DIY PVC Rooftop Kayak Rack

A couple of years ago, I needed a rooftop kayak rack and decided, for my infrequent need, that I wasn’t willing to pay the price for a factory made rack. I designed and built a PVC rack that I have used very successfully for a couple of years now. It can be mounted on existing roof rails or mounted directly on the roof. I have posted the plans for the kayak rack and a PVC kayak cart on my website at http://projects.cadrefloorplans.com . I’d appreciate hearing from anyone who builds either project.

looks good to me
I bet it will work fine but it may be hard to tell when the plastic gets brittle. If you store it inside it may last for years and years.

Nice job!
Nice job! Good old Yankee ingenuity at work again.

Schedule 40 CPVC will outlive you.
I was going to say me, but that probably isn’t too many years.

Even exposed to UV rays



Jack L

UV
If that’s a concern you could easily spray paint it with one of the new plastic compatible paints from your home center to block most of the UV. The paint would also hide the factory markings and bar codes. I do take it apart and store it inside during the winter. If it ever gets brittle I’ll probably just take an afternoon and make a new one. For the $40-$50 I figure I can afford to make a new one every 5-10 years.

I built one
that sits in the bed of my truck out of 2" schedule 80 and spray painted it with whatever was in the shed.

Yankee
Thanks! Frugality is the mother of invention, as they say.

DYI PVC Kayak CARRIER
Can the plans for the DYI car top carrier be reposted on the web again!



The link in your article no longer works.



Thank You.



FYI - my need is a simple DYI car top carrier for two 10’ kayaks to load on top of a Chevy Trailblazer with factory roof rack.

Link
I just clicked on it and the link (http://projects.cadrefloorplans.com ) does work. Are you still having a problem with it?

DIY roof rack in progress
I bought two 6’ sit-on kayaks for my daughters. They fit in the car, but then the children don’t, so I was in need of a roof rack. I already have a Yakima bike rack mounted on my car, and I wanted a way to work around that and not spend $100+ for a roof rack, so I looked online for DIY plans.

I found your plans, printed them out and headed right for the hardware store. When I got home, I spent a couple of contented hours putting together the main portion of the rack. I have yet to finish the “feet” to position it on my roof rack, but so far it looks great. I really appreciate your fine directions. I will let you know how it works when I get it done.

DIY roof rack
Glad to hear it is working out well! I’d love to hear about it when finished and see any pix you might take.


Successful rack builders
I’ve gotten quite a few emails from people who have built this rack along with a number of pictures. If I get the okay from the owners, I add them to my website along with any comments from them which might help future builders.

plans
I don’t see any plans when I follow the link. It’s just a page with a list of links to other sites.