Kayak

[KeithS]

Chris, that looks like a cleaner setup than others I've seen. Is there just one crossbar on the top of your cab, or two? I had thought that with a goalpost on the front that there might be a stability benefit to have two on the cab. We have two of the Hobie Revolutions, a few inches over 13', and it would seem that with two crossbars on the truck, you could get about 5' of the yaks on them. If you don't mind, some details on your rack, front hitch and goalpost and could two yaks be mounted with your setup? The few times, I looked on Yakima's site, they did not have a rack mount system specifically for my 2010 Crew Cab.

[chris]

I put a Draw Tite hitch up front that attaches to the tow hook mounts. That comes out as a 2" receiver. The front rack is made by Rhino Rack. The cab bar is single, mounted in the front position, and is made by Yakima. We are using a Yakima Hully Roller to mount it to the front and rear. If I were going to go with two yaks, you can do the same thing, but then put a wider bar on the goal post. That way you can manage the double width of your Hobies. The trick with this setup is to take the yak down when you're not driving. That keeps it from putting dents in the hull. We have also mounted it upside down - which worked better until I put the equipment on for my sail kit. Then we had to lift the kayak at different times to get it to clear the cross bar. Let me know if you want more pictures or more specifics.
Chris

[PETEANDCINDYONTHEGO]

I recently purchased a reflections 29rs and wanted to see how your RV rack is working out. Our max weight on the 2" receiver is 300 lbs. With the rack, bikes and two kayak I figure I will be right around the 300 number. Thank you.

[KeithS]

I've used my rack twice, 400 miles round trip and 1200 miles round trip, the second included about 60 miles of not so smooth dirt road. One kayak and about 30 lbs. on the other side. It held up fine, but it is important to secure the load. I use ratchet straps. I weighed the rack and it was about 90 lbs. The stripped yak, about 80.

[dloase]

Keith
I have two bars on the cab of my truck. My yaks are on the small side at 10', but if I do get a larger yak, I would go with the setup that Chris has, adding a receiver on the front of the truck.

[PETEANDCINDYONTHEGO]

Thanks Keith for the feedback. Weighing my bikes this weekend to get my total. Happy holidays

[ACDW-Ottawa]

I have been carrying my 2 12FT Pungo kayaks on the roof of my Cab for several years now on my RAM 3500 Short bed. I have them sitting centered on top of the truck's roof and pushed forward more than a foot to ensure turning radius while traveling to ensure they don't hit the 5er's front cap. It does restrict turning and required me to pull my hitch more often and remove them before parking in tight spaces at RV parks.

Thule rack with the Kayak cradles works fine but you need to be watching them all the time. I had to cross tie the front cradles because the wind was grabbing the kayaks trying to pull them apart. The front bar would move slightly every so often from the wind. Had I had them positioned properly, that shouldn't have happened.

One safety recommendation for securing the Kayaks no matter which rack used to haul them. Tie the kayaks through the kayak cradles & under the cross bars for additional security. Thule actually sent me longer straps (15ft) at n/c for me to tie it this way rather than only tying the kayaks to the J cradles. Apparently, the wind shear has caused incidents of kayaks flying off the roof with the cradles!!

During winter, its a pain traveling with the kayaks on the roof because the racks can't support the additional weight of the snow and ice. When stopping during snow storms, I solved the problem of having to clear off the snow and ice by putting a huge tarp over the kayaks and the truck's roof. After the storm, all you do is remove the bungee cords, pull the tarp, and all the snow and ice comes off!

I'm now purchasing a vertical kayak rack to carry them at the rear of my Solitude. Not safe for me to be climbing up on top of the roof to get to the Kayaks rack anymore.

[toulouse]

For my F150, I am using a double hitch and a Thule T kayak.
see pictures

[nctouring]

I put a Draw Tite hitch up front that attaches to the tow hook mounts. That comes out as a 2" receiver. The front rack is made by Rhino Rack. The cab bar is single, mounted in the front position, and is made by Yakima. We are using a Yakima Hully Roller to mount it to the front and rear. If I were going to go with two yaks, you can do the same thing, but then put a wider bar on the goal post. That way you can manage the double width of your Hobies. The trick with this setup is to take the yak down when you're not driving. That keeps it from putting dents in the hull. We have also mounted it upside down - which worked better until I put the equipment on for my sail kit. Then we had to lift the kayak at different times to get it to clear the cross bar. Let me know if you want more pictures or more specifics.
Chris

Looks good Chris... I am going this route. We have two sea kayaks (15' and 14'). I purchased the Yakima boat loader (similar to the rhino). Ordering the front receiver very soon. When you tie the bow down, are you running the line back to the tow hook?
... Line

[ACDW-Ottawa]

FYI: I cross tied my kayaks to the tow hooks in front (left Kayak to the right hook, etc). I used a piece of pipe insulation around the rope with electrical tape to hold in place to protect the hood paint. I did not bother with tying the rear down.
... Aaron