Interstate X Roof Rack

[uncle_bob]

Hi

So back to our regularly scheduled program ....

The roof rack is nearly 10' off the ground. Looking at my kayaks, they would add more than 2' to that, not counting any sort of mounting structure. Not sure about the rest of the country, but in the north east, <13' clearance bridges are not all that uncommon. Would this worry anybody else? Am I the only one who gets paranoid about this sort of thing?

Bob

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

So back to our regularly scheduled program ....

The roof rack is nearly 10' off the ground. Looking at my kayaks, they would add more than 2' to that, not counting any sort of mounting structure. Not sure about the rest of the country, but in the north east, <13' clearance bridges are not all that uncommon. Would this worry anybody else? Am I the only one who gets paranoid about this sort of thing?

Bob

We have whole lengthy threads devoted to the topic of Interstates and kayaks - that topic has been debated ad nauseam, including but not limited to the following:

Airstream Interstate roof storage

Optimizing Interstate roof storage

Kayak trailer

AI roof structure (need to put stuff up there)

Picture for interest below -

My Precision sit-on's maiden voyage, transferred from the store to my Sienna and then into the Interstate and then into the water. Yeah, I lucked into that sunset the first time I took it out. But please, no triple-quoting of this pic:

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Ok ..... but none of the cited "relevant" threads address the question. Mounting a Tarheel Screwdriver on the roof is pretty far from a sea kayak up there. Putting them on on a trailer or on the back door is (again) not really the same thing either. Storage optimization against a completely different roof layout is ..... errrr .... completely different.

Bob

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Just for reference, this is what a full up kayak looks like:

https://www.seawardkayaks.com/produc..._southwind.php

It's a bit smaller than our big guy, but you get the idea.

Bob

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by uncle_bob

Hi

Ok ..... but none of the cited "relevant" threads address the question. Mounting a Tarheel Screwdriver on the roof is pretty far from a sea kayak up there. Putting them on on a trailer or on the back door is (again) not really the same thing either. Storage optimization against a completely different roof layout is ..... errrr .... completely different.

Bob

Some Interstate owners have placed solid kayaks on their roofs. Personally I don’t know why anyone would want to. It’s just too much work.

Pic from one of those threads I listed:

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by InterBlog

Some Interstate owners have placed solid kayaks on their roofs. Personally I don’t know why anyone would want to. It’s just too much work.

Hi

Indeed "way to much work" is a gross understatement

My question is: does anybody ever do that more than once?

Bob

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Just to close this off, the owner's manual finally came out. According to AS, the roof rack is "decorative" and one should not put stuff up there.

Bob

[XPat]

The air conditioning and one antenna are taller than the roof rack.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by XPat

The air conditioning and one antenna are taller than the roof rack.

Hi

Yup, we noted that earlier in the thread. The though was: you generally need cross bars for support of "stuff". They could be done in a fashion that got things above the A/C. Early on folks seemed to be showing pics of kayaks going on the roof of the X .....

Bob

[XPat]

My mistake. I thought those four bars in the picture that run from one rail to the other were the crossbars, and the same as the additional crossbars the OEM sells.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by XPat

My mistake. I thought those four bars in the picture that run from one rail to the other were the crossbars, and the same as the additional crossbars the OEM sells.

Hi

If you go shop for sea kayak mounts, you pretty much always need to buy bars and supports .... Just like trying to use the rack the factory put on your car.

Bob