Anyone have experience with Thule or Yakima Racks?
 

Found a tough to get to fishing spot that I can't take a motor into so I will need to fish from a kayak. Have stock roof racks ontop and was wondering what would be the easiest solution. I am looking at the thule and yakima racks online, but am not certain if they would attach to the rack.

Here is of a identical car.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1256683774.jpg

So you already have a roof rack...easiest solution would be to strap the kayak to your existing roof rack.

That was easy.

Have never had a bad experience with Thule's.

I like them because you can buy the basic kit and swap out feet for different cars.

Makes them very flexible and extends their useful life almost indefinitely.

Does the stock rack on the Jeep have sliding crossbars?

If so that's a bonus

I have had great luck with Yakimas..

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1256684577.jpg

+1 for the Yakimas.
Carry my 17 foot kayak on them. Look at the kayak rollers for the back of the Jeep. Makes loading an easy task...

Putting a rack on Natalie's jeep?

go with yakima...they make adaptors to fit most factory racks.

Have had Yakima's in the Colorado and New Mexico sun for >15 years now. No issues whatsoever. My fork mounts for bikes are nearly 20 years old and the 6-pack ski rack is from 1993. Towers have come and gone from time to time, and so far the lock cores are universal.

If you have factory racks, there may be pretty cheap clips for the (high priced) toy-specific widgits you're planning on using. I was amazed that we could get the decade old ski racks on our Pathfinder for <$30.

(yakima fan)

The foam kayak blocks work great and are maybe $25-50 (or make them). Just lay them on the roof and strap the boat down.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1256698476.jpg

If you need the versatility of a rack, you can't go wrong with either system. I've got Yakima and Thule and like both. I just bought the Thule for my Audi a few weeks ago and it is exactly the same as the system I had 30 years ago. There's nothing to improve.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1256697814.jpg

I looked at them both, and they are close to each other. Thule's cross bars are square and Yakima's are round, slightly different uprights. I chose Yakima because I wanted the Hella Rollers in the rear to make putting the kayaks up easier.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1256699082.jpg

My buddy from Montana hit a horse in his Honda Accord. Totalled his car, and his road bike, but the Yakima racks and the mountain bike were fine. Fortunately he had his .357 and was able to dispatch the horse.

Can't say I get the twinge of envy very often, but I like everything I see in that pic!

whats wrong with the rack you have?

I've used aftermarket racks and one point not mentioned is that they generally produce much more wind noise then the factory ones. There is a lot more hardwared involved if you have a kayak rack and this is to be expected. Like others, I really don't see why you can't use your present one. The 355 days of the year you don't need it, you will be wishing it wasn't making all that noise.

Ok guys. Looks like I am going to give it a dry run in the next couple of days. Lash it down nice and tight and see if it budges.

One problem though...Where on earth do I tie it down on the rear if there is no hitch?

Tie it to your spare tire mount.

angela

You've got to have some sort of tie-down or tow anchor on the back. Hopefully you have one on each side. You'll want to make sure you make an upsidedown "V" with the ropes for maximum stability. Same goes for the front.

I love my Thule.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1256753895.jpg

I've had this Thule rack for over 25 years.. Still going strong.. Find the components you need to adapt to your stock rack.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1256755496.jpg

I've had thule for over 9 years and the rack and all the components are awesome. never any broken parts and the rack has been bounced off trees from being on top of my jeep. the rack and components are pricey but well worth it they will last forever.