7 replies to this topic

[stlouismtbiker]

I have Yakima cross bars and q-towers for my car and have three bike mounts and two kayaks mounts for them. There a couple different ways to set it up- all bikes, all kayaks, one bike and one kayak, but I was wondering if there's a way to set up two kayaks and a bike. I might be able to squeeze the kayak racks together and fit a bike rack on, but I was wondering if I could put a bike tray on the crossbar on the outside of the q-tower. Each crossbar extends 6-8 inches outside the q-towers and I was wondering if that's sturdy enough to put a bike tray on.

Thoughts on that?

[traci]

What's the weight limit for the vehicle/rack?  How long are the kayaks?

[John_Kuthe...]

I'd think it would be more a question of how wide/thick are your kayaks?

And remember, racks are typically derated for liability reasons and will handle loads about twice what they are rated at.

PS: Never lost a boat and I've loaded lots on my Yakima racks. Did have a tower extender fail on me once when I hit a "dip" going too fast in Salida CO late one evening with a full load of about 5 or 6 kayaks!  Bow line pulled 'em all right down on the hood of my 1985 Suburban, all still tied to the rack! That was a shocker! Midnight rack repair with rope, duct tape and going a lot slower until I could buy replacement Yakima parts!

[traci]

John - I do believe my questions were appropriate.  The weight limit of the vehicle is important especially if there ever were an issue with Yakima failure.  Length is important as to the appropriate suggestion for kayak holder.

[stlouismtbiker]

traci, on 03 June 2012 - 01:22 PM, said:

What's the weight limit for the vehicle/rack?  How long are the kayaks?

I think the Yakima racks are rated at 160lbs and they're 10 ft. kayaks. Each one is ~40lbs so I'd have plenty of room inside that limit.

John_Kuthe..., on 03 June 2012 - 04:04 PM, said:

I'd think it would be more a question of how wide/thick are your kayaks?

And remember, racks are typically derated for liability reasons and will handle loads about twice what they are rated at.

PS: Never lost a boat and I've loaded lots on my Yakima racks. Did have a tower extender fail on me once when I hit a "dip" going too fast in Salida CO late one evening with a full load of about 5 or 6 kayaks!  Bow line pulled 'em all right down on the hood of my 1985 Suburban, all still tied to the rack! That was a shocker! Midnight rack repair with rope, duct tape and going a lot slower until I could buy replacement Yakima parts!

I had to spread the J cradles pretty far apart so the fairing clips wouldn't be in the way, but I could probably take the fairing off and put the J cradles closer and then fit a bike tray on. Have to do some experimenting tomorrow when I load them up.

Sounds like quite the adventure! Most exciting thing with our roof rack happened with my parents 20 years ago with some old wheel holders on the roof. One of their mountain bike wheels popped off on I-170, rolled between three lanes of traffic and ended up in the grassy median unscathed.

[John_Kuthe...]

stlouismtbiker, on 03 June 2012 - 10:16 PM, said:

...
I had to spread the J cradles pretty far apart so the fairing clips wouldn't be in the way, but I could probably take the fairing off and put the J cradles closer and then fit a bike tray on. Have to do some experimenting tomorrow when I load them up.
...

Any of those "kayak holding devices" take up a lot of rack space. With 10ft kayaks can I assume they are plastic?  Why don't you just use kayak stackers and load them up on edge, like this?

[stlouismtbiker]

Right now, I just have two kayaks, but the kayak stackers look like a good way to carry lots of boats. I went with the J cradles because they seemed easier to hold the boats and less work to secure the boats. I'm really happy with them so far, but will say they do take up a lot of rack space.

I re-adjusted the position of the racks and fit a bike tray on with the two kayaks. I could put another bike tray on the other side so I could carry two kayaks and bikes on the roof. Guess the 58 inch crossbars have more space than I thought at first.

[John_Kuthe...]

I never liked the J-cradles because you pretty much have to set the kayaks in them. Not great if you want to slide the kayaks in from the end.

And the stackers work great even with one or two kayaks.  I love mine. Plus I have a pair of Yakima's original kayak stackers from 1994 when they were $40 a pair! Nothing on the ends, I tie a trucker's hitch in the rope to secure it to the top of the stackers then over the kayak(s) and down to tie off securely to the tower and bar. As in my pic.