Yakima Rack question...anyone done this?

[Martinjmpr]

So I have to figure out how to carry two wide (34" beam) Kayaks on my 4runner. Since they're pretty flat on top, I've decided the best way to carry them is upside down on a flat rack.

I got a set of Yakima Railgrabbers this weekend, they fit on my factory rails and can accomodate any width of Yakima bar.

Because of the width of the kayaks, I would need the longest bar Yakima makes, which would be 78".

I've looked on CL but can't find anybody selling 78" bars locally. Price for a new set of bars would be roughly $90.

My question for the group: Is there any reason I can't just go down to my local home store, find aluminum tubing that is the same width as the Yakima bar (which I think is 7/8"?) cut it to length and use that? Has anyone tried it and how did it work?

The kayaks aren't terribly heavy, they're just big, so I don't need something that will carry a lot of weight, I just need something that I can tie these kayaks to and transport them safely several hundred miles. If i have to pay extra for Yakima, I will, I'm just trying to figure out if the "factory" yakima bar is in any way superior to just a regular piece of aluminum pipe.

 

[Herbie]

I'm fairly confident the Yakima bars are steel, not aluminum. This is just based on the "heft" of the 48" and 56" bars I have for a couple of vehicles. I've had the 48" bars on and off my Subaru a number of times, and I'd be surprised if they weren't.

Other than the OD and the slightly rubbery coating, I don't think there's much to them, though. I'd feel safe in steel, but not sure I'd feel the same with Aluminum or if it'd be worth the cost difference.

EDIT: Had to know, so I checked Yakima's website: "Round crossbars made from vinyl coated galvanized steel"
http://www.yakima.com/shop/racksystems/accessories/78-crossbars

 

[DaveInDenver]

Yakima bars are indeed steel with a plastic coating. They are also not particularly thin wall. But AFAIK there's no reason why you couldn't use something else, but I would use something pretty substantial. One thing to consider, you're a law talking guy. What would happen if your non-Yakima bars failed on the highway? Would your insurance wash their hands of it? Using Yakima bars the way their feet are designed to work there's probably some liability protection.

 

[MotoDave]

78" bars are going to be monstrous. I just put 66" bars on my 2nd gen tundra camper shell, and they stick out ~12" from each side of the roof.

If you use any kind of kayak cradle, you won't need as much width as putting them flat on the bars. The J-type (Hullraiser) are the most compact, and are very cheap used. They can be folded down when not in use.

I'm going with a Hully Roller + Mako Saddle setup so that I can roll the kayak up from the rear of the truck. The saddles have a narrower base than the full width of the kayak, I could get 2 side by side up there if needed.

 

[Sea&Xc]

The Yakima bars are 1 1/8 outer diameter. Since you already have the towers just buy the bars. You'll notice the Railgrabs have teeth that bite into the plastic coating on the bars to kee them from rotating. If you used an uncoated steel bar the towers would work well. Also you won't need the 78" bars. The 66" will fit fine. You aren't grabbing the kayaks at their widest point.

As said above, Yakima will bear liability if something happened and you were using the system correctly. If you are using only parts of the system, everything is on you.

FYI REI Anniversary sale 20% off Yakima this week too.

 

[MotoDave]

Something else that occurred to me is you can cut down the bars, so if you bought the 78" bars and realized you've got an extra 10", you can cut them down to 68"

 

[Martinjmpr]

One thing to consider, you're a law talking guy. What would happen if your non-Yakima bars failed on the highway? Would your insurance wash their hands of it? Using Yakima bars the way their feet are designed to work there's probably some liability protection.

That's really not a big concern of mine. Worst case scenario of a "failure" would be the bars buckle in the middle which might damage my roof but it shouldn't cause the kayaks to go flying. They'll be well secured with ratchet straps.

78" bars are going to be monstrous. I just put 66" bars on my 2nd gen tundra camper shell, and they stick out ~12" from each side of the roof.

If you use any kind of kayak cradle, you won't need as much width as putting them flat on the bars. The J-type (Hullraiser) are the most compact, and are very cheap used. They can be folded down when not in use.

I'm going with a Hully Roller + Mako Saddle setup so that I can roll the kayak up from the rear of the truck. The saddles have a narrower base than the full width of the kayak, I could get 2 side by side up there if needed.

I actually measured with a piece of scrap wood I had lying around - 78" would put them about 9" outside the roof on either side, but even at that it wouldn't be more than a couple of inches wider than the mirrors and I've never come close to hitting anything with the mirrors.

As for the J-carriers, that's a no-go. I don't want them sitting up there like two sails, I want them laying flat. I have enough problems with crosswinds as it is (had a brutal trip driving across Kansas about 2 weeks ago - we're talking 60mph crosswinds pulling a light trailer. Not fun!)

The Yakima bars are 1 1/8 outer diameter. Since you already have the towers just buy the bars. You'll notice the Railgrabs have teeth that bite into the plastic coating on the bars to kee them from rotating. If you used an uncoated steel bar the towers would work well. Also you won't need the 78" bars. The 66" will fit fine. You aren't grabbing the kayaks at their widest point.

Hmmmm...I may have to look at that. Possibly it could work with a shorter bar but these are W - I - D - E kayaks!

As for the "plastic coating", I know it sounds "redneck" but couldn't I acheive the same effect by taking a couple of wraps of duct tape around the bars?

FYI REI Anniversary sale 20% off Yakima this week too.

Ah, good to know about the REI sale. That could swing things back in favor of using factory racks...

Something else that occurred to me is you can cut down the bars, so if you bought the 78" bars and realized you've got an extra 10", you can cut them down to 68"

Yup, that though occurred to me, too. I really need about 70" to be comfortable but Yakima doesn't make anything between 66 and 78.

 

[DaveInDenver]

They only make 3 or 4 lengths, you are supposed to cut them down if you wish. Do it all the time.

Another thing to think about with roof rack bar overhang is that the sides of your car are typically not straight, but sloping in. With super wide bars you need to position them so they are not right over your doors otherwise you'll ********** your forehead on them when you get in and out of the car. That's a mistake you make once.

Wrapping tape around them won't work. That will just displace and end up in goo. The plastic on the bars is rigid and continuous to keep the bars from rotating in the feet. When you disassemble a Yakima you'll see teeth marks in the plastic, they clamp pretty hard. If you use a non-Yak bar you'd want to use a large enough diameter that the feet wedge into the metal or use some sort of hard plastic or aluminum as a shim.

I should mention that the cross bars are part of the structure of the Yakima roof rack. If they fail the rack loses some integrity and can come off the roof. I've had that happen to me, although the wasn't due to the bars failing but me measuring the distance between the feet wrong. This was with the Q Towers on our old Civic. Sucker slid backwards and off.

 

[Herbie]

With super wide bars you need to position them so they are not right over your doors otherwise you'll ********** your forehead on them when you get in and out of the car. That's a mistake you make once.

I wish that were true. I've whacked my head multiple times while trying to lift the toddler in/out of the car. Kept the bars at stock length because I kept thinking I was going to mount a bike tray outboard of my cargo box, but it seems I'll never use both at the same time, so it's probably time to cut them down...

 

[Flagster]

78" bars are going to be monstrous. I just put 66" bars on my 2nd gen tundra camper shell, and they stick out ~12" from each side of the roof.

If you use any kind of kayak cradle, you won't need as much width as putting them flat on the bars. The J-type (Hullraiser) are the most compact, and are very cheap used. They can be folded down when not in use.

I'm going with a Hully Roller + Mako Saddle setup so that I can roll the kayak up from the rear of the truck. The saddles have a narrower base than the full width of the kayak, I could get 2 side by side up there if needed.

I would also recommend some type of hull carrier...I have some old type of Yakima Hull Raiser...got them from my parents but they allow me lots of extra room on top. It think this pic shows 66" bars, two kayaks, and a megawarrior basket in the middle...

 

[java]

Used Galvanized pipe on mine before, works fine. IIRC the part that grabs the cross bars will just clamp down on standard sized pipe.

 

[MotoDave]

As for the J-carriers, that's a no-go. I don't want them sitting up there like two sails, I want them laying flat. I have enough problems with crosswinds as it is (had a brutal trip driving across Kansas about 2 weeks ago - we're talking 60mph crosswinds pulling a light trailer. Not fun!)

I get what you're saying, I really doubt its going to make much practical difference though. You're still adding 16" + the height of the rack to side profile of the vehicle.

 

[Static54]

If you're going to carry them frequently I'd invest in a hull a port or something similar. I only got one set for my kayak and my buddy's we laid flat. You could fab something similar if you're handy. I used to travel across the country with this set up, plus a trailer and 2 motorcycles. Not sure crosswinds do much to the kayaks besides noise.

 

[socalctcamper]

Static
Can you take a few pics of the rack and towers on your cab. I'm interested in how you mounted them. Thanks.

 

[Static54]

Static
Can you take a few pics of the rack and towers on your cab. I'm interested in how you mounted them. Thanks.

Are you referring to the parts that clamp to the truck that hold the cross bar?