transporting two tandem kayaks

Any topics related to 2005-2012 R51

Moderator: volvite

DrBeavis
Posts: 49
Joined: Thu Jul 07, 2011 7:40 pm

transporting two tandem kayaks

Postby DrBeavis » Wed May 31, 2017 9:45 am

got a 2005 pathfinder se. about to purchase two 13'6" tandem kayaks, so looking for feedback on roof rack hardware anyone has any experience with while transporting such large kayaks. i am ok with non-collapsible ones, as i am paranoid about collapse mechanism disengaging during transport. thanks!


User avatar
Thupertrooper
Posts: 674
Joined: Sat Jun 15, 2013 10:17 am
Location: Mesa,AZ

Postby Thupertrooper » Thu Jun 08, 2017 7:14 am

Have used the universal ones they sell on amazon or ebay.

User avatar
NVSteve
Sponsored Member
Posts: 1987
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2007 11:27 am
Location: Salt Lake City

Re: transporting two tandem kayaks

Postby NVSteve » Tue Jun 13, 2017 10:16 am

DrBeavis wrote:got a 2005 pathfinder se. about to purchase two 13'6" tandem kayaks, so looking for feedback on roof rack hardware anyone has any experience with while transporting such large kayaks. i am ok with non-collapsible ones, as i am paranoid about collapse mechanism disengaging during transport. thanks!
Look at Yakima or Thule cradles. You would need 8 cradles for 2 kayaks, along with the crossbars and base mounts. I currently have Yakima cradles and they are pretty good and very flexible. I used to have Thule cradles, but they were a bit stiff. The only problem with the cradle approach is that I have had to replace the felt covers on the Yakima with dense closed cell foam. The Thule didn't have any kind of cover (they help with sliding the kayak across the cradles), so I also had to glue on some closed cell foam. I've tried the Hullavator, and while the concept is great, I don't trust the locking mechanism, which meant that I had to run extra tie down straps. FYI, I haul two 16.5' kayaks during the summer months.


Return to “R51 General Chat”