kayak rack

I have tried searching this site but not found what I am looking for.
I have a 2008 Tacoma. I use a home made rack that sits in the bed to carry my sea kayaks. They are 17 feet long. They hang off the back several feet. I hold them with ratchet tie downs connected to eyes that go through the two by four wood frame.
What I want to do is use a roof rack (single) on top of the cab and a single frame in the bed at the rear. This wood allow me to center the kayak over the truck.
I use only the ratchets, no bowlines......yep, I know what people will say but I’ve not used bowlines for over forty years with no mishaps.
So, I need a single rack for the cab on which I can attach my wood “bar” and eyelets.
Thanks ahead of tome for any help.

 

A buddy of mine use this, with a bed extender In the Vertical mode that plugs into the receiver hitch.Work good.

https://www.carid.com/backrack/back-rack-cab-guard-mpn-15001.html

 

Most of the rack manufacturers make roof mounted (via clamps on the door jamb) bar systems. Some are round and some are square. Most are probably large enough to drill a hole to mount an eyebolt.

I carry kayaks and canoes on my roof rack and just cinch strap them directly to the bars and center by eye. Never had anything shift. Many of the bars have rubber inserts on top to prevent slipping.

Also never tie down bow/stern.

Oh - for my kayak, I have a rigid foam cradle that fits on my bars.

 

I was hoping for something that would fit the factory channel in the roof. The Toyota ones are paired and it looks lije you can’t mount one only.

 

I want to move the kayaks forward, the bed extender doesn’t solve this issue.

 

You can build a frame out of wood that sits in the bed high enough to clear the roof. Thats the setup my buddy has.

 

I have a Rhino Rack ditch channel rack. I believe others make them as well. It was a kit that included 2 cross bars. Not sure if you could piece together a kit with just one.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/install-rhino-rack-vortex-rlt600-roof-rack.624050/

 

I have that now. It is a frame and rack made of 2x4 lumber. I want the kayaks more forward, centered over the truck length wise so they don’t stick out the back so far. The kayaks are 17 feet long.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-transport-kayaks.445705/#post-13010134

 

Here is my truck carrying a 16.6 canoe centered over the truck on a Tacoma rack:

 

That looks good. I had initially thought of getting that roof rack, but was dissuaded due to some comments on TW concerning issues with the crossbar retention. Someone mentioned that theirs came loose with a kayak on top. I don't want that to happen.

I have a 13'-6" long tandem kayak ( weighs 65# ) that I want to transport on the roof. I'm also considering the Victory 4x4 roof rack as well.

Does anyone have comments???

Thanks

 

I don’t particularly like the construction of the stock rack - note that mine is a Chinese clone - and would not trust it if I were attached to the crossbars only. The front orange strap is to a cross bar - the two black straps are looped through some pretty stout “eyes” - for that canoe and my driving the setup works - but for more weight or dynamic loads I would not trust that rack.

 

I have the factory rack and transport a 12' kayak (about 50#) with no problems. The rack seems solid enough for the purpose. I just use a set of crossbar pads and lay the kayak as you would a canoe. Fits perfect. I ratchet strap to the front and rear bars, friction strap to the eyelets and use a front tether. A little overkill perhaps but more than solid for 10 hour drives.

Cheers.

 

I had a thule roof rack and trac racs for my DCLB, not for kayaks but similiar reason. My hang gliders are 16’ long and fragile as hell, need to be supported well so did the config you’re talking about. Had to chop the trac racs down about an inch to level with the roof rack but they worked great.