2 kayaks on camper shell with just cross bars?

How are yall transporting kayaks? My top came with tracks installed but nothing else. I'm debating on just getting 2 cross bars or building a flat rack. Will be used mostly to haul 2 10ft pelican kayaks. Any issue with these? Any fears of the up force ripping the kayaks and racks off the shell or damaging the shell?

 

The tracks should have some sort of fender washer or one of the larger plastic nuts on the inside to help distribute the force on the shell. You should use a front line on longer boats and boats like canoes that are going to trap air and create updraft. Be sure you use a brake line no matter what size your boat is.

I use Hully Rollers and Mako Saddles for my touring boat but they've gotten sticky (the rubber breaks down- boo Yakima!). For my whitewater and recreational boats I just use pipe insulation on the round crossbars. You can buy the stuff at Lowe's/HD/etc., just split it and put it on and put a couple of pieces of tape on it to keep it in place. It's not UV resistant and will break down but it last a decent time, especially as cheap as it is. Secure the boats snugly but don't crank down on them or you may cause indentations in the plastic, especially when it's hot outside, and it may not pop back out correctly. I would not store my boats on the smaller bars either. If you look at places like etrailer, Amazon and ebay you can find various imported carriers that will also work fine for your needs. Before the modular rack systems got popular, we used to either wrap the bars in carpet or make wide angle V blocks out of wood (usually with carpet stapled to them) or cut from the foam that you shape for kayak cockpits and carry the boats that way. I've seen folks make a cradle out of pool noodles before as well. Lots of way to skin a cat, just be sure it's secured such that it can't fly off and hurt someone else.

If you are looking at buying the bases and bars I'd get the newer aero shaped bars vs. the round bars- stuff like the boat cradles tend to rotate on the round bars, especially while you're trying to push the boat forward.