show us your kayak/canoe mounts or methods

[landcruiser3DP]

just picked up this puppy from goodwill.

anyone got any advice on hardware or methods on securing it next time i try to take it somewhere?

any good accessories i should look into?

what’s the best way to make sure it doesn’t catch air and try to take someone out on the highway...?!

THANKS

 

[ZackR]

@Red Merle has hauled a few boats in his day...

You current setup looks pretty good to me, triple ratchet strapped and centered on the rack. Not goin anywhere.

 

[LOOKman]

agreed. But if you want to set it and forget it; add a tie at the bow. triangulate it with both tow points under the front bumper.
Then you confidently say, 'that SOB aint going anywhere'.

 

[Red Merle]

@Red Merle has hauled a few boats in his day...

You current setup looks pretty good to me, triple ratchet strapped and centered on the rack. Not goin anywhere.

View attachment 1921726

That looks adequate but I am a fan of using cam straps instead of ratchet straps because those roto-molded hulls can deform fairly easily in the heat of the Sun. Even better would be to add some rollers and cradles to make loading it easier, but that isn't crucial.

That said, that's not going anywhere

NRS 1" HD Tie-Down Straps

First sold in 1978 as a better way to tie down gear and frames on whitewater rafts, the NRS 1" Heavy Duty Strap is known the world over for its incredible strength and versatility.

www.nrs.com

 

[Red Merle]

This is how I roll. I can get another boat on top for a total of three.

 

[Godwin]

I use Yakima cross bars and tie canoes down to the bars with rope but straps would be easier to use. I also tie down the front of the boat(s) to the bumper, this may be overkill but I think additional points of attachment are better.

 

[EngEngr]

Kevlar Wenonah 16'
Malone big foot pack on stock roof rack. Hopefully getting some bars at some point.
Holds for 8 hour trips @ 70MPH up to BWCA

Amazon.com : Malone Big Foot Pro Universal Car Rack Canoe Carrier with Bow and Stern Lines : Automotive Kayak Racks : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : Malone Big Foot Pro Universal Car Rack Canoe Carrier with Bow and Stern Lines : Automotive Kayak Racks : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

 

[Red Merle]

Royalex flexes more and the front tie down doesn't hurt.


The boats shown in my pic are carbon and kevlar and straight kevlar with gel coat. Both extremely stiff boats and if there is a need for a bow tether, we always have plenty but really, at that point, Mother Nature is telling you to hole up for a bit. They don't wiggle at 70MPH, even with a strong wind. The weak point is the rack and the factory rack is easily 4 times less stronk than the 1A Rain Gutter Tower from Yakima that is attached to the factory rain gutters on the 80. What you have there looks like one of the many dozens of kits that Yakima sold to bolt their bars to the wide variety of factory racks that were and still are available.

If I didn't have rain gutters or hard points like on a Volvo for Thule racks, my next choice would be tracks and a distant third would be using a bracket set that was meant to fit on the "factory" rack even though most of those racks were put on at the dealer using shoddy methods. Lotta rusty holes poked into unsuspecting roofs for those.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

Royalex flexes more and the front tie down doesn't hurt.


The boats shown in my pic are carbon and kevlar and straight kevlar with gel coat. Both extremely stiff boats and if there is a need for a bow tether, we always have plenty but really, at that point, Mother Nature is telling you to hole up for a bit. They don't wiggle at 70MPH, even with a strong wind. The weak point is the rack and the factory rack is easily 4 times less stronk than the 1A Rain Gutter Tower from Yakima that is attached to the factory rain gutters on the 80. What you have there looks like one of the many dozens of kits that Yakima sold to bolt their bars to the wide variety of factory racks that were and still are available.

If I didn't have rain gutters or hard points like on a Volvo for Thule racks, my next choice would be tracks and a distant third would be using a bracket set that was meant to fit on the "factory" rack even though most of those racks were put on at the dealer using shoddy methods. Lotta rusty holes poked into unsuspecting roofs for those.

thanks a lot RM. i had not thought of the rack as the weak point but that sounds pretty obvious to me now.
i actually drove back with the hazards on and the roof open so i could hold one of the straps down in case she decided to launch. but in reality that might have been uglier than just letting it launch...
so can i please ask if i do indeed have the factory rack as i had assumed? i can keep an eye out for deal on a rain gutter attached thule if that is the best attachment.
would that actually be a multi-functional item to have for this rig or is it strictly for a kayak/bike or something...?
appreciate it.
- jon

 

[cjmoon]

Do you have cross bars on your roof rack? It looks like it has the front to back bars but missing the left to right ones??? I have some I removed my factory set up. And have a custom built rack now.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

Do you have cross bars on your roof rack? It looks like it has the front to back bars but missing the left to right ones??? I have some I removed my factory set up. And have a custom built rack now.

thanks. crappy photo. i guess it must be the factory rack. two cross bars slot into the ones running front to back. then there are those skids that run front to back that sit on the roof i guess.

@Red Merle dumb question? is the thule A1 rack the audi A1 rack? or are we talking /pillars/ here or something...?

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[landcruiser3DP]

Royalex flexes more and the front tie down doesn't hurt.


The boats shown in my pic are carbon and kevlar and straight kevlar with gel coat. Both extremely stiff boats and if there is a need for a bow tether, we always have plenty but really, at that point, Mother Nature is telling you to hole up for a bit. They don't wiggle at 70MPH, even with a strong wind. The weak point is the rack and the factory rack is easily 4 times less stronk than the 1A Rain Gutter Tower from Yakima that is attached to the factory rain gutters on the 80. What you have there looks like one of the many dozens of kits that Yakima sold to bolt their bars to the wide variety of factory racks that were and still are available.

If I didn't have rain gutters or hard points like on a Volvo for Thule racks, my next choice would be tracks and a distant third would be using a bracket set that was meant to fit on the "factory" rack even though most of those racks were put on at the dealer using shoddy methods. Lotta rusty holes poked into unsuspecting roofs for those.

hmmmm. i guess next time i could remove those two crossbars, lay it on the runners on the roof, and get at least one ratchet /through/ the doors and basically not secured at the rack? seems like that would be a hell of a lot more secure...?

 

[bugsnbikes]

For the win!

 

[bajaphile]

I removed my factory roof rack and did a wet install with sealant with new fasteners to keep water out. This will give you better space allocation for some solid gutter mounted crossbars from Yakima or Thule.

 

[Red Merle]

If you get the 1A Raingutter tower from Yakima or the Thule equivalent, you can use all of the accessories that the companies sell for their roof racks. If you buy 78" crossbars you should be able to get two boats up there, no problem.

The factory racks are just low quality and prone to failure. They work, but not as well as the other options. There should be lots of used towers around as most cars have aircraft style doors that eliminated the need for raingutters, but the raingutters are the most sturdy when it comes to attaching racks to them.

1A Raingutter (4-Pack)

Rack up your retro ride, 1A Raingutter Towers anchor to old-school rain gutters so you can create a secure, versatile rooftop system for your old faithful.

www.yakima.com

 

[FloridaCruiser22]

If you get the 1A Raingutter tower from Yakima or the Thule equivalent, you can use all of the accessories that the companies sell for their roof racks. If you buy 78" crossbars you should be able to get two boats up there, no problem.

The factory racks are just low quality and prone to failure. They work, but not as well as the other options. There should be lots of used towers around as most cars have aircraft style doors that eliminated the need for raingutters, but the raingutters are the most sturdy when it comes to attaching racks to them.

1A Raingutter (4-Pack)

Rack up your retro ride, 1A Raingutter Towers anchor to old-school rain gutters so you can create a secure, versatile rooftop system for your old faithful.

www.yakima.com

I have the 58" round crossbars and can fit 2 kayaks but it's a little bit tight. I would go with the 66" if I was to buy a new set. Those 78" once seem to stick out kinda far.

 

[Red Merle]

I have the 58" round crossbars and can fit 2 kayaks but it's a little bit tight. I would go with the 66" if I was to buy a new set. Those 78" once seem to stick out kinda far.

I should have clarified that you can easily get two canoes up there with the 78"s. For kayaks, shorter bars are usually fine.

That said, the 80 is pretty wide and tall. The 78"s don't seem like too much bar the way they do on smaller cars. You can always cut them down if you find they are too much, but they also sell the different lengths to account for these types of things.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

I should have clarified that you can easily get two canoes up there with the 78"s. For kayaks, shorter bars are usually fine.

That said, the 80 is pretty wide and tall. The 78"s don't seem like too much bar the way they do on smaller cars. You can always cut them down if you find they are too much, but they also sell the different lengths to account for these types of things.

thanks. so is it this /style/ of yakima or thule that fits the 80 series? i mean there must be a lot of different models with this rain gutter equivalent that fits the 80 series? or basically all mounts with this attachment fit the 80 series - so it doesn’t matter what you buy as long as it is working...?
and was there a consensus on thule vs. yakima or does this depend on how old the product is? or that is a total can of worms and up for debate?
THANKS

 

[icorradoi]

Yakima 1A and 86" crossbars. With the J hook carriers. RTT and kayak fit just fine. Only issue is that the Cruiser is tall, so kind of a pain to put the kayak up by myself, but usually I have the wife help, unless she's had enough of the "nice rack" jokes.....

 

[Red Merle]

thanks. so is it this /style/ of yakima or thule that fits the 80 series? i mean there must be a lot of different models with this rain gutter equivalent that fits the 80 series? or basically all mounts with this attachment fit the 80 series - so it doesn’t matter what you buy as long as it is working...?
and was there a consensus on thule vs. yakima or does this depend on how old the product is? or that is a total can of worms and up for debate?
THANKS

View attachment 1922222

I think I understand what you are asking, but I am not 100% sure. Yes, the 1A Raingutter Tower like you show in the picture fits the 80 series and most other vehicles with actual raingutters. A few cars need the "high rise" extender blocks to make the tower taller to clear a bubble top or something like that, but on an 80 Series, those aren't needed.

A quick search on eBay shows that there are lots of used ones available. They are pretty tough, but the one thing that can happen is that the hand wheel to tighten the tower to the gutter can get stripped out so be aware of that when buying used. They can also accept a lock cylinder and many of the sets on eBay have them. The keys are all still available from Yakima along with the lock cylinders(they are numbered on the back side of the lock cylinder).

There is no real consensus between Yakima and Thule, at least for this application. Square bar vs. round bar but really, they are about the same in terms of quality. Most Yakima accessories like bike racks, kayak cradles, etc. will fit on either Yakima or Thule.

I have had both but I have had several sets of the Yakima towers over the years and I have never had a problem with them.