A couple of questions for those that use bed extenders.
Where does one store their fishing rods if they do not have interior access to their kayaks?

Do these units tend to scrape on the road a lot when going up say a subtle incline?

1. i usually travel alone and carry my rods in my passenger seat

2. i rarely scrape

I usually travel alone and carry my rods in my passenger seat and I've never scraped, although I'm sure you could.

Another loner who carries rods in passenger seat. When my wife or son goes with me, we use the trailer and put rods in bed. You could construct a rod tube and mount it to your bed somehow.

Scraping shouldn't be an issue, unless you have a low-clearance vehicle.

I've never scraped my bed extender. My rods ride in the rod box on my boat or in my cab. Period. Passengers deal with rods inside, and that includes their rods/reels. My only other option is to remove the reels and carry the rods in a 4" x 8' PVC tube. But I only use that if we are going for 2 or 3 days or more.

I have drug my bed extender before usually coming out of a parking lot that has a deep drop to it as far as my rods I usually just lay them in the floor of my yak.

I lay the rods along side the kayak in the bed. If it's just me then the kayak will be centered in the bed and secured. I have one strap that goes across the bed at the top rear by the tailgate. I lay my rods with the reels to the front of the bed and the rods lay on the rear strap to keep the tips up. On the opposite side of the kayak I keep my crate, cooler, and big stuff so it is away from my rods. Never had a issue with the rods getting damaged doing it that way.

Scraping is not really an issue but I have been rear ended twice. People are idiots when it comes to following a vehicle with a bed extender and a kayak. They like to see how close they can get at stop lights.

If I get a Propel 13, would a bed extender work with a shorter bed (5 ft) or is the longer bed (6 ft) better?

Is there a way to lock the kayak in the extender to help prevent theft?

My kayak would stick out pretty far but I never scraped anything. I did rig up some lights I would use in the daytime, plus the required red flag. I wanted to be sure cars behind me would take notice.

I strap my rods down in my yak.
I've scraped a few times but it is a rare occurrence.

I'm sure there is a way to chain it to the truck. Maybe find a point on the kayak where one of those rubber coated wire cable locks could go?

I have a 6' bed and a FX 12. Yak is 4.5' past the end of the tail gate.
I run a chain through the handle then lock it to a D ring in the bed of the truck.
If they want it they will get it.

I lay my rods inside my kayak and the straps used to hold the kayak down also hold down the rods.

The T-Bone bed extenders (available at Mariner Sails) are curved to avoid scraping. They're expensive but I really like mine.

Craig

I had a pickup with an 8ft bed and used one that came with my kayak once. I had to remove it to get in my driveway. If you have a 8ft bed you really don't need an extender. My truck was a regular cab so I had to travel with the rods in the bed. Make sure your bed is clean and you should't have any problems.

Your post has reminded me that I have an extender I no longer need.

Would it be possible just to lay a long piece of plywood or something in the length of the bed that extended out past the tailgate?