Transporting your kayak

Getting your kayak from point A to point B

 

 

While discussing plans for upcoming events recently the eternal question of the legality of kayak transport was raised. It may therefore be prudent to detail here the road rules as they stand in South Australia for all to read.

 

Transport on your roof

The following loading regulations apply to light vehicles, Mass 4.5 tonnes or less –

Front Projection –

The load being carried on any vehicle must not project more than 1.2m forward of the vehicle.

Rear Overhang –

The rear overhang of a vehicle is the distance measured from the centre of the rear axle or axle group, to the rear of the vehicle and includes any rear load projection.

The rear load projection is the distance measured from the rear of the vehicle to the rear end of a load being carried and is included in the rear overhang measurement.

The maximum rear overhang allowed is 60% of the wheelbase up to a maximum of 3.7 metres, whichever is the lesser.

The wheel base is the distance between the centre of the rear axle or rear axle group to the centre of the front axle.

The rear of a load on a vehicle must carry a warning signal if the load projects more than 1.2m or cannot be easily seen.

In the daytime, the warning signal must be a brightly coloured flag measuring at lest 300mm x 300mm. At night, the warning signal must be a red light that can be seen for 200m.

 

Transport on a trailer

All trailers transporting rowing boats, canoes or kayaks must comply with the following requirements;

The rear overhang of the trailer as measured from the centre of the axle, or axle group, must –

1.     Not exceed 3.7 metres,

2.     Not be longer than the length of the load in front of the axle, or axle group.

The overall length of the towing vehicle and trailer combination including any load shall not exceed 19 metres.

This is best explained with a diagram (as supplied by Dept Transport)

 

NB – To confuse the issue even more trailer exmptions can apparently be sought (see below)