Kayak Car Roof Rack Question

[DayTrip]

There's probably a ton of videos on YouTube so I won't post a link to one. But the straps that tie down the kayak are ridiculously easy to do. They don't work how in your mind you'd think they do (at least not for me), but do it once and you can do it with ease. Very, very, simple. And other than something like the Thule Hullavator Pro, they pretty much all work the same way. No matter what brand or model.

Excellent. Thanks.

 

[jfb]

I use 3/8 in. nylon ropes to tie down my canoe, with the truckers hitch knots.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

The clips provide tension and locking in one device, and allow for a variability in length of the strap - you may not get it over the exact same spot on the kayak every time. Once you get comfortable with where you strap it, you can always cut the longer straps to length so you don't have to tie up the excess. As Joe says above, it's really not that hard.

Do be careful to put a half twist in any length of strap greater than a few inches to minimize the flapping/vibrations. Also, make sure they are not going to rub on each other or you will cause wear, leading to failure and likely to disaster!

Tim

 

[peakbagger]

When it comes to moving either one of my sea kayaks, 18'6" and 19' respectively, its two straps on my rack, a rope to the front of vehicle tied in triangle (two points under bumper and the rope on the bow and a similar rope to the back. Long boats can really have quite a sail effect with cross winds and transfer the loads to the front and back make a big difference.

 

[DayTrip]

Do be careful to put a half twist in any length of strap greater than a few inches to minimize the flapping/vibrations. Also, make sure they are not going to rub on each other or you will cause wear, leading to failure and likely to disaster!

Tim

I'll be sure to check that. I assume long tag ends would also do a number on the cars paint job if they're slapping against it for hours on a long ride.

 

[DayTrip]

Is Thule having production problems/COVID issues? I ordered a rack about a month ago from Amazon that showed in and out of stock the whole time my order was placed and then I got an alert that it was unavailable with no ETA so I canceled. I went on Rack Warehouse today and half the Thule racks I clicked on were showing as out of stock. Amazon has been extremely unreliable post-COVID so I'm leary of ordering another one from them and waiting a month for nothing. Curious if anyone was aware of production problems with Thule.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I have been waiting 5 weeks for a bicycle part for warranty replacement. They all come from Malaysia which has restrictions and are shipped to a warehouse in California which is at 20% of its regular staff... The shop tells me October/November. I gave up and found the part in stock and paid for it myself... All kinds of supply disruptions - just-in-time-delivery means easily disrupted. Clearly, your rack and my crankset are not as high priority as food, water, medical supplies, etc.

Tim

 

[DayTrip]

I have been waiting 5 weeks for a bicycle part for warranty replacement. They all come from Malaysia which has restrictions and are shipped to a warehouse in California which is at 20% of its regular staff... The shop tells me October/November. I gave up and found the part in stock and paid for it myself... All kinds of supply disruptions - just-in-time-delivery means easily disrupted. Clearly, your rack and my crankset are not as high priority as food, water, medical supplies, etc.

Tim

Figured it was something like that. The normally rock solid Amazon next day delivery has pretty much gone down the toilet and really none of the vendors I generally deal with can deliver on expedited shipping. And God forbid you return something. Takes weeks to get processed. I returned some trail runners to Backcountry.com and it took 11 days to post my refund from the date they received the item at their warehouse.

 

[JustJoe]

Is Thule having production problems/COVID issues? I ordered a rack about a month ago from Amazon that showed in and out of stock the whole time my order was placed and then I got an alert that it was unavailable with no ETA so I canceled. I went on Rack Warehouse today and half the Thule racks I clicked on were showing as out of stock. Amazon has been extremely unreliable post-COVID so I'm leary of ordering another one from them and waiting a month for nothing. Curious if anyone was aware of production problems with Thule.

There's definitely priority shipping going on at Amazon. That's been getting a little better. Thule is however out of stock on a lot of stuff. I bought a Thule rack item online REI when they had 20% off Thule and Yakima. I was able to purchase it back-ordered. No time given on delivery. Which for me was fine, since it's just an upgrade for me.

 

[DayTrip]

There's definitely priority shipping going on at Amazon. That's been getting a little better. Thule is however out of stock on a lot of stuff. I bought a Thule rack item online REI when they had 20% off Thule and Yakima. I was able to purchase it back-ordered. No time given on delivery. Which for me was fine, since it's just an upgrade for me.

I emailed Rack Warehouse about the model I had ordered through Amazon because they showed it available. It was out of stock there too and they were hoping to get in by the end of July but it didn't sound very solid.

 

[peakbagger]

If the parts are coming from offshore there could also be delays. Customs is running short staffed and stuff on occasion gets stalled awaiting paperwork. I just went through that with an air freight package.

 

[jniehof]

If the parts are coming from offshore there could also be delays. Customs is running short staffed and stuff on occasion gets stalled awaiting paperwork. I just went through that with an air freight package.

I had a bike part go from Frankfurt on 29 June to "inbound to customs" in NY on 11 July, nothing in between. It's hard to tell if the delay is in finding a flight with cargo space or in Customs staffing. A friend had a similar wait for an air filter from the UK. International supply chains are strained and I imagine the retail customer is fairly far down the list.

 

[peakbagger]

If its a dedicated air freight company and standard commercial goods its pretty reliable but the customer pays a premium. If its standard postage then it can take quite awhile. My new Toyota project was never sold in the US so parts come from offshore, either Dubai UAE or Japan. I did get a crate with a used specialized jack for my Unimog cab in it but it had German military graphics on it, it got stalled in customs for two plus weeks. Customs wanted a form that no one had ever heard of but it took several phone calls to find out they wanted it.

 

[Remix]

I recently became aware that many kayak manufacturers recommend transport with the curved side of the hull bearing the weight rather than the portion that touches the water if that makes a difference.