Anyone tried a kayak rack

Andy Dostal

Andy Dostal

Active member
I have 2 Carsten Pintails, and if I want to haul them both, one goes on the roof, one in the bed. But then the tailgate has to stay down. I want to be able to throw both of them on the roof, and was thinking about getting something like this, since they are too wide to lay on the coaming (sp?). Has anyone used these?? I all ready have a rack on the topper so I was thinking that these things would bolt right to it?

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Or maybe these

MPG106AUTOLOADERXV.jpg
 
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I don't use them on my sea kayak, I have the cradles myself that hole it upright. I know some people with wide, roto-molded play kayaks and they use racks similar to the top picture. I helped them load them up last summer and they worked good, pintail's should be similar. I wouldn't save much rack space on my kayak.

They should accomplish what you are wanting.

Chuck
 
Andy,

I've seen the racks you mentioned and they may work with the Pintail boats. The Pintail is quite a bit wider than most kayaks and I would be concerned if these cradles will offer enough vertical support. Also, a coworker of mine has this type of cradle (I don't know which brand) and his only comment has been; "The on edge profile increases the wind resistance, especially in a cross wind"

Have you considered extending your cross bars to be wide enough to accommodate the two boats side by side laying flat? Depending on how you bars are built, you might be able to replace them with longer ones. OR How about two pieces of Oak or other suitable wood bolted to you present bars but long enough to do what you want? Just another idea to consider.
 
That is why I love this site. I hadn't thought of that, but it is a great idea. Next spring I'll have to measure to see what would be necessary.
 
I too think the Carstens are at least twice the boat the racks are meant for. Too much weight and wind resistance.
 
Andy

If you go with the longer cross bars, they work, but watch your head, I have knocked myself good a couple of times on mine which overhang my vehicle.

If you wanted the upright configuration and were not bothered by the wind issue, you could make some fairly stable double racks with some tubing and a bender, by creating kind of a W shape so each rack would back up to the other, and stabilize it, rather than relying so much on the clamping to the bar.

Chuck
 
Andy,

I have a pair of those upright racks for my predator K140. They worked alright, but I replaced them with the cradle type because every time I went through the car wash they would get knocked down and punch holes in my truck cap. Now I find it much easier to use a bed extender that plugs into my trailer hitch. Slide the kayak in and slide it out....no lifting.

Z. Every
 
Andy, what brand racks do you have, I have some loong ones I made for my camper but it got too heavy to crank up so I don't use them any more. They will fit a Yakama bracket. Merry Christmas, hope all is well with you and yours.
 
We always used wider bars/pipes and kayak saddles for our kayaking adventures.Our kayaks are about 30" wide. I have a set of Hully Rollers that I never used too. And DO watch your head....those things STING!
 
Tom thanks for the offer, but I have a thule rack on the truck. I am pretty sure that the Carsten's are 39" wide. So gunnel to gunnel would be 78", but I'd like to have room for my hands to place the tie downs around the boats, so I'm thinking 84" should do the trick. I am pretty sure this is the route I will go. Lee and Tom, what material would you suggest, and also, what method of attaching it did you use? I am asking cause I'd like to be able to remove them easily when they're not needed. Which will be most of the time.
 
Andy, BTW I just went back and found your movie-Good stuff! The bars I made for the Yakama rack was made out of 2 pieces of tubing that just slid together inside of each other and pop riveted. I found the tubing at a salvage yard, don't remember what sizes they were. The Yakama racks use a round tube. I also made one earlier for another rack using rectangular aluminum and may have those crossbars in the attic. But you have seen my upstairs and know that could take a while. I will look later today to see how long they are. Those I coated with a "tool dip rubber coating" on the ends but they still hurt plenty when you walk into them. The round bars that I use now I cover with pipe insulation and duct tape, hows that for a "Red Green" solution? How heavy are those boats? That would be a concern also. I have seen racks that mount to the top of the box and go up outside the topper that would handle a lot more weight. Good luck.
 
I have Yakima racks also. I just used galv. water pipe (my kayak bud was a plumber) they were a bit smaller than the factory pipes because they didn't have the rubber coating so.....you guessed it...duct tape. I put a big wad on the ends too after dinging my forehead a few times (yes a few..no one can accuse me of being smort). You could probably just use a couple 2x4's and eye bolts(for the tie downs). It really doesn't take much to hold them down as long as the rack is sturdily fastened to the vehicle.
 
Andy, why not stack them in the bed one on top of another? We stack our boats 3 high in truck beds all of the time. I dont see any reason in the design that they would not be stackable.
 
Well, I do throw it/them in the back for short hauls. But on a long drive, with the back carrying oodles of gear, or when the dog rides in the back, I'd just as soon leave the tailgate up. Also - last year coming home one night from a hunt I got a flat tire (Chevy Silverado). With the tailgate down, lowering the spare tire was a real B@#$%! I guess I just want options you know.
 
the Carsten's are 39" wide. So gunnel to gunnel would be 78", but I'd like to have room for my hands to place the tie downs around the boats, so I'm thinking 84" should do the trick.
Click to expand...

Andy, 78" across the middle of two boats, but your tie downs will be away from the middle, where the curvature of the boat will give you that room to tie, with 78"bars.

Chuck
 
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