TexasKayakFisherman.com

Does anybody here haul their kayak hanging flat out the pickup bed and have a lighting arrangement where the lights are attached on the kayak itself?
I know a lot of guys use bed extenders with lights attached to the extender.
I don't really need an extender, just something else to get stolen. But I do want to start frogging from the kayak, and that means I need some lights for hauling at night...

Looking for some ideas or tips.

My kayak has a 6" red led strip on a switch.

Pics?

TimmyT140 wrote:Pics?

That looks pretty cool, but Im not sure it's legal to the letter of the law if they want to get nitpicky.

Scroll down to Sec. 547.382. http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/D ... TN.547.htm

I rigged up some red marker lights with angle iron, I can attach it to the rudder bracket. On and off in about 1 minute.

I like that, that looks sho nuff legal. I haul mine with the bow sticking out the back, so I'm gonna have to come up with some way to attach a contraption like yours. I don't have a rudder, anyway.

Thank you!

I might be able to use the existing handle screws to rig something to, somehow...

Piece of cake. I bought a box of military grade glow sticks. Snap it and attach it with a zip tie. I carry on a trailer one or two yaks. Each yak gets a stick VERY visible.

Tallgrass07's rig is completely legal according to the letter of the law he linked to. Anything else is probably going to be at the discretion of the officer.
That other thread is what got me on this track, I need some lights so I can go frogging. I have hauled at night occasionally with just a red flag and never been stopped, but I mostly tried to get home before dark.

Safety first, not just for the person with the kayak, but for other drivers. Not to mention potential liability issues if one is hit at night or in low-visibility weather with just a red flag.

I bet you could put 1 or 2 short gear tracks on your bow, and attach a light rig to 1-2 RAM double socket mounts on ball mounts. You could then take that off and attach a different light for frogging.

That's a good option, too. I don't need any special lights for frogging, I think I only need a headlamp for that. I only meant lights like yours for night driving on frogging trips.

You could replace the two screws holding your handle with 2 eye bolts and use those as the basis for an attachment point.

I'm starting to form a plan involving a PVC pipe frame ratchet strapped to the top of the yak. Easy-Peasy!

Here's what I ended up with, I think it'll be legal:

Even with lights on the kayak it's not legal if it sticks out more than 4 feet past your bumper. I was going to get an extender and put lights on it and the kayak. Went to the DPS office and showed them my plans to see if I would be legal. They said I wouldn't because the kayak was hanging off more than 4 ft past my bumper.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

This has been pretty well researched by the guys on this forum, the 4 feet rule only applies to commercial vehicles. I thought the same thing until they showed me the correct page in the law book. There's another thread in this section that clears it all up.
I'm thinking the person you talked to was uninformed, at least that's what I'm hoping. Not all LEO's know all the rules. A guy at work told me I couldn't have barbs on my frog gig, he said his local game warden told him so. Well, that game warden was wrong.

Here's the post by forum member RPB in the other thread:



Well, yes, that's the DPS CDL handbook, which paraphrases the actual laws for commercial vehicles, but that may only be for commercial vehicles. If you are looking for the actual laws regarding lighting/flags on projecting loads to the sides or rear for a non-commercial Pickup truck/passenger vehicle/van etc .... look at:
Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 547, Section 547.382

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/D ... tm#547.382

Sec. 547.382. LIGHTING EQUIPMENT ON PROJECTING LOADS. (a) A vehicle transporting a load that extends to the rear at least four feet beyond the bed or body of the vehicle shall display on the extreme end of the load at the times specified in Section 547.302(a):
(1) two red lamps visible at a distance of at least 500 feet from the rear;

(2) two red reflectors that indicate the maximum width and are visible at nighttime at all distances from 100 to 600 feet from the rear when directly in front of lawful lower beams of headlamps; and

(3) two red lamps, one on each side, that indicate the maximum overhang and are visible at a distance of at least 500 feet from the side.

(b) At all other times, a vehicle transporting a load that extends beyond the vehicle's sides or more than four feet beyond the vehicle's rear shall display red flags that:

(1) are at least 12 inches square;

(2) mark the extremities of the load; and

(3) are placed where a lamp is required by this section.

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.