First time poster, owner of two fiberglass kayaks and a 2008 Honda Odyssey ( so don’t want this car anymore)…
Ok so last season I had one kayak and managed to get it up on my roof, however I now have some permanent scratches off the car paint so need to consider how best to get these up as well.
I want a quick and as easy as possible solution to get these kayaks on and off, one person if possible and a rack that will work for transporting two at once and not scratch up the car anymore.
Appreciate and ideas around the mishaps I’ve had and I’m open to whether the kayaks lay flat or on side… not sure that it matters really.
Hope to hear from a few folks soon on some suggestions and which kind of rack to get for two kayaks for a Honda Odyssey.
How long are the kayaks? And is there anything on the roof right now? (Side rails? Crossbars? Nothing?). If you’re not planning to keep the vehicle very long that can be a consideration as rack systems are not terribly cheap and are most often not completely transferable to a different vehicle. With a minivan you also have the complication of the sliding door. Give us some more info and let’s see if we can help you out.
Thanks for the info. Having side rails helps a lot. Probably your cheapest option would be a set of Malone crossbars. Once you have those on the car then you have a bunch of options for the kayaks. Very short boats like yours can be difficult to get on a tall (ish) car. There have been a couple of recent threads on this message board about options for loading kayaks on cars that you might want to read through. J cradles, a Stacker, and the various cradles which keep the kayaks flat all might work, but all have their own set of drawbacks. Sliding the kayaks on from the back of the vehicle tends to be the easiest way to solo load (using a bathmat, roller or towel to protect the car).
We installed OEM rails to the anchorage points on the van. Then used Honda cradles. When hauling two kayaks, sea kayaks, 17ft by 24" +/-, we use one set Honda cradles and a pair of J-bars. We can load single by putting one end on the front rack then picking up the other end and swinging it over. Place towel on car to protect the finish. We often use the trailer when going in the Honda “dog transporter” van.
You have one 9 ft and one 11 ft kayak…probably too short for that move above. However you can probably load them foward so they don’t obstruct the tail gate.
so don’t want this car anymore)…
