Roof Rack

Just wondering if anyone has a soloution for mounting some surf ski racks to the top of a car that has a round (not aero Bars) roof racks?

I need to at times take them off with out much fuss as it on a 4x4 roof cage type thing that also carrys big bulky items.

I have had my own version or a raised soft rack for a few years but now am heading out when it is increasingly more windy and getting it on a high roof and having no sideways support it just blows off.

See this:



And at 6:57 here with the ski on:

That's a great roof rack system. I have a fixed arb roof rack cage on top of a 4x4 triton. It has round bars. The option I can think of involves buying a normal set of kayak racks and making a custom attachment with hose clamps or something??

Do you live in the USA? If so, then the only way to go is with a set of Goodboy Kayaks V bars (goodboykayaks.com/?page_id=58). Give Cliff a call, he can set you up and may even be able to fabricate a set of clamps that will attach them to your 4x4 roof rack.

I have these www.kirtonkayaks.co.uk/home/index.php/sh...s/135-v-bar-aero-kit

Quite a good idea in that you can take out the V and just leave a bar on the car.

The V option is a good one. I like to take the racks off the car when not in use. In your case, the removable V ends would accomplish that. I've seen that version and it does the job but has some issues. The removable ends make the setup wobbly side to side. You will want to bungee one side down to minimize rattle and side movement.

As for attaching the setup to your round bars: are your bars standard Yakima size? If so, Yakima sells the plastic brackets for about $10 for a set of four. Similarly, you can get the wing nuts or reuse your own from other rack attachments. This is how my wooden rack is mounted to my Yakima cross bars. I just got longer bolts from the hardware store to replace the short Yakima bolts. The V bar system uses U-bolts to hold it to your cross bars, nothing high-tech, and while sturdy, I actually prefer the original Yakima plastic clips as they do not damage my bars and work well with the Yakima wing nuts for a tool-free reconfiguration of my rack (I swap b/w the kayak attachments and ski attachments or add a second set of kayak attachments, or slide the position center or offset, etc., depending on what I'm hauling).

One other option, depending on where you live or what your importer can arrange, are the Kayakpro EZ-Vee racks: www.kayakpro.com/kp/kayakpro2/wwwhtml/contents/ez-vee.htm

You can order EZ Vees to fit either round Yakima bars or square / rectangular Thule bars.

I have used the Kayakpro racks for years and they are bomber solid. They do not have a quick release mechanism, but come off reasonably quickly enough.

A buddy has the Kirton racks with the removable vees. Great for fuel efficiency etc, but everything in life is about tradeoffs. As Kocho notes, they do wobble and rattle a bit.

Have heard only good things about the Goodboy racks, but have not tried them myself.

Ultimately this is not rocket science and I know reasonably handy folks who have knocked up vee type racks in their garage that have worked quite well. But without fail they look awful.

Surprised to see they Kirton racks are supplied with bungee cords for holding boat down. Seems very dodgy to me. If travelling 60kph+ I always travel with webbing straps around both racks and a rope from bow to front of vehicle. Even then there's noticeable movement in strong winds. Would never consider using just stretchy bungee, even at low speed.
FYI I use Thule cradles

That is the beauty of the vee racks. Because the boat sits in the vee and is completely protected from side to side movement, the bungee is all that is needed. Impossible that it could bounce out of the vee. The bungees have a way of getting lost and when that happens I have used webbing until I replace the bungees. The bungees in my opinion are superior, because webbing will eventually work loose and when that happens the boats generally want to rotate on their side in the vees. To be fair, I also was skeptical of the bungees when I first got the vee racks. But, it all makes sense the first time you drop your boat in pull the bungees across.

Also, vee racks eliminate the need for bow and stern lines.

home made vee bars


just made steel clamp with stanless bolts

I also find vee bars good for hold the boat stable

uk_exile wrote: Surprised to see they Kirton racks are supplied with bungee cords for holding boat down. Seems very dodgy to me. If travelling 60kph+ I always travel with webbing straps around both racks and a rope from bow to front of vehicle. Even then there's noticeable movement in strong winds. Would never consider using just stretchy bungee, even at low speed.
FYI I use Thule cradles

They suggested a webbing strap as well when i picked up my boat, put one just inside V to help hole down hull.

Have "Good boy Kayak" V-bars on a VW Golf , bought some thicker bungees with a more durable sheath at West Marine , you do NOT need them to be stretched on super tight to hold the ski securely (actually to much pressure would be bad for the ski) When traveling on the interstate I will put a cam strap on for a back up , have NEVER had a problem with a couple years of transiting with this system. hadded some shaped mini-cell to contour the cradles a little , easy and fast on and off and stable in crosswinds.

And room left over for surf boat !

The bungees are threaded through minicell (foam is between the bungees and the deck of the ski ) to distribute load forces even more and give my little Huki some extra love !

I'm still doubtful about security. The forces are huge when 2 vehicles are approaching each other at 100kph plus any wind. When can feel the SUV get buffeted by approaching trucks & buses or just sidewinds the load on skis & kayaks must be high. Obviously less forces on motorways with centre median but the ski could still be creating high uplift.

Better be safe than sorry
www.3news.co.nz/Truck-driver-impaled-by-.../177868/Default.aspx

Here's an excellent example why you should never travel relying only on roof bars. Imagine seeing that coming towards you and what effect it would have...........
www.stuff.co.nz/national/64215733/Irish-...ek-over-kayak-on-car
Reason is the racks failed on windy day
www.stuff.co.nz/national/64246065/Police...-Irish-kayak-blunder
Here's what I do. There's a lot out front catching the wind if not secured at front. Easy to do. Need 150-300mm of webbing, a nail heated on cooker, fold webbing, melt hole, add bolt, washer & nut into spare hole (or unbolt a minor accessory, fix webbing & refit), add rope. Done! Safe

More detail

Just fold them in & shut bonnet when you're not using them (hood for USA)