Kayak bed rack/cross bar recommendations

[Undecided]

Hey all, first summer with our camper and sadly discovered our kyaks are too long to sit in the truck bed while towing. (Oops lol)

So… I’m looking at other ways to carry them. It seems the simplest option is a bed rack that is high enough to let part of the kayak extend over the roof. However they all seem to be a bit over kill for just kayaks.

I’ve done some browsing and searching but seems most examples won’t work for us because they use the hitch or are used for RTT.

Does anyone know of a way to carry’s these that …

• Works with 10ft kyaks
• Does not use a bed extender or the hitch
• Easily Removable for between trips
• Not overly built / exspensive (I don’t need 1k lbs for a RTT for example)
• Hopefully works with a roll up tonneau cover

Thank you for any suggestions!

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[Undecided]

Also open to being told these options aren’t possible. If so I’ll probably just accept the over built thing and give up a tonneau cover

 

[sharpsicle]

What do you mean by "overly expensive"? Because it sounds like the BillieBars setup might work for you.

The base bars are $525 https://billiebars.com/collections/billie-bars
The kayak holders are $475 each https://billiebars.com/collections/water-sports/products/billiebars-kayak-mount-kit

So if you're doing 2 kayaks with that setup, total cost is $1,475. And it's all easy to remove and store compared to a full-on rack style setup. And with the right positioning, you could even mount a basket in-between them to carry other gear/accessories. Lots of customizable options with this route.

 

[Undecided]

What do you mean by "overly expensive"? Because it sounds like the BillieBars setup might work for you.

The base bars are $525 https://billiebars.com/collections/billie-bars
The kayak holders are $475 each https://billiebars.com/collections/water-sports/products/billiebars-kayak-mount-kit

So if you're doing 2 kayaks with that setup, total cost is $1,475. And it's all easy to remove and store compared to a full-on rack style setup. And with the right positioning, you could even mount a basket in-between them to carry other gear/accessories. Lots of customizable options with this route.

That would meet the overly expensive to me to just carry kyaks BUT you checked every other box I listed so maybe my value for cost needs to be adjusted.
Thank you! I will be considering these.

 

[RCKLNDR]

I built mine out of aluminum because it was very hard to find a rack that would work with a tonneau. There are some but they are in the $1,000 range and still wouldn’t work with my trifold. ~$150 in parts. Takes 5 minutes to get off.

 

[Undecided]

I built mine out of aluminum because it was very hard to find a rack that would work with a tonneau. There are some but they are in the $1,000 range and still wouldn’t work with my trifold. ~$150 in parts. Takes 5 minutes to get off.

Do you have a build thread with details on this already I can check out? Seems like an awesome idea

 

[PicklesJ]

Hey all, first summer with our camper and sadly discovered our kyaks are too long to sit in the truck bed while towing. (Oops lol)

So… I’m looking at other ways to carry them. It seems the simplest option is a bed rack that is high enough to let part of the kayak extend over the roof. However they all seem to be a bit over kill for just kayaks.

I’ve done some browsing and searching but seems most examples won’t work for us because they use the hitch or are used for RTT.

Does anyone know of a way to carry’s these that …

• Works with 10ft kyaks
• Does not use a bed extender or the hitch
• Easily Removable for between trips
• Not overly built / exspensive (I don’t need 1k lbs for a RTT for example)
• Hopefully works with a roll up tonneau cover

Thank you for any suggestions!

MOPAR crossbars and Curt Roof Kayak holders. Very happy with them!

 

[Undecided]

MOPAR crossbars and Curt Roof Kayak holders. Very happy with them!

I had come accross warnings that you void warranty or break your roof using mounts like that. No issues for you at all? How long is that kayak?

 

[booneja]

the roof rack that @PicklesJ is recommending is what I woudl go with if it was just a 10' kayak, I have 16 foot Sea kayak and ned a bed cap with racks, saving up for ARE or Smartcap. the roof rack is the most economical

 

[PicklesJ]

I had come accross warnings that you void warranty or break your roof using mounts like that. No issues for you at all? How long is that kayak?

The crossbars are MOPAR and the instructions (attached) specifically say for Wrangler and Gladiator. There are different mounting locations for each type of vehicle, so as long as you install correctly and then heed the load limits, I can't see how warranty voiding could be an issue.

I bought the Curt holders from Quadratec, and they come up on their website as compatible with the Gladiator (no reason they shouldn't be).

FWIW, I also installed an older Yakima bike rack (forklift), so I traveled with one bike and one kayak. But I do take the kayak and bike devices off when not needed, but leave the crossbars on.

Specs for the kayak (a beginner I bought 10 years ago!):
Potomac Kayak Specifications

• Length: 10 feet
• Width: 28 inches
• Height: 14 inches
• Weight: 36 pounds
• Weight Capacity: 275 pounds

 

[Undecided]

The crossbars are MOPAR and the instructions (attached) specifically say for Wrangler and Gladiator. There are different mounting locations for each type of vehicle, so as long as you install correctly and then heed the load limits, I can't see how warranty voiding could be an issue.

I bought the Curt holders from Quadratec, and they come up on their website as compatible with the Gladiator (no reason they shouldn't be).

FWIW, I also installed an older Yakima bike rack (forklift), so I traveled with one bike and one kayak. But I do take the kayak and bike devices off when not needed, but leave the crossbars on.

Specs for the kayak (a beginner I bought 10 years ago!):
Potomac Kayak Specifications

• Length: 10 feet
• Width: 28 inches
• Height: 14 inches
• Weight: 36 pounds
• Weight Capacity: 275 pounds

thank you so much for this !

 

[MER21]

That would meet the overly expensive to me to just carry kyaks BUT you checked every other box I listed so maybe my value for cost needs to be adjusted.
Thank you! I will be considering these.

This would be a much better option: https://www.max-modular.com/jeep-gladiator-bed-racks-1/max-modular-22-high-aluminum-bed-rack

Toss on a couple of these and you are good to go: https://www.amazon.com/PIRIPARA-Kay...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

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