I’ve started using J cradles instead of hully rollers and regular cradles. I find the J cradles more secure, but since they don’t have rollers, they seem to be much more difficult to put on and take off the boat - on my own, which is most of the time. And by the way, I’m 79 - in pretty good shape but I cannot lift even a 40lb boat that high. Thanks much.
J-racks are almost always loaded from the side. They are useful for carrying multiple boats on a narrow car and are generally less expensive than saddles or saddles and roller combinations. They now make a saddle with rollers incorporated which most people find more secure than the Hulley Rollers. I’ve personally found saddles to be very secure even at highway speeds and extreme wind conditions.
However, if you are short or your car is tall J-racks can be difficult to load and strap down. They can be more of a physical challenge in terms of strength if you have a heavy boat.
With saddles you generally have a choice of loading from the side or back. Loading from the back generally takes less physical strength.
Then again, there is the Cadillac option of a Hullavator or something similar.
Avoid bargain priced j-racks from lesser known companies. There are reports of them breaking at the junction of the J-rack and base.
The trick is to position the kayak next to your vehicle but 4’-5’ away and then lift the bow and prop it up in the front j-hook, then move to the stern and lift that. Once I’ve got the stern off the ground about waist high I can hold the kayak on its side and slide it forward some. The farther forward I slide the kayak the lighter the stern becomes to the point that I can just lift it one handed and drop it in the rear j-hook. Then it’s just a matter of positioning it where you want it and strapping it down.
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If your vehicle isn’t too high (and if your boat is long enough) my technique may work for you. I park on grass - a slight downhill slope helps but isn’t necessary; place the boat a couple of feet away from and parallel to the vehicle. Lift the bow and roll the boat toward you, then rest it against the cradle with at least 12" from the contact point o the tip of the boat. The stern will drag a bit, but it’s on grass so no harm done. Shuffle back toward the stern without letting the boat go entirely because it may want to roll back and out. Lift the stern into it’s cradle while also applying some forward force to keep the bow from sliding out.
It’s not pretty, but you’re by yourself so no one can laugh at you except you. And being able to laugh at yourself is a good thing.
Thanks to all of you - both for the warning and, from Low Tech and Buffalo Alice, the suggestion to follow a sort of two step process. I’ll give it a try.
Strap your kayak down to the roof rack not the J-rack. It makes the boat and J-rack secure. Instructions for j- racks often say otherwise but experience and my friend the GM engineer agrees.
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I was told the same thing at REI this week - strap the kayak to the roof cross bars and not the j-rack frame.
Even better, if you can strap the kayak to both the crossbars and roof rails it is even more secure. Crossbars have been known to fail.
For one kayak, you may be able to set up a hully roller to get it up there from the back of your car, then maneuver to the J racks.
Yakima has changed the names of their saddles/rollers. From what I have witnessed, the hully rollers (HandRoll) do not offer very good lateral support. I have seen a number of people accidentally roll their kayak off the side of their car when loading. The combination saddle/roller (SweetRoll) look like they would reduce the chance of this happening. We have the old Mako saddles, now replaced by the DeckHand, and can easily load from the back or side. The kayak slides very easily on the padded saddles without a roller. Prices are all similar.
I used Thule J-racks for years and solo loaded from the side the way that LT and BA have described. Most of my kayaks have been long and fairly light but the j-racks were more of a hassle when I got some heavier boats. And having the boats lying on their sides always made it harder to fasten the bow and stern safety lines to the front and rear of the vehicle.
A couple of years ago a local guy was selling a big box of assorted Thule parts for $50 and I was thrilled to buy it from him – it included two pairs of the wing shaped cradles that hold the boats flat. I replaced one of the j-racks on my car and found it so much easier to load from the rear with the wing cradles that I swapped out the other j-rack as well. Another advantage i am finding is that the wings push down flat and I don’t have to worry about having to avoid low clearance parking garages where the tall J-racks might hit – they also wouldn’t clear the low garage door at my new house.
For reference, I turn 75 this month and most of my kayaks are 15’ to 18’ and 32 to 59 pounds.
You guys are great…and I’m still a bit confused. I actually find the J Racks more secure than the cradles, although I definitely get your point that the Hully Rollers don’t provide that much breadth support. I can’t figure out how you loaded the boat the side way. I’ve got a fairly light Stellar ( I got it for its light weight and my advancing age), but I stilll can’t heft it sideways. I end up asking someone, and since we bought a Prius precisely for ease of loading, even my wife can help. But are the wing cradles really that secure? Especially if they’re on round cross bars?
I’ve used saddles for over 25 years at highway speeds over long distances, in extreme crosswinds, and over rough roads. Never had a problem. As long as he straps are snug and you use bow and stern tiedowns the kayak is not going anywhere as long as the rack doesn’t fail. If you have factory roof rails and can incorporate them when strapping down, the kayak and rack will at least stay with the car in the event of a rack failure. On long trips we tend to double up on the straps and tiedowns.
I’ve never been a fan of round bars. It seems that no matter how tight you attach the saddles or J-bars, they eventually loosen up and tend to roll over, especially when loading from the rear. I prefer square or the more expensive flattened aerodynamic bars. However, this is just an aggravation and the saddles or J-bars will still be secure.