Jimbox23

Hey I was thinking about getting two kayaks. What j-hooks or other cradle devices work with the stock factory roof setup. What do I need in order to mount two kayaks in relative safety with the stock of setup? Thanks would like to do it without buying a whole new roof rack for $1,000. Can you just lay the kayak on there without any cradle? That sure as hell doesn't seem safe. I'm just assuming that it would be better to get j-hooks or some sort of cradle so you could put them both in sideways and have two up there. Please let me know what everyone's experiences have been with the stock rack and what products there are for it.

lawsoncl

Kinda related. I have friends who kayak a lot. They swear by the inflatable kayaks for portability and storage, and would never go back to a hard shell.

exasemech

Having hauled pairs of white water kayaks on 2xj's for 20 years...

Used racks that sat in the rain gutters . Kayaks upsidedown on crossbars . Rope for each kayak and each crossbar tied to center of crossbar, then over kayak, , tied to gutter end of rack with truckers hitch knot. Add bow and stern lines kayaks to vehicle.
although I never tried speed runs with xj same arrangement on a car worked fine at 85 mph with 2 kayaks and 100 mph with one kayak.
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IJM

I've got a roof basket that makes tying them down securely a breeze, mainly because it's simple to prevent lateral movement.

I've done it with the factory crassbars, but it's not as secure.