Hi there, newbie here.
Just purchased a kayak and have been mounting it to my roof rack for the first few times I’ve transported it. I am looking at roof racks and there are a ton of choices.
I am looking at Malone j hooks.
I’d prefer a mount that hooks directly to my factory crossbars (flat oval shape), and Yakima does not. I believe that Thule also requires special mounting pieces and I am trying to stay within my budget.
I would prefer not to get a saddle for it because I am trying to mount multiple kayaks. The stackers look more difficult to use and at 5’4" I think it would be difficult to manage.
Looking for people’s thoughts on the subject. Do you have a (new style) Pathfinder? What do you use that fits the roof rack?
I’ve got a couple sets of Yakima J-lows on my Subaru Outback and they went right on the factory aero bars. They also came with adapters for square and round bars. The two sets of Thule Hullavators that are on our CRV are also supposed to be mountable on factory bars…but I wouldn’t trust that much weight on factory bars. I put Yakima square bars on it.
How many boats are you planning on carrying and what type? I used to put my kayaks on similarly tall vehicle and reaching the straps is very tough if you’re not tall. If you’re willing to carry a step ladder or climb on your roof you can probably stay within budget. The ultimate set up for shorter folk are hullivators but they also require aftermarket bars that stick out past the edge of the vehicle driving the price even higher. I was able to fit 3 kayaks on my wifes 4runner with 60" bars but only I could load the boat on the j rack in the middle between the hullivators. I now only carry 2 kayaks on the roof and if I’m bringing more boats I trailer.
Check out Thule and Yakima. They offer many options.