: Has anyone tried the straps that anchor under the hood/hatch lid? I
: saw some recently. It is basically a piece of radiator hose with
: a loop of 1" web that goes through it. You close the hose
: inside the hood/hatch with the web hanging out and then tie your
: rope to the web. My Caravan doesn't have anything underneath
: that I would want to attach to. Usually I use the loop of
: hood/hatch latch but that means diagonal lines or putting the
: boat in the middle of the roof, neither of which is the best.
: They aren't expensive, provided they work (being over budget on
: Peter's boat I don't want to spend money on junk).

I popped the hood on my minivan and took out a bolt from the top of the fender on each side, then put a loop of webbing that was long enough to stick out the good when closed, threaded the bolt through the webbing and reinstalled. The same was done on the back by opening the hatch and removing a screw from each taillight. My front and rear tie- downs have a carabeener on each end, so I just click to the boat, click to the webbing loop, tighten the strap and tie off the extra. No crawling around on the ground and it take like a minute so no excuses not to have them on.

Dave g