How does everyone transport their kayak

[gpeade]

I have a 2003 F-250 crew cab with a 6.5' bed towing a 28' Jayco TT. For those of you that carry kayaks along what methods have you tried and what have you found that works best? I have a hard bed cover on the truck and would rather not loose that because of the secure storage it provides. Ideally I would love to make something that stands them up vertically against the rear of the TT but then I have to worry about overhead clearance so I'm not set on that idea.

[beemerphile1]

Guy Roan wrote:

I carry ours on the truck cap roof, while the two bikes and gear are in the truck bed...If I am just carrying two kayaks I carry them on saddles which gives them better support and less wind resistance....

I would love to know about these saddles. I have a contractors cap with a square tube ladder rack.

Since the yak may be up there for longer periods of time, I hope to carry it upside down.

[OleManOleCan]

CFerguson wrote:
We put our 2 feelfree Mokens + our 2 bicycles inside the trailer when underway. On arrival, we chain the kayaks up under the trailer.

My last camper had a slide. With the slide out I put my 12' fishing Kayak in and 2 bicycles. Closed the slide and everything was held tight all the way to Florida.
Nowadays I don't have bicycles, that camper, or Kayak... I miss the Yak.

I like my small camper with no slides better too, the other one was laid out wrong.

[2manytoyz]

Many years, several configurations:









I don't currently have kayaks, but if we do buy more, they'll go on our current Jeep TOAD.



There are roof racks for just about any vehicle. It makes more sense "to me" to put the yaks on the tow vehicle or TOAD. The campsite might be a long way from the water entry, and water exit if it's downstream. It would be a pain to haul a TT, or drive the MH to the water entry. Very rare to have the water at the campsite, but it does happen... Long Key SP, FL:

[hawkeye-08]

I have a bed cover that leaves the stake pockets open, then I put on Trac Rac with Kayak brackets (two kayaks are flat, the middle one on J brackets).

[GrandpaKip]

On our former truck that had a topper, I made a removable rack out of 2x4s, 3/4” EMT and big pool noodles. It held 2 kayaks upside down, side by side.
Now I have the Adarac racks and a roll up tonneau cover. But I have to put the kayaks right side up if I don’t want the bow to hit the truck roof.

[Bobbo]

Not a kayak, but we own a PortaBote folding boat. This is it on top of our pickup truck.

[gpeade]

Guy Roan wrote:

And if you are thinking of a Thule "Hullivator" you better have a lot of money!

Guy

Yeah, That's not happening for sure!

[Guy_Roan]

wanderingbob wrote:
I see every one carries their yaks kinda on their side , J bars , why ? Is it because they are two wide if ya put two side by side >

I carry ours on the truck cap roof, while the two bikes and gear are in the truck bed.
I use J cradles when I want to carry two kayaks and one canoe. The J cradles allow for more room.
If I am just carrying two kayaks I carry them on saddles which gives them better support and less wind resistance.
I could never figure why people use J cradles just to carry one or two boats.

And if you are thinking of a Thule "Hullivator" you better have a lot of money!

Guy

[BarabooBob]

I have 2 ten ft kayaks that we use on the local lakes and rivers. I also have an 18 ft sea kayak that I use when putting on miles on larger rivers and lakes. The 18 ft has to go on the roof of the truck for obvious reasons. The 10 footers go next to the 18 footer on j hooks. If we are just doing some local river running, I just through the 10's in the bed of the truck and take off.
If we are going with more people, I also have a trailer with an extended tongue, and room for 5 kayaks. We look like a rental company when fully loaded.

[CavemanCharlie]

I don't have the hard bed cover or any sort of cover. I do have a box mounted toolbox with a lock. Everything I need to secure fits in there. I then just slide the Kayak under the toolbox and carry it in the bed with the back end of it sticking out above the tailgate.

[wanderingbob]

I see every one carries their yaks kinda on their side , J bars , why ? Is it because they are two wide if ya put two side by side >

[Halmfamily]

We carry ours on the roof of the truck with a Thule rack and J bars.

[maddog348]

When we had 'em carried on top of the Toad on roof rack. Carried them belly down. Worked for us..

JM2¢ ~~ YMMV

[camp-n-family]

I have an Adarac truck rack that I use. The rails allow me to still use my Bakflip solid folding tonneau cover. I carry 3 kayaks this way. A 12’ flat in the middle and two 10’ on either side with J racks. I’ll see if I can find a picture.