How do you carry your kayaks?

Bed extender won't work for me because I can already throw 3 or 4 kayaks in the back of my truck without it, and I'm trying to keep them out of the bed so I can still have it free to pack all my camping and adventure gear

 

I did a ton of research and we even loaded our 85# 14 foot kayaks on the roof before ditching our old mid rise leer 180 camper shell (about the same height as a rack). I am very excited about having an open bed.

Decided to buy Yakima Overhaul HD for the bed. When we looked into roof carry the snags we hit were load capacity of about 165# on a DC and the challenges of loading onto the roof rack located on the roof rather than loading from behind (which is very easy even with two old folks) . The various load assists are for kayaks under 75-80#, add weight, and are very pricey. The yakima has a load rating of 500# while driving, 800# static, and 300# for offroad. You can get standard contractor ladder racks for about the same price as the yakima but I like being able to remove the rack, the rack looks great, it can take accessories, and the standard ladder racks are too narrow to carry 31" wide kayaks flat. We can also climb into the bed to manage straps.

The other issue I had with the roof was the span would max out at 32" on those bars. Once again...and down the road we hope to get 16' surf skis. (lighter but longer). I know you can carry long kayaks with that kind of span but I don't like the idea.

Decided on the yakima over the thule (I really preferred that sliding thule mounting system) for TWO reasons. (1) The height of the yakima can be infinitely adjusted so if we decide we want to center the kayak over the truck (it seems the center point is actually right between the bed and the cab for my truck), the roof can carry some of the weight as we can line up all the bars, using the back bar for loading and as a tail anchor. (2) the Thule HD system can accept a very limited number of cradles. I have made peace with the kayaks hanging over the back of the truck because they already hang off the ends of the trailer we have been using. So we will see. The Thule does offer an overhang for the cab but I thought that was very ugly. Granny does like aesthetics. . It was a tough call. FWIW Thule says you need to remove the bed rail tracks for mounting as it uses the stake pockets and Yakima has adapters for the rail. We are relocating the rail anyway to our wooden deck drawers but that could make a difference for someone. My experience with the topper was that the clamps for the topper shell limited the utility of the rail system and knew mouting the yakima to them would do the same thing. EDIT. I am actually looking into mounting D rings into the holes left behind after uninstalling the bed rail system. Anyone ever done that?

Plan to make some PVC bunks like we use on the trailer. I am working on ways to attach via the t-slots so we can remove them when not in use. It is easier to load upright than upside down for some reason and those bunks really support the hull of a plastic SOT kayak nicely (they run in the channel where the scupper holes are) and are great at preventing lateral movement - and we have the option of standard carriers with other kayaks. Also looking into either the Rhino t-loader or some other roller system. The yakima rollers are 75# limit and only 24" wide each.

Trailers ARE great when you have access to a parking lot with adequate parking but a lot of great places to launch kayaks have no ramp and no trailer parking. They can also be a bit scary when you are driving down a narrow dirt road with deep ditches and that road is carrying two way traffic or are on twisty mountain roads.

The rack should be here in about a week. We will first see about loading on gunnels as that means all we need are load stops and I will try to figure out how to do pictures on this forum.

 

Crazy easy way to load. We are in our 60s .........with heavy kayaks. We tried this out on our topper shell before we decided to buy the bed racks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npTbVoEyqGo&t=2s

 

I started looking into some of these bed racks for kayaks, as it is something I want to get into next summer. Holy CRAP! These things are effing expensive. Definitely need to be shopping for deals on these.

 

I have a pair of 16' sea kayaks that go on top regularly. I didn't like the idea of a semi-permanent bed rack because of what it does to fuel mileage. So my solution is a single Yakima roof rack near the back half of my CM cab and a Yakima rack that attaches to the trailer hitch and rises up the the same height as the roof rack. Takes seconds to remove the rack when I'm not carrying the kayaks.

The only problem is that I can't open the tailgate with the rear part of the rack in the trailer hitch, but that turns out to be just a minor inconvenience.

Kayaks are packed up for winter already, but I can snap some pics of the rack if you like.

 

I appreciate it, but I'm trying to avoid anything on the roof of the truck. I'll just pinch pennies and go with a bed rack eventually. They pop out easy enough from everything I've seen.

 

The problem I'm having is finding an affordable solution with the combination of a bed rack and a tonneau cover. When I'm hauling my kayaks it's usually because of a camping trip lasting at least a weekend which means that all my camping gear is in the bed of the truck. That requires a tonneau to keep all my gear dry and out of sight. This is the reason I'm leaning more towards a roof rack system because finding a compatible tonneau and bed rack system is way out of my price range.

 

I have not looked into these very much. I Looked into roof racks for a truck cap but the weight rating on those is not very large and by the time I add the racking and boats, I am too heavy. I wonder how much weight they can hold on top of our trucks? I have two 12’ foot kayaks And need a way to haul them when towing our camper.

 

Picked up a Wilderness Systems Radar 115 this weekend. I wouldn’t be comfortable carrying it far the way I did in my CM. It wasn’t well supported by the tailgate because I have a bed mat. The bed mat is thick enough that the kayak wanted to rock up and down. Only about half of the kayak was supported

I think the bed extender is a must for a 12 foot kayak in a CM

 

On my backseat.

$900 Driftsun Rover Inflatable Tandem Kayak - Driftsun Inflatable White Water Kayak - Inflatable 2 Person Kayak for Adults with High Pressure Floor, Padded Seats, Action Cam Mount, Aluminum Paddles, Pump

https://www.amazon.com/Driftsun-Rov...keywords=Driftsun+kayak&qid=1575246562&sr=8-3

 

Anybody know what the weight limit is on a 2019 crewmax Roof?

 

Pretty sure my setup is rated for 150# which would be more than enough for your two 12' kayak's.

 

84lbs each. Plus I need to add the weight of the racking and holders.

 

Damn...those are heavy. Not sure I would want to be trying to toss those up on the roof by myself anyway, and my assistant...5'2" 112# isnt much help either My 12.5' Tsunami is 51# and bulky enough by myself.

 

I have a truck cap. I’m thinking maybe put one crossbar on the truck cap and one on the cab to distribute the weight.

 

This is exactly why I got a Tundra. Just throw 'em in the back. Strap 'em down if you got more than four.

 

I added yakima rails and mounts on an old jet-ski trailer I converted. Works out really well!

 

Soooooo, does anyone know of anywhere that is running discounts or sales on bed racks and the like? I'm using google, but if somebody has a known source, that would be great.

 

So my fishing buddy's and I have been ditching our kayaks for 10ft Jon Boats. It packs better in my truck then a kayak. It can go in just as shallow water as my kayak could. But I can also have my 55lb thrust electric motor and carry more gear. One of my friends even got a suzuki 6hp motor for he's. He is pushing 25 mph on that little Jon boat. Not to mention two people can stand and fish from it. The boat is only 87 lb so loading it is a breeze. I made a side lift, low profile and lightweight rack out of Unistrut. With the boat on the rack it sets just below he roof of the cab. So mpg is not affected. I used two 150 lb gas struts to assist in lifting. This allows me full access to my truck bed. Plus if I flip the boat upright I can also packet gear in it. There is also enough room under the boat that I can get a second 10 foot Jon Boat in the bed underneath it.

 

That's a pretty sweet setup!!!!!!!!! Makes me wanna do something similar

 

This is what I pull behind my Tundra for kayaking and camping trips. Unfortunately I don't have any better pictures of it all loaded up with our kayaks or canoe. I have a large family and own six kayaks, all Wilderness System Pungo's, 3 - 12' and 3 - 14 footers. Also, a 15' old town canoe so I need lots of carrying capability. Works great and we love it. Keeps my bed free for carrying all the camping gear and stuff.

 

YES! This is the kind of set up I am looking for. Would you mind sharing details on it? The big thing I'm trying to avoid is drilling holes in my truck, so I've been looking for rack systems like this that can mount to existing holes or to the bed rail system.

 

Sub’d

 

These are by Rola. They use the bed rail system. I just have a set of generic holders on top. The racks can slide in and out.

$474 ROLA 59799 Haul-Your-Might Rack for Nissan Titan, Toyota Tundra and Tacoma Pickup Trucks

https://www.amazon.com/59799-Haul-Your-Might-Nissan-Toyota-Tundra/dp/B00V9T0HZ4

$48 Tengchang 4 Racks Kayak Carrier Canoe Roof Top Mounted Rack with One Year Warranty

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071WYKQW9/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

That is one seriously clean garage

 

Can you use a tonneau cover when these are on?

 

That's a killer deal for a rack with that weight rating.

 

hmm. For whatever reason it says it won't fit a 2019 Tundra. Pretty sure if it fits your 2015 it'll fit everything after it, because nothing has changed on the Tundra since 2014, right?

 

It doesn't look like it. It is attached to the rail system in the bed of the truck, and that would block any cover.