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Old 01-05-2011, 10:11 AM   #1
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Kayak carriers

I was wondering if there are kayak carriers that can be used to carry a kayak on Airstream trailers. thanks
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Old 01-06-2011, 07:37 AM   #2
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Kayak on Airstream

I would never carry a Kayak on our trailer. We carry our's on Yak Rack's on the TV. Possible leak's and Denting the trailer getting the Kayak on/off would be a problem. An option would be a Folding Kayak ie: Folbot ,Klepper or Feathercraft. You should also use a Bow line to Secure the Kayak to front Bumper area.
Why do you need to carry Kayak on the trailer?
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Old 01-06-2011, 08:20 AM   #3
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Car top carriers are the safest most secure way to go. Yakima makes some really good ones and Tule are also good. I would not attach a rack to the Airstream. Now if you buy the brand new Eddie Bower Airstream, no problem, just lift up the the back tail gate and load those kayaks right into the Airsteam itself. That seems ok. The advantage of the car top carrier is that you have a way to transport the boats when you are not using the AS plus many put in and take out places are narrow and restricted and not suitable for a trailer.
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Old 01-06-2011, 09:04 AM   #4
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I would also not put a kayak rack on the Airstream. At a minimum, it would be very hard to get the kayak up there, potential for damage to the Airsteam. We have a Yakama rack on top of the truck bed cover and it works well. Before we got the rack, we had inflatable kayaks, Advanced Element brand, and that worked well also. They were very good inflatables, and we liked them, but did not like deflating, cleaning, drying, and packing them after an already tiring day on the water.

However, I have seen people mount kayaks on the back of SOB fifth wheels, and that seemed to work OK. After all, who cares if you damage one of those! :-)
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Old 01-06-2011, 09:32 AM   #5
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I can't come up with any feasible way to carry our kayak directly on the Airstream. We carry our tandem Hobie in a Thule Hullavator on the roof of the Suburban.

Brian
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Old 01-06-2011, 09:34 AM   #6
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I had this fanciful idea well before getting into Airstreams -- seemed like it was a logical place for a canoe. It would be nearly impossible to load a kayak over the upper body curve. Doing this from a ladder wouldn't be safe. The process would be clumsy -- you'd put dings into skin for sure. And dings don't pull out.

How clumsy? I use a 4' ladder to help me get a kayak to the top of my truck cap. My Yakima Bowdown saddle is right at 7' above the ground. It's clumsy! It'd be easier with 2 ladders & 2 people -- too much sugar for a dime. But getting to the top of an Airstream over that curve -- you'd put dents into the Airstream and probably the people with some regularity.

And there just isn't much free space on the roof -- 4 or 5 square feet here, a few more over yonder, etc.

Mounting on the bumper is totally out of the question. Carry it on the tow vehicle.
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Old 01-06-2011, 09:44 AM   #7
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I have the Thule truck rack system which works great. And it looks good on the truck as well.
You can get attachments for the system to carry bikes, kayaks or just about anything. However, you don't need the extra attachments for kayaks. I just put some pads on the crossbars and can strap 3 kayaks side by side.
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Old 01-07-2011, 01:12 PM   #8
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Thanks for the info. I will be selecting some sort of rack for my tahoe, my dad just thought he had seen a picture of some kind of system for the trailer. Kelly
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Old 01-07-2011, 02:51 PM   #9
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a/s DID put an exterior rack/mount on the quEEEEKsilver stream as an option.

it was 4 surf boards, but could have been tweaked 4 a yak.

still mounting any sort of rack on the exterior skin is problematic,

and even now the a/s solution for carrying a boat is 2 install a rear/end door...

so the yak can be carried inside at the trailer floor.

a custom rack could be fabricated to use the patio awning CHANNEL for attachment...

but it would be pricey, time consuming to use and sort odd looking.

much better to attach to the mule,

besides once in camp IF you wanna drive somewhere to paddle, a tv rack will still be needed.

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Old 01-09-2011, 12:26 PM   #10
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I can't come up with any feasible way to carry our kayak directly on the Airstream. We carry our tandem Hobie in a Thule Hullavator on the roof of the Suburban.

Brian
This is what I will probably get to carry the kayak on my Tahoe. When I looked the Hullavator up online, it gave a price of about $5oo. Do you have to purchase special bars for the vehicle carrier as well? Thanks, Kelly
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Old 01-09-2011, 12:33 PM   #11
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FYI--Just bought a Thule rack system for my 2010 F150 Supercab. Awful wind noise without the fairing, so had to buy that attachment also.

Problem is that there are leaks w/water coming onto back seat from car wash or blowing rain. Removed racks and will use only when needing to trasport my canoe.

Had a Yakima rack for my previous TV that had roof gutters and had no problems w/leaks.
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Old 01-09-2011, 02:13 PM   #12
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Thule Rack

We have a 2008 Ford Explorer with a Thule rack on top. We have had no issues at all with it. Kept it on the TV all season and only took it off for winter because we knew we wouldn't need it till Spring. Never had a whistle or noise issue either. It depends on how well you have matched the rack and vehicle. (I was in retail and this is one of the systems we were trained on so trust me I did ALOT of homework) We added a fairing later in the season for the looks but found we had whistling and wind noise when we used it and since removed it. Be sure with whichever rack you choose, to tie down securely both front, back and sides.

Be sure before you buy that you are getting what you want in a rack. Everyone has good and bad they will say about it, but make sure it does what you want it to do. Make the rack work for you.

BTW, Thule's website has a "right fit guide" where you can input your tv and specs and they will show you what fits and works with your specific vehicle.
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Old 01-09-2011, 02:52 PM   #13
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Airbiscuit--not to hijack this thread, but the Thule rack I purchased is the exact match Thule recommended for my truck and it sucks.
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Old 01-09-2011, 05:46 PM   #14
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I built a "rack" using 2"x4" lumber, 8 sets of fasteners (bolts, washers, nuts), and some pipe insulation for our 14' kayaks. Basically, I built an open box that sits in the truck bed and extends the roof line of our cab 8'. The kayaks ride on top of rack, and I secure the kayaks by straps to the rack. The rack provide a good place to attach the paddles and an 8' stepladder underneath the kayaks, using stretch cords or straps.

When we we return home from camping, I disassemble the rack and store it until next usage. Assembly and installation takes 10 minutes, less to remove and knock down. About $30 to build.
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Old 01-09-2011, 05:52 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ike T View Post
I built a "rack" using 2"x4" lumber, 8 sets of fasteners (bolts, washers, nuts), and some pipe insulation for our 14' kayaks. Basically, I built an open box that sits in the truck bed and extends the roof line of our cab 8'. The kayaks ride on top of rack, and I secure the kayaks by straps to the rack. The rack provide a good place to attach the paddles and an 8' stepladder underneath the kayaks, using stretch cords or straps.

When we we return home from camping, I disassemble the rack and store it until next usage. Assembly and installation takes 10 minutes, less to remove and knock down. About $30 to build.
Tim, Do you have any pictures of that rack?
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Old 01-09-2011, 06:38 PM   #16
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Tim, Do you have any pictures of that rack?
I will look. I probably have a photo of the whole setup, which would probably work for seeing the general idea.
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Old 01-10-2011, 05:25 AM   #17
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Quote:
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Airbiscuit--not to hijack this thread, but the Thule rack I purchased is the exact match Thule recommended for my truck and it sucks.
Did you call and talk to their customer support? Was it installed on a factory rail system already in place or did you do the gutter assembly?

Pearl66, do you already have a rail system on the top of your tahoe? (rails are the factory rack running from front to back parallel to the vehicle)
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Old 01-10-2011, 07:32 AM   #18
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This is what I will probably get to carry the kayak on my Tahoe. When I looked the Hullavator up online, it gave a price of about $5oo. Do you have to purchase special bars for the vehicle carrier as well? Thanks, Kelly

The Thule Hullavator attaches to Thule square mounting bars. These bars are standard Thule fare which mount to the Suburban's roof rack.

Yes, the Thule Hullavator is expensive, but it works really well, and is a lot less expensive than back surgery.

Brian
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Old 03-22-2011, 09:29 AM   #19
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Kayak Racks

We have two 16' kayaks--weight about 50# each--that we carry on our Suburban using Yakima racks. I think the Thule are pretty much the same. It's a "religious war" centered around round vs square roof bars. Ours are configured with hully rollers on the rear and saddles--can't recall exact names--on the front. The rollers make it pretty easy to load the kayaks, but it's still a bit of a pain and we have to disconnect the Airstream to get them on and off. The whole rack system cost around $700, about 1/2 the cost of the hullivator.

If you opt to carry the kayaks on the roof of any RV, you're going to have a real pain lifting them up that high.
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Old 03-22-2011, 09:54 AM   #20
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what about opening the window in the front or back and just sliding it through and setting it on the floor?

I have a 64 overlander, seems like it would work on mine.
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