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Best way to secure kayaks to my vehicle

Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2017 1:54 am
by yippee
First of all, hopefully this is the right place to post this, wasn't sure where else to put it.

Anyways, me and my girlfriend are finally looking at buying a couple kayaks once we finish saving up for them. In the meantime, while I'm dreaming about living the kayak life, I've been pondering the best way to transport them from point A to point B - they don't do us a lot of good sitting at home.

I have a Ford Ranger with a 6' bed. I do have a toolbox in the front of the bed that takes up some space. I am most likely going to be buying a Wilderness Systems Ride 115, my girlfriend is still undecided but liked the looks of the Perception Sports Pescador Pro 12 she looked at. We will be demoing some boats, so these aren't set in stone but kind of give you an idea what we're looking at.

Originally I thought about going with a bed extender for the simplicity and price point of it. My concern with the extender is the kayaks are both in the 32-33" wide range and I don't know how I would manage them between the fenderwells of the bed, not to mention most bed extenders I have seen look to be less than 58" wide.

I have also considered the Yakima Outdoorsman 300 to be able to carry the yaks above the bed. Of course this is a more pricey option, but if it's the best option it would be worthwhile. I was also thinking about a trailer, but that gets even more pricey.

What's the best/proper way to secure the yaks without doing damage to them? I know there are the J-Hooks options or more of the cradle style mounts. From what I recall there are proper was to and not to anchor the kayaks without bending, breaking, or distorting them. Also, is heat a major concern for the kayaks or are they pretty resistant to it? The truck is black with a black truck mat. Of course in Texas we have plenty of 100+ degree weather every year and black is just going to absorb those sun rays, is this heat going to be too brutal on the yaks and further cause problems with warping/melting?

Sorry for all the questions, thanks in advance for any knowledge you can pass onto me.

Re: Best way to secure kayaks to my vehicle

Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2017 7:16 pm
by Welderdude
Buy a rack for your truck. Bro in law got a decent one from Walmart online, aluminum rack. Mount your pads or J hooks or Sea Wings to the rack and lock your boats. Might be better to stay with 10 footers, nothing over 12 foot

Re: Best way to secure kayaks to my vehicle

Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2017 3:12 am
by Jedi
I recently have gone from a truck rack to a bed extender. I have a 5' bed and 13.5 foot kayak. I wanted to be able to still use my Yakima saddles. I designed a rail that I could mount to my truck bed that would allow me to use them . I'll be picking up from the welding shop tomorrow. I'll post pics after I pick it up. This would allow you to use j cradles to carry both your kayak with your bed extender.

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Re: Best way to secure kayaks to my vehicle

Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2017 4:03 am
by Tombo
Ideally, get a Harbor Freight trailer. Don't know if you can store a trailer but its ideal for those with transporting issues.
Do a search on here and you will find all kind of ways to transport your kayaks.

Re: Best way to secure kayaks to my vehicle

Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2017 8:47 pm
by Jedi
Here is the bar I made to use my saddles. You could use j cradles to carry 2 kayaks with this setup.ImageImageImageImageImage

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Re: Best way to secure kayaks to my vehicle

Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2017 3:52 am
by texasstinger47
Harbor Frieght.Image

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Re: Best way to secure kayaks to my vehicle

Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2018 7:05 pm
by bigbuzzard
This is the rack I made to haul (2) 12' kayaks when me and my fishing buddy go out together. I had a set of overhead kayak carriers bolted to the unistrut base. They rusted out in a year and a half. Amazon and the manufacture didn't pay for shipping and cost almost as much as buying new racks. Got pissed, so I made my own. Image

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Re: Best way to secure kayaks to my vehicle

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 1:32 am
by emmetrock
I manage my cargo using headache rack and bed extender that I recently installed.

Re: Best way to secure kayaks to my vehicle

Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2018 4:37 pm
by crusher
Great respect for the good, creative ways mentioned to get multiple kayaks transported. I've moved from top of an suv, to a cheap harborfreight trailer, to now a shortbed truck with the Boonedox T-bone extender. When I take two kayaks, and they don't fit side by side in width inside the bed, I simply put the second one angled over on top of the first. I put some cushioning between their contact points. One thing I didn't realize early on, is I don't need to ratchet down the tiedowns too tight which can cause at least temporary warping. In the longrun, that stress can't be good for them. Just solid hand-tightening the straps is fine. Anyway, with the extender, some cushioning between them, one tie down on the bed holding both of them, then a separate tiedown for each on the extender, I've done a lot of trips and don't worry about warping or stressing them.
Google up some images of two kayaks in truck bed to get more ideas and see what seems acceptable. And of course good luck moving forward with your endeavor. Welcome to the game.