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Roof Rack with Kayak

10K views 9 replies 7 participants last post by  DavidV 
#1 ·
Hello:
We own a 2008 Santa Fe and want to put our kayak onto it. I moved the front cross rail as far forward as possible but there is still 1/3 of space to move the rail up but you can't because of an inner rubber piece. If you take that piece out there is not holes to lock the front rail into the side rails. Is it recommended todo this or leave the front cross rail where it is. If you leave it there is only about 3 1/2 to 4 feet between the rails and the kayak is 13 feet long. Is this still safe?
Harry:confused:
 
#3 ·
Kayak

Yes, we would definately buy the J style kayak holders but my concern is that the distance between cross members is only 3 1/2 to 4 feet where if I can move the front cross member further forward then the dstance span can be increased by 12 to 18 inches.
Harry
 
#7 ·
I did the same thing as APK...drilled right down through the roof rails. I bolted my rage rack right to it :D
 

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#5 ·
For a longer sea kayak or recreational boat, I would recommend the Yakima Mako Saddles. The J-bars are great for small whitewate boats, but from topping 2 sea/rec kayaks on a smaller 4X4 Ford Ranger pickup, we have found that the shape of the boat tends to make the vehicle pull to the direction the bow points. If on its side with J-bars, it will pull left or right unless you have a pair of kayaks facing into or away from each other.

We mount ours upside down as the deck is more rigid than the hull (heavier rotomolded boats - fiberglass or composite is much lighter and stiffer). It also allows the boat to push down and prevents rain getting in even in a downpour. There is NO deformation of the deck or hull. We do use cockpit covers also. On the pickup, the bars are 5.5 feet apart, so with 13'-14' boats, we do not use front or rear tie downs as only 4' is out on each end. The racks are removable with permanent mounting brackets. We use 4 safety straps under the actual bars in addition to the saddle straps. This setup has been on multiple 600 mile trips and has never loosened, moved or slipped.

I have found upsiode down is more stable in the wind at highway speeds, although a sharper turn at speed will feel like the vehicle want to go straight... ;)

I was going to mount the rack to the Santa Fe, but do not feel the SF rails seem as durable, so we are going to get a hitch and trailer them which allows us to fill the boats with the paddles, vests, and other light but bulky gear since the Santa Fe cannot carry the volume of gear the Ranger does. Plus it is more aerodynamic. We have found the boats cost about 1.5 MPG at 70MPH, so we are still over 21 MPG on the highway with the truck. Since our SF is getting 25-26MPG over the road, I do not see a trailer with the kayaks in the slip stream having much effect.

ALso, be careful when opening the rear hatch as a longer boat may hit with a roof mount (that too figured in our hitch decision). Good luck however you go.
 
#6 ·
I know this is an old thread but have another suggestion. I used to carry a 12 foot kayak on two narrow roof racks on a chevy S10 extended cab.

What worked great was two 26" inch bicycle inner tubes , partially filled with air, folded in half, and tied to small ropes on each of the folded ends to tie down on the racks . The folded tube stretches over the middle of the kayak and the tension holds everything nice and tight . I drove several 2000 km trips like this with no tying to the front or back required
 
#9 ·
I measured the actual pin on the bars and it is exactly 9mm , so I would assume the holes are a little larger , maybe 10 mm
 
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