My husband and I recently purchased two kayaks. Mine is a Tarpon 120 and his is a Pungo 140 by Wilderness Systems. Now the issue is figuring out the best way to transport them. (So far, we have depended on the kindness of friends with trucks to take us down to the river with them).
I called my local Honda dealership about putting on racks on my '99 Honday Accord. At first, they said that they could. Now they say that they don’t have racks for that vehicle. In addition, I have a moon roof. My question is, can my Accord handle two kayaks since it has a moonroof. Thanks for any input.
Yakima or Thule
Yakima and Thule should have solutions for you. if the car is a 2 door, you may need to get an extender (which spreads the load on the roof over more area front-back. And your boats are wide, so you may not be able to use cradles and have room for both side to side, but have to use something like J saddles which tilt the boats.
Some areas have places that specialize in installing racks (Rack and Road, Sports Rack, etc. are some store names). If you are looking to have it installed for you, one of these (if you have them) could be a good option.
Thule
– Last Updated: Oct-10-11 2:19 PM EST –
I bought a thule for my 2008 Honda Fit sport. I believe its rated for 110 pounds so plenty for 2 kayakes. I got mine online at https://www.rackattack.com Great place to deal with. I asked them all sorts of questions before i bought from them. Very helpful.
Oh install instructions werent very good. Found on youtube a video of how to install which made it very easy. In fact i think they used your car in video i found.
Thule Fit Guide
http://www.thule.com/fitguide/index.html?language=en-US&market=US
Yakima has a similar guide. I think both companies will make something you can use. I don’t know about the Honda installation, but I was able to put bars and the Thule Hull-a-port on my VW GTI with a sunroof.
We have a 2000 Accord, and the
Yakima rack fitting is very stable. You might want to get a fairing kit if you get wind noise.
Thule and Accord
We often haul two kayaks (and even sometimes an 80 lb canoe) on my boyfriend’s Accord using a Thule rack with J-rack fittings that carry the kayaks on their sides. I recomment Thule over Yakima because the square bars (as opposed to the round Yakimas) are more conducive to boat carrying adaptations. I have used Thule racks exclusively for hauling kayaks on multiple vehicles for over a decade.
rack
I put 42 inch Thule tracks on the roof of my extended cab pickup, and installed the adapters for a Yakima rack (yeah, I know, but Thule and Yakima tracks are almost interchangeable). I strongly recommend always using bow and stern tie downs, as the short space between the rack bars and length of the boat do not give me confidence without them. A shop installing them can easily put tie down loops under the bumpers where they won’t show. Use a soft rope and add padding if the ropes rub painted surfaces. A trucker’s hitch is a good way to tie down. Ratchet straps are too easy to over tighten.
Thule and Yakima are very good quality
units.
I drive a Ford Explorer, have Yakima bars and Thule Hullavators, which due to your vehicles roof being lower than mine would likely be overkill. But I sure enjoy them. Best thing this 5’2" Nana’s hubby ever let her buy.
Roof Rack
an fyi on racks, just get the cross bars, cover with insulation foam or store bought soft kayak pads and you’re good to go - vs using sadles which take up space and prevent from carrying more kayaks and other non paddling items on your roof. less is more. tie down with ropes or straps.
We also have an Accord
2007 model but no moon roof which may be a big problem depending on where it is situation with respect to where you must put the bars. We finally put bars on our accord but you do have another option which we also use.
A hitch.(1 1/4" receiver only for accords) My husband bought a hitch from UHaul and installed it and we pull a small trailer with kayaks sometimes instead of the roof racks. This may be your only option because of the moon roof but check with Honda or some rack companies first in case the bars can fit around the glass.
I based my spacing of Thule roof racks
according to my vehicles support bars in the roof. This is the strongest section of the roof (obviously) I have a sunroof also, so my bars look a little further back than they should, but are on the strongest point of the vehicle and are still spaced properly for the size boat that i carry. Something to consider.
How did you find where the support
bars are located?
Try the dealership…
the guys in the body shop will know!
I looked in my manual…stuff that comes with the car.