show us your kayak/canoe mounts or methods (1 Viewer)

[SweetTNFJ80]

can you walk me through what you mean by “frontrunner load bars and yakima towers”? and then what is the point about keeping them (the cross members?) flat?

you are saying you bought reinforced front runner cross members and are using 4 yakima 1A towers?!

You will probably want to keep your canoe flat considering the size, and you will in that case not need the Yakima product I mentioned, which is designed for shorter whitewater boats. If you buy the front runner load bars, all you will need from there is some straps. The towers I mentioned from Yakima are actually called “stackers.” Sorry, I got them confused.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

You will probably want to keep your canoe flat considering the size, and you will in that case not need the Yakima product I mentioned, which is designed for shorter whitewater boats. If you buy the front runner load bars, all you will need from there is some straps. The towers I mentioned from Yakima are actually called “stackers.” Sorry, I got them confused.

so it is front runner bars and towers or yakima bars and 1A towers?
any reason to go with the front runners...?
do the front runners come with locks?
seems like $250 difference.

 

[SweetTNFJ80]

so it is front runner bars and towers or yakima bars and 1A towers?
any reason to go with the front runners...?
do the front runners come with locks?
seems like $250 difference.

All of them will get the job done. I went with front runner for load capacity and look. But whatever is in your budget. The front runners do not lock, but to take them off would be pretty difficult for someone to do without time and proper tools.

 

[landcruiser3DP]

All of them will get the job done. I went with front runner for load capacity and look. But whatever is in your budget. The front runners do not lock, but to take them off would be pretty difficult for someone to do without time and proper tools.

so we have any idea what the practical load difference is between the yakima and the front runners?
is the additional load ALL related to the bigger profile of the front runner cross members?
front runners do look slick.

 

[TWILLY]

I think I have a set of four Yakima towers that I previously used on my 80 for hauling sea kayaks. They're pretty old, but are bomber and straightforward. Let me know if you'd be interested and I will verify that I still have all the parts. You can have 'em, you pay shipping.

 

[leucadiacruiser]

Lately I t’s not a magazine article about your summer family adventure dreams without a 60. Latest issue of Sunset Magazine - great looking rig

 

[lumbee1]

DIY Flat aluminum rack with kayak holders.

 

[cody c]

Lately I t’s not a magazine article about your summer family adventure dreams without a 60. Latest issue of Sunset Magazine - great looking rig

View attachment 1983138

They must make them soft up there, 5 people to lift a kayak on the roof, pfft. Im guessing they were trying to get a family activity shot for the article, but I had to call it.

 

[Godwin]

Lately I t’s not a magazine article about your summer family adventure dreams without a 60. Latest issue of Sunset Magazine - great looking rig

View attachment 1983138

Since this is a 60 please repost in the appropriate thread 60s with canoes and maybe other boats

 

[Godwin]

They must make them soft up there, 5 people to lift a kayak on the roof, pfft. Im guessing they were trying to get a family activity shot for the article, but I had to call it.

No doubt.

 

[Devil's Slide Doug]

Yakima 1A gutter racks kinda suck on a hard core trail because they stick out and get ripped off by trees or rocks. On the other hand If your hauling boats any other place, they work pretty well.

 

[rex in bama]

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.

I have both the Yakima and the Thule (the latter came with the car). The Yakima 1a’s seem to be better quality, and have never let me down. The gunwale brackets are also worth the investment. Everything is also available used on eBay or craigslist - never buy it new. I tie down the bow, and have two cam buckle straps at the bars. Sorry, no pic with a canoe on top

 

[Atwalz]

Two 10’ kayaks on FR.

 

[Devil's Slide Doug]

2 singles and 1 double Baidarka .

 

[JeepinPete]

Love the baidarka. Is that a Yost design?

 

[Devil's Slide Doug]

Love the baidarka. Is that a Yost design?

My design of a short “play Baidarka” for rock gardens and surfing using Dyson materials.

 

[leucadiacruiser]

Yakima crossbars with Hully Rollers

 

[JeepinPete]

My design of a short “play Baidarka” for rock gardens and surfing using Dyson materials.

Very cool. My son and I built a Yost Kidarka a couple years back. He could fly in that thing. Unfortunately the "waterproof" plywood turned out to be anything but.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

I’ll chime in. I’ve got a 93’ with a front runner slimline 2. Came with my rig. I’m not super stoked on it. It looks great, but for hauling boats it’s not as good as my old Yakima setup. For starters your width is limited. With a 1A tower setup you can run bars up to 60 which will let you carry a few boats.

The plastic coating on the yakima bars is gentle on vinyl and wood gunnels, and it way less new and abundant on Craigslist. Whereas my Frontrunner now has obvious wear marks through the very thin powder coating from a couple of canoe loads. Also the front runner squeaks like crazy since there are eleventy million different pieces bolted together.

Second point: strapping down boats should be done methodically. s*** goes wrong when you are in a hurry. no need to reef the straps down with crushing strength, you’ll deform your plastic rotomolded boat that way. straps bow and stern are the ones notorious for being over tightened. I consider them insurance Incase I have rack failure or stap failure. They keep everything attached to the vehicle while you figure out what broke and make the scary noise on the interstate.

Skip the ratchet straps.

 

[PNWTreeOctopus]

This canoe hauling setup demonstred by front runner has always troubled me. Gunnels down always. If you run your kayak this way get a cockpit cover. No roof rack/strap system is going to cope with a heavy shifting load, never mind the dangers of making your center of gravity higher.