Favorite Roof Racks for Kayak

[MN BassFisher]

Hey guys, I'm happy to announce I've gotten out of my car and into a Jeep Grand Cherokee. It has a roof rack and already has the cross racks as well. I used to transport my kayak using the Malone Handirack - it served it's purpose well but now I want to buy an actual roof rack system. I'm looked at some of the Thule and Yakima racks but I was just curious what your opinions were? I'm not sure if I want to get the "j-style" cradles or if I want the "slide and set" pads. Opinions welcome!

[tolle141]

how wide are the bars and how many yaks you stackin? I have two sets of thule jbars. They're excellent for a Mazda 3, but if you have to lift up that high you might be better off with the sliders/rollers. I was considering a set if I got a Hobie, but I think I'll just save for a boat.

EDIT: what are your jeep's bars rated for? Alot of the factory racks seem to only be rated for 100-125 lbs.

[MN BassFisher]

Good questions Tolle - I will have to look into the Factory Rating. Pull out the ol' manual. I will only be stacking my kayak on there (Ocean Kayak Trident 11) maybe another in the future. Do the J-bars hold a wide kayak, my OK is 30.5" wide - I was eyeing up the J-style cradles but I will have to do a trial run and see how awkward it is to load on top of my Jeep.

[tolle141]

Yeah they'll hold it just fine. I stack a trident 13 and emotion stealth on there so it'll hold yours perfectly.

[MN BassFisher]

Do you leave your J-bars on when not towing a kayak or do you remove them each time? I was thinking about getting the pro version that fold down so I could lock them on the bars and leave them on their when I'm not using them. I've heard they make a whistle while driving though without the additional fairing.

[BTL]

I use the Yakima Hully roller/Saddle combination. I have a Ride 135, which is a fairly large yak, and it works great. No complaints.

[tolle141]

I was going to get the Pro's, but then I saw how easy it is to take the standard jbars off. you just loosen up the screw and take it off. 10 seconds or less. Put the cash you save towards another rod/reel or a bike rack!

The Hullaport Pro's on the other hand.... I want sooooo bad.

[tolle141]

I use the Yakima Hully roller/Saddle combination. I have a Ride 135, which is a fairly large yak, and it works great. No complaints.

How do you like the Ride? How's that thing paddle? Stability looks fantastic.

[BTL]

I like it a lot, but it's the only yak I've ever owned so I don't have much to compare it to :-P.

[MN BassFisher]

Yesterday I purchased the Thule Hull-a-port carriers. I'm excited for them to get here so I can get comfortable loading my OK Trident 11!

[yakfisher]

I have a Yakima rack for my ridgeline, wish I had the Thule square bars. I found that cradles for boats on the yak racks rotate around the bars because hey are only conected to one bar. Tule rack bars are square and increase the amount of torque required to make the boat cradle rotate around the bar vs the Yakima racks. Good luck.

[tolle141]

Yesterday I purchased the Thule Hull-a-port carriers. I'm excited for them to get here so I can get comfortable loading my OK Trident 11!

Sick dude! I'm so jealous. Let's see some shots of those bad boys when you get them on.

I may have just returned to the dark side.... I bought a boat!

[MN BassFisher]

We have been hit with some of that crappy MN weather the last 3 days but I have the racks and now it's just waiting for a nice enough day to get out there and put em on. I'll take some photos!

[OnAFly]

We've been hit with some crappy MN weather for the last two weeks. This is getting old.

[Slabasaurus]

We've been hit with some crappy MN weather for the last two weeks. This is getting old.

yeah... uf. Talk about shack nasties...

Anyone have any recommendations for a roof rack that I can use on my passat now, and move to a tacoma when I end up buying one here in a few months?

Or do most fit on most vehicles? I honestly have never really looked too hard at roof racks.

[Duffman]

Do you plan on having a topper on that Tacoma?

[tolle141]

Anyone have any recommendations for a roof rack that I can use on my passat now, and move to a tacoma when I end up buying one here in a few months?

Or do most fit on most vehicles? I honestly have never really looked too hard at roof racks.

Thule and Yakima both offer racks with "clips", whatever you want to call them, that are made for specific cars. The Thule ones run about $75, so they'll last you. I'd check the bar length requirement for the Tacoma as I'm guessing it'll be bigger than with the Passat. You can always go longer on the bars, but every car has a minimum length.

As far as the brand, both are great. As you'll see mentioned occasionally, the Yakima bars are round and will require a "Stretch Kit" to prevent cradles from rotating. Thule uses square bars so you don't have that problem.

[tolle141]

I should also add that Thule has by far the BEST customer service I've ever experienced. I consider breaking my stuff during the winter just so I can talk to them.

[Slabasaurus]

Thule and Yakima both offer racks with "clips", whatever you want to call them, that are made for specific cars. The Thule ones run about $75, so they'll last you. I'd check the bar length requirement for the Tacoma as I'm guessing it'll be bigger than with the Passat. You can always go longer on the bars, but every car has a minimum length.

Interesting... thanks for the info, was looking into thule, that's the only brand anyone I know has used for any of their racks for bikes n such.

Duff - Not sure on the topper yet, I'm sure eventually I'll have one but unless the truck I wind up with has one on it already.... Kinda just starting to look, finally fixed the passat up so i can sell/trade it whenever.

[ted4887]

Anyone here ever used the Thule Slipstream carrier? Any reviews? I wanted the load assist style carrier because my kayak weighs 70lbs, and after a long day on the water, lifting that high enough to load onto my SUV might be a bit of a PITA.