine to climb on! They feel very secure (SMB did a good job installing them). I believe we were charged $100 for each rung (including installation). If you had a roof rack, you might only need one rung.

[witoke]

http://www.boatloader.com/boatloader.html

The electric system might be a bit overkill for a canoe but the basic idea is that a rear mounted roller to slide the bow of the boat on could allow you to do it quite easily. There is a recent thread on this.

I have a PH top on a 4x4 van and I think it's high off the ground. A voyager top is really high. You might think about a non-skid coating of some kind if you really plan to walk around up there with a wet boat. The steps SMB mounted look similar though less robust than grab bars, the kind used in bathrooms. If you want a DIY solution any of the BigBox hardware stores will have grab bars in a variety of lengths and diameters. There are also folding mast steps that would be a bit more discreet and that would work well.

[tobyberk]

Thanks for all the info and suggestions. I think I will go with Keith's suggestion (ladder plus added rungs), but
definitely with some non-skid stuff on the roof.

[daveb]

Don't hurt to add some to the rungs as well...doesn't seem too high till you hit the ground.