So, I need those car top J racks for a new plastic tempest 170. Does anyone have advice on which of these three brands of j racks will least smush and distort the soft plastic this boat is made of? Thanks.
the only thing
that will smush and distort the soft plastic the boat is 1) its weight, 2) the hot sun, or 3) your cranking down on the boat too hard with the straps. (1) is absolutely negligible. (2) is harder; you have to pick where you park. (3) is totally in your control. Don’t crank down too hard. Just enough to hold the boat in place. Otherwise, they are about equal. I have Thules and like those. Friends have Malones, and they look nice.
Opinions
will differ by the person but I favor the Malone racks. And since I switched from their J-rack to the Gull/Wing design I have a J-rack set for sale ($40.00 with new straps). I’ll pay the postage if you’re interested.
Any day on the water is a great day,
Cal
thule j-racks
I have a plastic tempest 170 and I load on the thules. Works just fine. I can get a pinky between the boat and straps and I use the bow and stern tie downs that comes with the racks. No problem on the highway in CO wind and doesnt seem to affect my gas mileage.
Rob
get those Malones for $40 above!
Good deal!
Malone kayak racks…
Did you sell those to the inquiring guy yet, I may be interested but only after he declines. What is the difference between the j and wing styles?
the j cradle holds the boat up on side…
– Last Updated: May-01-07 4:55 PM EST –
the gull wing is horizontal and it provides more support and contact than strapping the baot straight down to the bars provides....
http://www.maloneautoracks.com/water_sports_carriers.html
the autoloader is a j cradle (shape of cradle)
where as the Seawing is the gull wing....
i have a set of the older gullwings (rectangular as opposed to the funky shape of the new sea wing...i like the older better-more contact)...and i use the Malone stacker....
that way if i am carrying one boat (as usual) i can have it above the driverside onthe gull wing....the gullwing has some give since the racks are made of a plastic based material.....so bumps etc are NO problem for the boats....think of them as shock absorbers for the boat up there on the roof....
then if i am carrying another boat i can have it flat ont he bars sidled up against the stacker too help hold it in place....or if i have more boats that i am carrying one boat goes on the gull wing and the other boats get stacked like cordwood up agains the stacker on their sides....
this method also helps with boats that have different hull designs...ones with mroe of a V go on the gull wing....the rockhopper and the WW go against the stacker......
BTW: the boats i most carry are: a glass tempest 170(mine)....a plastic tempest 165 (wifey's)....a pyranha s8....and a Rockhopper....
rob
Padded cross bars…
boat deck side down, straps. That’s how it got to the dealer.
hi
I am interested in the Malones if they are the autoloader type, (how old and what shape are they in)? (ie: they look like the ones on the top of the malones page?)I live in Haverhill Massachusetts. My email is brad.fournier@comcast.net
Thanks Cal, Brad
Oooooooo!
boat deck side down and backwards!!
Bad ju-ju