230 mile trip from Devon to Shropshire. Motorway and country roads and it didn't move. Perhaps a bit of an overkill with the straps but better same than sorry. Thanks for the tips guys. Pic taken 5 miles from home, food needed after 5 hour journey.
How's everyone's roof bars / rails performed with use, Im just going to order a sit on kayak and have no rails or bars as yet, I intend to use the rails for the purpose of carrying the kayak, and not as something to make my van look pretty !! so weight is important, it sounds like rail wise the genuine vw ones would be fit for purpose ?.
Mine are genuine VW Rails and I bought Thule Wing bars. The combination works fine for me when carrying my sot kayak.
Would be interested to hear why people have reservations about the Thule J carrier as I was thinking about getting one but not sure now.
My other question would be, can I fit a different J carrier to my Thule bars ?
Would be interested to hear why people have reservations about the Thule J carrier as I was thinking about getting one but not sure now.
My other question would be, can I fit a different J carrier to my Thule bars ?
The "Active rails" from Reimo on our roof are proving just fine.
In response to the query re Thule J's, the reservations I have are based on a number of issues. Firstly, the plate which secures it to the bar is seriously thin metal and bends far too easily. Secondly, the things are just painted steel and rust quite quickly, and the fixings are plastic. Finally, you strap the boat on by threading the strap thro the top, and then you have to tension it under the crossbar. This puts massive strain on an already dubious mounting.
Have a look at this - Failure of Thule J-bars^
If you have square bars, the cradles from KCS and Karitek will certainly fit. I'm fairly sure they will also fit wing bars but worth double checking. If your bars are the sort with a slot in them (as per the active rails) then both will fit. Have speaks with Ronnie who owns KCS and he'll advise. The K/tek w/site also has details iirc. I've got a set of KCS cradles which must be nearly 25 years old, still perfect.
The other J cradles which are just bent tube may not have wide enough mountings for anything other than square bars. Hope this helps.
In response to the query re Thule J's, the reservations I have are based on a number of issues. Firstly, the plate which secures it to the bar is seriously thin metal and bends far too easily. Secondly, the things are just painted steel and rust quite quickly, and the fixings are plastic. Finally, you strap the boat on by threading the strap thro the top, and then you have to tension it under the crossbar. This puts massive strain on an already dubious mounting.
Have a look at this - Failure of Thule J-bars^
If you have square bars, the cradles from KCS and Karitek will certainly fit. I'm fairly sure they will also fit wing bars but worth double checking. If your bars are the sort with a slot in them (as per the active rails) then both will fit. Have speaks with Ronnie who owns KCS and he'll advise. The K/tek w/site also has details iirc. I've got a set of KCS cradles which must be nearly 25 years old, still perfect.
The other J cradles which are just bent tube may not have wide enough mountings for anything other than square bars. Hope this helps.
Thanks @Mfwic It looks like you've made my decision easier with the VW rails being adequate, are you just using the foam pads on your thule bars at the moment ? what foot pack and bars are you using. thanks for the help.
I'm using Thule wing bars and very happy with them. I don't use foam pads but thats only because I haven't got round to getting some.
I remove the drain bungs from my kayak and thread my straps through them and fasten the boat across the roof around both rails. So I'm mainly using the rails to strap the boat down and then I strap the boat across the bars, again through the drain holes, to stop it moving backwards or forwards.
Possible over kill but I don't tie down at the front or back as I don't want to risk damaging the paint work on the van.
I had a set of the Thule J bars about 5 years or so ago,they rusted out after a year,all the other stuff I have had from Thule has been excellent though and I always use their bars.
I have a 4.9metre sit on top kayak and a 5.5metre fishing ski and had found the RUK kayak cradles brilliant for carrying the right way up which was the system I used on my last van (an Astra Sportive
) My mate has the Thule cradles that incidentally he doesn't like My perfect scenario would be a roller at the rear that fits to load bearing roof rails to roll it straight into the cradles but I know exactly what a minefield it is getting exactly what you want and I personally think roof rails that are not load bearing should be banned from sale.
I really want a decent load bearing set in silver colour and don't think £70 of ally is going to do the job
Something I have not seen mentioned in this thread is Kanulok straps.I have used these for about 5 years now,I would really recommend them and would not be without a set
Stamjamaar
New Member
I’ve been kayak fishing for 10 years. I’ve got a 4.6 metre Feelfree tandem kayak along with a 3.5 metre single seat. They don’t fit “flat” on thule roof bars along side each other as they are too wide. I therefore use the Thule J system for the smaller kayak and the thule 874 kayak carrier for the tandem (It sits flat). Whilst the J system is fine, I wouldn’t use it for the tandem one as it feels to heavy for them! Been carrying them around for six years with no problems. With the thule 874, you can push up the kayak from the rear of the van onto the mounts (I use a couple of towels over the back of the tailgate which works perfectly). For the kayak on the J bars I take a folding steps so I have the height to place it on them. Both are strapped down with 2 ratchet straps each, job done!
Related: I've been wondering about some sort of sturdy, wide, foldable step to make roof-topping and strapping down easier. Anyone seen/have anything similar? Best I have seen so far is http://amzn.to/2DoO33p
Stamjamaar
New Member
I use aluminium ones like these:
Mac Allister Free Standing Work Platform (H)0.47M | Departments | DIY at B&Q
They will be much more sturdy (higher) and safe. Also doubles up as a portable bbq stand!
Don't rely on the Kanulok straps for security too much. I have a set but no longer use them - I used mine once to secure my Hobie Kayak trailer to a post whilst sailing from a remote launch point on the Norfolk Broads for a couple of hours and came back to find someone had snipped though the cables - no damage to trailer - I think they were just making a point.Something I have not seen mentioned in this thread is Kanulok straps.I have used these for about 5 years now,I would really recommend them and would not be without a set
I've got a set of Kanulok straps, but mine are a bit short. I use a bike lock through roof bar and moulded handle sometimes. Mostly though I rely on people not being arsed. If someone really wants to nick a kayak off the roof I don't think there is much that is going to stop them. It would only take a few seconds to hacksaw through a roof bar if you were that intent on it.
I locked mine on with a chain a couple of years ago at the Penzance Kayak Fishing Meet(best kayakfishing meet on the calendar by a mile).
The padlock wouldn't undo but I was through that with a junior hacksaw in a couple of minutes.
All of it is only a deterrent.
We love our Hobie Kayak but at circa 90kg fully rigged its bit heavy to get on the roof (some do though). Photo from Bala last year.Maybe they didn't like Hobies
