I have Nissan Frontier Crew Cab- with the 5 foot bed. I have a 17 foot sea kayak. I am needing to purchase a rack (I prefer not to have a roof mount). I use the Yakima products (hulley Roller and Mako Saddle) which should mount to the cross bars. I need to know the spacing for the rails. Thanks
Do you have Utilitrack rails?
There are some roof-rack supports that mount in Utilitrack rails, allowing adjustable crossbar spacing.
You’ll probably want to get the spacing as far apart as possible within that 5-foot bed length. Most U.S. kayaks have the front and rear bulkheads placed at about 5 feet apart, and it’s good to put the bars under those.
However…you will have a lot of rear overhang if you’re not using the cab roof for one crossbar.
On my kingcab w/6-foot bed and topper, my 17-foot kayak had a fair bit of overhang when centered over the crossbars. It will be even more overhang with your shortbed.
So make sure you use bright-colored flags to warn other drivers where the rear of the boat is!
trac rac
From lowes.
Ryan L.