Anybody got some clever tip for carrying one/two 5mtr long sea kayaks on the original roof rack that came with the G4 Defenders?
Have had both on top, but the height of the upper bar/piece of pipe prevents the boats from lying as steady as needed for norwegian roads.
Any tips are most welcome
Go to your local home store and buy some foam from the building section. Cut it with a sharp razor blade for the bottom to hang over the rack. Put the kayak directly on them and run the strap over the kayaks. The weight and straps hold it down.
If you run two and they are too wide, lay them on their sides with the bottoms touching and leaning inboard on each other. Two foam pads for each kayak (front/back) under the kayak to the roof rack and then a piece of foam to run between them for a friction barrier and then run the straps over them. When you ratchet the straps down, they pull in on each other. Good locking straps and they will never cover off. I had to do this a few times to get to the upper north shore off-road with my kayaks.
For longer kayaks, cross cinch the straps from the front and back of the kayaks to the bumpers (sorry for the car picture but this is how its done). Kayak on the right gets tied to the left of the front/rear bumpers. Kayak on the left gets cinched to the right front/rear bumpers. Of course, don't forget the straps over the top to the rack as well.
This is how I run mine on my D3. I live in Hawaii, and running kayaks and big stand up boards is a way of life. No need to buy expensive stuff, this is cheap and how the expensive stores do it and sell it to us who are will to pay big bucks for foam. Once the kayaks are off, toss them in the back, so nobody walks off with your great idea.
You can also use roll foam from the plumbing department and wrap it around the front and rear most bars with outdoor tape or gorilla tap. I have this on my FR rack as well for my surfboards, and it stays on year round.
Sorry I do not have pictures of my set up but found these on the internet for reference.
