Kayak and bike rack advice.

[superflyguy]

Just looking at buying a sit on Kayak, roof bars etc.also an Inflatable SUP but obviously that's not going to cause an issue.
Will my bike rack cause any issues once raised with a Kayak on the roof bars ? I don't really want to remove the bike rack when im taking the Kayak out.

 

[Pauly]

No help to the original question but a friend of mine has just asked me about roof bars
He has VW roof rails down the edge but no cross bars and is looking for some in black for occasional kayak use ?
Genuine VW ones have a good load rating but only available in silver

 

[GoatBoater]

Just looking at buying a sit on Kayak, roof bars etc.also an Inflatable SUP but obviously that's not going to cause an issue.
Will my bike rack cause any issues once raised with a Kayak on the roof bars ? I don't really want to remove the bike rack when im taking the Kayak out.

I've been looking at the same issue. The question is whether the top of the rack is higher than the top of the roof bars. We're having Thule bars fitted to an SCA pop-top. Looking at pictures of the new style rack I think we'll be clear, but I've love to get a tape measure against a rack to see how much higher than the tailgate it stands.

 

[superflyguy]

I think you'll be ok with the tailgate closed as the rack is nearly flush to the roof, my worry is how close the rack would be to the kayak when its open @GoatBoater

 

[Jon]

Hiya I have not yet invested in a bike rack yet for the T6. However my roof rails and bars bolted straight onto the new T6 from the T5.1.
On the old T5.1 SWB with a Genuine T5 bike rack and oem roof rails and bars my fully inflated 12'6 SUP rested nicely on the top of the bike rack strapped to the roof rails.
So no I could not open the tailgate. I could have slid the board further forward but did not want too much poking out over the windscreen to cause wind problems.
The Mrs board is 10"6' long and you could position it so it did not hinder the opening of the tailgate and not overhanging the front to much.
No experience with kayaks I am afraid. Hope this helps

 

[superflyguy]

No help to the original question but a friend of mine has just asked me about roof bars
He has VW roof rails down the edge but no cross bars and is looking for some in black for occasional kayak use ?
Genuine VW ones have a good load rating but only available in silver

Im not too fussed on colour, prefer black I think anyway @Pauly next choice is what roof bars as a few on here have said genuine vw are not great quality

 

[superflyguy]

Thanks @Jon that's a great help, I decided on an inflatable 10"6 SUP and the kayak is a fatyak kaafu and I think its just over 10"foot so should be ok.

 

[rmo69]

Depends on the kayak, we've got a big three man sit on, and the tailgate is about 5mm from the back (stearn?) of the boat, we could not have a kayak and a bike rack and be able to open the tailgate fully.

 

[GoatBoater]

I think you'll be ok with the tailgate closed as the rack is nearly flush to the roof, my worry is how close the rack would be to the kayak when its open @GoatBoater

I'd given up on that dream already.

Depends on the kayak, we've got a big three man sit on, and the tailgate is about 5mm from the back (stearn?) of the boat, we could not have a kayak and a bike rack and be able to open the tailgate fully.

Most of my kayaks (don't ask) sit fairly flat on a rack. There are a couple with a lot of rocker (banana shaped hull) where the bow/stern sits lower than the bars. I tend to use J-bars with those. I'm guessing that is the issue with the 3-man. What type is it?

 

[rmo69]

I'm no kayak expert, but yes its banana shaped, so the bow and stern drop down a little over the screen and tailgate. After taking some advice from another forum member, I really fancied one of those side loading J bar set ups, but the guy didn't recommend them for our boat because of the shape of the hull and when he told me the price I nearly dropped through the floor. I just use cross bars with with heavy pipe lagging and quality wide straps, which means I can open the tailgate just, but couldn't have a bike rack. TBH I've got a LWB and can get the bikes in the back anyway.

 

[superflyguy]

I'd given up on that dream already.



Most of my kayaks (don't ask) sit fairly flat on a rack. There are a couple with a lot of rocker (banana shaped hull) where the bow/stern sits lower than the bars. I tend to use J-bars with those. I'm guessing that is the issue with the 3-man. What type is it?

Its a Fat Yak kaafu single seat, haven't ordered yet, I could maybe have fitted inside with the back seats dropped, but I don't think the front double seat goes flat forward ?

 

[GoatBoater]

I'm no kayak expert, but yes its banana shaped, so the bow and stern drop down a little over the screen and tailgate. After taking some advice from another forum member, I really fancied one of those side loading J bar set ups, but the guy didn't recommend them for our boat because of the shape of the hull and when he told me the price I nearly dropped through the floor. I just use cross bars with with heavy pipe lagging and quality wide straps, which means I can open the tailgate just, but couldn't have a bike rack. TBH I've got a LWB and can get the bikes in the back anyway.

I'm no expert either. I just seem to collect them. J bars aren't cheap. I've been using Whispbar kayak holders, which are pretty cool (although I don't think quite as supportive as a thule J bar). See here . I'm planning to not use them on the van most of the time, just because of the height it creates. I've not yet found a sit-on-top that is too bananery to transport upside down - the middle section has been pretty flat on those that I have tried. However manufacturers do seem to ignore the need to transport them, so I wouldn't be surprised.

Its a Fat Yak kaafu single seat, haven't ordered yet, I could maybe have fitted inside with the back seats dropped, but I don't think the front double seat goes flat forward ?

I've got a couple of Kaafu's. If you just have the clip in seats I'd remove those before transporting anyway. They catch the wind a treat and just get in the way. If you only ever use them on the same kayak (ie, don't re-adjust) it takes 10 seconds. Kaafus sit reasonably flat other than the nose (which will be over the windscreen anyway). They taper down at the back, so when upside down you actually get a little more clearance. If I transport one on my volvo estate that taper actually lets me open the boot a reasonable way.

 

[superflyguy]

It soon starts mounting up cost wise when you look at Roof bars and j bars etc, they do look good though. I've just started out and taken to the paddle boarding I was out at 5:30am this morning, a local girl has just started hiring them out and doing really well. I had a figure of £800 for a decent SUP but the ones they use are really good and half my budget so thought id get the Fat Yak kaafu as it looks and gets great reviews and the SUP

 

[GoatBoater]

Kaafu are great value. I personally can't get on with the seat position in them, but that seems to be as much about my body as their kayak. They do paddle pretty well though. I've got one of their SUPs to try out as well. I'm definitely better paddling sat down, but the ease of moving/storing SUPs compared to kayaks is very appealing.

 

[superflyguy]

Im more of a sit down paddle boarder at the moment, hence the kayak being very appealing, the sup I can throw in the back of the van for ease of use. The fat stick sups are great and really rigid for an inflatable.

 

[DaveBos]

@superflyguy the front double seat will fold flat forwards.

 

[Pauly]

Only if it's a kombi, if it was a van and left the factory with a bulkhead then I don't think they have a folding seat unless specced as an extra or the bulkhead was deleted off order

 

[superflyguy]

Thanks @DaveBos and @Pauly , mine isn't a factory Kombi

 

[Pauly]

If it folds you will have a fabric tag hanging out rear centre (by seatbelt catches) that you pull to allow the top half of seat to pull forwards