Traveling with Kayaks?

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LarryL60

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Nov 23, 2018
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Hi all!

We wanted to see how others bring their kayaks along? We have a Toyota Tacoma pickup so I built a custom fit wooden wrack but it does not seem all that reliable. Wondering what everyone else does for their kayaks?

Thanks!
Larry
 
We have canoes instead of kayaks, but the principal is the same. We bought a high quality rack from Yakimaand put the boat(s) on top of our toad. When we had a travel trailer we also used a different Yakima rack on the truck. I know folks who have made very solid wooden racks. What is it about yours that gives you concern?
 
I have a Toyota Tacoma too, and I have what I have had on all my previous pickups which is a fiberglass cap.
The cap has a channel on each side with Yakama "Landing Pads" and their cross bars.
I carry two sea kayaks and a canoe and other times two kayaks and two paddleboards.
  It is also great for carrying long ladders and lumber
All our gear plus two mountain bikes goes in the bed and is all locked up nice and secure

Jack L
 
We also have inflatable kayaks (Innova Swings) which we love.  We keep them, along with all our other kayaking accessories (paddles, life jackets, pump, etc.), in the tow vehicle (we have a travel trailer).
 
Our kayaks go on the roof of the Jeep, so that's no help to you. Several of our friends with pickups have aluminum racks in the beds, which seem to work well.
 
Another vote for inflatables, but we don't really need much performance, just floating down rivers, 1 step up from an inner tube. I saw 1 truck last summer with what looked like a modified picnic table with 4 kayaks in the bed. Looked pretty cool and didn't take up the whole bed.
 
We have a Toyota Tundra with a shell on it, and carry our kayaks on the truck. Would like to have the inflatable ones, maybe some day! We have seen where someone had a rack on the back of their travel trailer and their kayaks were upright on the racks.

 
Hi all! Thanks so much for your posts.

Our rack just seems unsteady. Our one kayak is an oversize ocean kayak and sticks off the rack very far. I really fear the unit falling off in the middle of the highway and causing some major damage.

Are the inflatable kayaks really worth it?
 
We have the Yakima  rack and hully rollers on back... check out rack attack.. 9h
 
LarryL60 said:
Are the inflatable kayaks really worth it?
Click to expand...

Depending on your needs, yes. I've got an intex challenger k2, which is perfect for accompanying tubes and doing the heavy hauling, and it's cheap, and pretty durable. I've started on our little float trips with a big cooler and a grandkid aboard, and finished with 2-3 more grandkids by the time we get done. the 2 man inflatable with some weight in it maneuvers  better than the 1 man inflatables I've tried, close to 1 man hard kayaks. Not good for going upstream in more than a little current though. The little kids love ridin with paps as opposed to sittin in mom's lap in a tube. They're in the front telling me which way to go and such.
 
LarryL60 said:
Hi all! Thanks so much for your posts.

Our rack just seems unsteady. Our one kayak is an oversize ocean kayak and sticks off the rack very far. I really fear the unit falling off in the middle of the highway and causing some major damage.

Are the inflatable kayaks really worth it?
Click to expand...

If you are just poking around or staying near shore they are fine, but if you are interested in long off shore paddles, paddling in rough seas , or on windy days  get a hard shell, unless you get a high end one that costs a lot.
We have long skinny sea kayaks, and various times friends with inflateables want to join us, and on those days we have to reduce our pace drastically

Jack L
 
^ The same goes for short kayaks. It's a lot more work to track straight and keep up in anything under 12 feet.
 
LarryL60 said:
Hi all! Thanks so much for your posts.

Our rack just seems unsteady. Our one kayak is an oversize ocean kayak and sticks off the rack very far. I really fear the unit falling off in the middle of the highway and causing some major damage.

Are the inflatable kayaks really worth it?
Click to expand...
Regarding the rack issue, are you tying down the boat front and back in addition to a belly straps in the middle? We carry 17? and 18? canoes, and I would never drive without front and rear straps. We tie the back to the hitch and the front to some climbing webbing straps that attach under the hood.  Boat haulers should always plan on what would happen if one part of their carry system breaks. Will the boats launch as potentially deadly missiles, or will they stay attached to the vehicle? You also need something to support the sides of your kayak. A block of wood screwed to the rack will,work (though it isn?t very flexible for future boats) or use a good commercial kayak cradle.

As for inflatable kayaks, I am not a fan. They are fine for just putzing around an area, and the high quality whitewater ones with knee straps are quite good for swift moving rivers and whitewater, but they are dogs on any real trip on quiet water. We have definitely used them on Class 2 whitewater, but it was a pain to paddle them on the fla****er between rapids. When I led flat water trips I wouldn?t allow them because they were so much slower than hard shell canoes and kayaks and would hold the entire crew back. So a lot of their usefulness depends on what kind of paddling you do.
 
I have a 16? sea kayak and one of those short ones from Walmart. I have a truck rack that cost me about $100 on Amazon. Just load both kayaks and strap down. I have to push the big kayak forward over the cab so the rear doesn?t hit the front of the TT. As for which kayak I like better, the sea kayak hands down. More stable and faster. Plus I can take both grandkids in the big one.
 
Front and rear straps are something I just assumed that people would know about. After all, the roof rack on a car is just held in place by a few sheet metal screws. Throw a couple of kayaks up there to act as a big sail, and you'll rip the whole thing off the roof.

When I saw photos posted online showing just that, it was a reminder that common sense isn't all that common.
 
HappyWanderer said:
Front and rear straps are something I just assumed that people would know about. After all, the roof rack on a car is just held in place by a few sheet metal screws. Throw a couple of kayaks up there to act as a big sail, and you'll rip the whole thing off the roof.

When I saw photos posted online showing just that, it was a reminder that common sense isn't all that common.
Click to expand...

My rack is not a roof rack. It?s bolted to the rails on my truck. I never felt a need to have front and rear straps. I?ve carried them that way for hundred of miles and never had a problem using just the belly straps.
 
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