best way to carry kayak on/in truck?

Advice
#1

I plan to purchase a kayak for fishing in the keys very soon (don’t know which yet). I have a chevy s10 with a fiberglass camper shell. Wondering the best way to carry a kayak, in or on? And if on, what’s the cheapest/best way to do it? Should a fiberglass top handle the weight?

thanks!

#2

should
be no problem for the fiberglass. Several friends of mine have fiberglass shells or ‘caps’ on their trucks. They have a rack made of square tubing. consists of a cross piece (1 front and back) with 2 short legs. Each leg has a 6" flat bar with a hole in each end which rests on the cap. They drilled holes down through the cap and put large washers on the inside to spread the strain. Some guys haul 2 canoes this way so should be no problem for a kayak.

#3

also have
seen roof racks on fiberglass toppers. Should suit ya well. Then ya got more space in the truck box to carry your gear.

#4

Not the cheapest but…
…the best.

I have had two trucks with fiberglass camper shells. The last is my 2003 F-150.

I have a Yakama bolt through “landing Pads” with their bars.

Last year I drove 16,000 miles from NC to Alaska and the Arctic circle and return over some of the roughest roads that a person can drive on with two 17 foot plastic kayaks.

My speeds ranged betwen 70 on the interstates and crawling on 4 wheel tracts.

I never had a problem. Believe me you wouldn’t do that with foam blocks or a home made set of bars.

Cheers,

JackL

#5

shell
I have a Brahma shell and have carried two kayaks and mountain bikes on top with a Yakima setup. I also have just tossed the kayak in the bed (with the tailgate open) and strapped it down so it wouldn’t slide out. Either way works!