Lookig for ideas for a roof rack system for 2 fishing kayaks that are 55 lbs each. prefer not to have to drill into hard top.
Thx

 

Tule makes some rain gutter mounts ($169) on amazon I have that work great you'll need to spend another 100 for the bars that go with it. I can easily throw 2 kayaks on the top without any brackets made to hold kayaks. Kayak mounts can get expensive, but they sell some on amazon that run about 30 bucks and really get the job done the only thing I've noticed is with the kayak mounts the kayak acts as a kite when your driving so I perfer to just throw them on top without the mounts I like them because they go one and off super fast and they really get the job done!

 

Thule sorry

 

Have you considered getting a trailer? There are tons of plans online for modifying a cheap harbor freight trailer for transporting your boats. Wrestling boats to your roof is a pita if you don't want to scratch up your hard top. I had a thule rack that mounted to the rain gutters, and it always worked great... But i would put a single 45 lb boat on int, not two fishing kayaks. I am not sure how much i trust it to support lots of weight and highway speeds.

What boats do you have that are only 55 lbs?

This was my old setup


Last spring, i picked up a new boat... a feel free lure. It is a kick ass boat, but like most fishing kayaks, it is heavy.

If I wanted to keep the jeep, i would have needed a trailer. The only problem is that it would have limited where I could fish. I ended up getting a tacoma and haven't looked back. If the new jeep truck has a removable roof and a 5 ft bed, then i will be back in a jeep.




C/N: Putting heavy boats on your roof rack will be a pain. Consider a trailer.

 

I am fine throwing my heavy kayaks on my Gobi rack. Probably overkill for just Kayaking, but the rack has paid for itself in other uses in the time I've had it.

 

Yeah you could just spring for a dedicated full roof rack and get other benefits from it as well beyond hauling your kayaks. I've hauled reclining chairs, many large items, tons of camping equip, groceries, lumber, etc with my Garvin. Here is a link to a review I posted on YouTube. Goes into pretty good detail.

https://youtu.be/X6p3Uu4T_vY

Pros and cons to all answers for sure though so make sure to do your homework

 

Groceries? You buy that much groceries that there isn't enough room inside the jeep?

 

Ahhh. So. My mighty little two door is unfortunately filled very quickly with myself, wife, and two kids. So yes. Anything more than a gallon of milk, loaf of bread, and some orange juice and the Jeep is full up! Ha. Seriously. I've put many flats of water up there because it absolutely will not fit in the rear storage area. How sad is is it that you can't even fit a flat of water in the back? Anyway, I've also taken containers and loaded them with groceries up there on the rack and strapped many other grocery items like boxes of diapers or wipes. It is physically impossible to fit a big box of diapers in the rear storage area of a two door.

So yes a family of four can purchase quite a bit and the two door while not being an entirely convenient family car is the perfect vehicle for me!! She is a member of the family and we make it work. My daughter even throws fits when we have to take mommys car and not daddy's Jeep Jeep! I am very lucky to have such a patient wife.

Long story short is that I get quite a bit of heavy use out of my roof rack.

 

I carry canoes on my JKU, and have tried all kinds of options, depending on whether you run a hard top, soft top, or no top.

For a 4-door hardtop, I like the Yakima "A" towers that attach to the rain gutters above the doors. You can use whatever width bar you like.


For going topless or a soft top, I modified a Lange Originals front rack to accept the Yakima mounts. In the back, I had a local fab shop make an aluminum mount where the 3rd brake light was, into which I mount a "T"-shaped bar with the Yakima canoe mounts. This gives me a sturdy canoe rack without ever touching the soft top. (It also works with the hardtop.)





If I want the ability to remove the freedom panels on the hardtop, I sometimes run a combination of both the front bar and a Yakima A-tower gutter mount:



For a 2-door, I had a similar "T"-bar mount welded to a Mopar bike carrier that mounted to the spare tire, which allowed for a long boat on a short wheelbase:


(btw, that one is for sale, if you have a 2-door and are interested in carrying boats AND bikes)

 

Looking at your pictures. What are those stopper things called on your bars? It looks like they would keep your kayak from moving