roof rack impossible?!

I was looking at getting a Yakima Outdoorsman 300 for the rear part of my 2001 Ford F-150 and combining it with a single roof rack. Upon calling Yakima I was told that since the truck has rain gutters the support is ‘soft’ and will not hold the weight of my kayak. I was wondering if anyone out there has used this rack system or even just the roof rack on their truck? And if so, what rack/model number? Any info would be appreciated…

No personal experience
but in the Piragis catalog there is a single bar mount rack that might work.



http://www.boundarywaterscatalog.com/browse.cfm/4,2097.htm



Jim

racks
Check with ORS Racks Direct; if you call them, they’re really helpful, and they figured out all the possible systems for my vehicle.

http://www.orsracksdirect.com

I had the outdoorsman 300
on my Dakota. I had towers front and back and it was rock solid. Nothing on the cab.


Stress
A rack on the cab and one on the bed can put a lot of stress on the kayak as the cab and bed move differently.

extended cab?
I mounted a standard Yakima rack on my F-150 king cab. The distance between the crossbars was a bit short, but my boats rode rock solid. I took two kayakys from WA to FL and lots of local trips and never had a problem.

I opted against a roof rack and went
to a class 1 hitch and a utility trailer.

I believe that the tow is much more efficient,

does not impede driving vision any, and the lower

heighth of canoe lifting makes it easier overall.

Good luck, mickjetblue

I use inflatable Smartrack
www.handirack.com (I think) and about $60. The racks last about 5 years whether used or stored. I have a 4-door Dakota, on an F-150 it’d be a long ways between racks. You might be able to buy/build something for the stake pockets instead.



Good Luck

I have the 300
On a couple of trucks. One of them is my crew cab Dodge. If you get both the front and rear racks, it will be no problem. Mine go “over 80” and from SoCal to Alberta Canada rock solid. Why put something on the roof?