Kayak Rack for Artic Fox 990

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Flite56

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Mar 5, 2012
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Looking for an idea on how to mount 2 kayaks, one 17.5' and one 14' long on the top of a 2011 Artic Fox 990. I asked the dealer and they didn't have any solutions. I believe there is enough room to lay them side by side on the left side of the roof next to the AC unit. Just looking for a way to anchor them without drilling through the roof.
 
I snapped this shot of a kayak on top of a motorhome while we were in New Brunswick a few years ago. It's not a good view, but the guy had created a couple of "bunks" for the kayak to sit in, one each front and back. I don't see a way of doing this without drilling into the roof. Maybe someone else has a better suggestion.
 
Thanks Tom,  I appreciate your thoughts.  I really don't want to drill my roof if I don't have to. I was thinking of maybe two bunks that would span just over the edge of the roof gutters on either side that I could run tie downs down to the truck tie downs at the bottom of the camper. Only problem that I can think of is that the tiedowns would need to be remove when I put the slideout out. 
 
Look @ Yakima, they have kits that'll do the job.  I drilled my roof to tie into the underlying wooe supports.  I carry my two 18 foot kayaks everywhere we go.

Greg
 
Dick's or any large sporting goods store will have the foam cradles (~$25/pair) designed to support kayaks. I plan to use them to locate two kayaks on my 2012 Jeep hardtop using adequate straps to keep them from moving around laterally. If necessary, they could be glued (perhaps rubber cement or a similar weak adhesive - Velcro?) to the roof to keep them from moving.
Ernie
 
So, the problem with these foam cradles is that they do not affix the kayak to the top of the camper.  They just sit under the boat to provide a bit of protection between the boat and the roof.  You still need to tie down the boat to something and depending on the configuration of the roof of your camper, you may not have a lot to tie into. 

My kayaks are 17 to 18 feet long.  In the back of my camper roof I have the built-in camper rack system, the racks are on the sides and trying to affix the kayak using ropes would allows for too movement of the boat.  In the front, there is nothing on top to tie into, so I would have to run a rope down to the front bumper, or to the underside of the camper's cab over.  None of these options is secure enough in my situation.  Just think of those times when your driving your TC down a superhighway and you hit one of those severe dips in the road that sends the whole camper back and forth... I want my boats to feel like they are fully connected to the roof with no wiggling that might damage the kayak, the roof, or something on the roof.  To achieve this, I bit the bullet and purchased the necessary Yakima gear.  I've taken several thousand-mile trips with the kayaks loaded with no problems what-so-ever.


Also, in my case, drilling the roof was no big deal.  My roof is metal and fairly sturdy.  I had to add two Yakima 54" tracks (http://yakima.com/shop/racksystems/permanent-installation/tracks54-w-60hardware) to either side of my roof.  I think I drilled 4 holes per side for a total of 8 holes.  Prior to installing the tracks, I gobbed down some dicor roof sealer into each hole and down the entire length of the track as well as on top of the screw from the top side of the yakima track.  I've had no problems with leaks.  I built on top of this with a set of Yakima landing pads, control towers, cross bars, and kayak saddles. 

It wasn't cheap, but it did the job.

Greg
 
BTW, here's a photo from a recent trip with the kayaks loaded: 
 

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