Video Transcript for In-Depth Review of the Rhino-Rack Bonnet Tie-Down Strap with Anchor

Hi everyone, it's Evangeline here at etrailer, and today, we'll be taking a look at our Rhino-Rack Bonnet or Bow and Stern Tie-Down Straps. I'm gonna show you how they work, what they're like compared to some other straps, as well as how to install them right here at etrailer.com. So you have your longer kayak or longer cargo like a paddleboard, you have it on a carrier, which is on a roof rack, you already have the center strapped down, you're not done yet, you still need the bow and stern tie-down points. Those are very important, because they work as kinda like the safety chains in the kayak transporting world where they're an extra step to make sure your load is secured. So when you are tying down the bow and stern points, there's some things to keep in mind. You wanna get the bow and the stern of the boat, which is the furthest point on each end, and it is helpful if you have a tie-down strap like what we have up top, but sometimes, when you're carrying things around like paddleboards or kayaks without that little anchor point, it can get a little tricky, and that's where this kind of a strap comes in handy, It's shaped a little differently than your normal bow and stern tie-down strap, plus, you have this dog bone anchor to make it easier to install into your hood and into your hatch, trunk, hitch, whatever you have in the back.

This just pops in there, just find a spot, leave that strap out, close the hood, then you're good. This style is nice, because it's very low profile. If you're going back and forth from where your paddling to where you're storing your kayaks, you can just leave this sitting out, no big deal. Also, this is similar to the more permanent style of an anchor point, some people have a little bolt, they install it inside of the hood, and they just leave this anchor out. But now this is set up, we're now ready to tie down our kayak.

So this is the way I do it. You're first gonna get your strap around your kayak, and you're also gonna have to figure out which side you want to anchor it to. For example, I wanna anchor it on this side of the vehicle, so I'm gonna leave this strap open. Place the buckles on top of the kayak and get that strap up and over. This does depend on where your kayak is sitting though, so if you have it in the center of your vehicle, this might be a little easier to do.

Some other people like to make this loop first before putting it on the kayak, really is up to you, and really, how tall you are. With that secure and tight on our kayak, we're then gonna bring the strap down through our anchor strap, and then back up to the other buckle. So notice how far out we had to put our strap, so that's something to be mindful too. Because of the length of your strap, I recommend about four feet from the top of whatever you're carrying to your anchor point. If you have around four feet of distance there, you should be good, something to remember if you have a longer or a shorter kayak.

Do the same for your rear, and you can see here how if you already know what your kayak or what you're carrying is gonna be like, you can just make that loop and put it over and tighten down. And if you have a little bit of excess strap and you are concerned about wind vibration, especially in the front, this would be a big deal, you can wind the strap around itself before you secure it in the second cam buckle. And if you have excess strap, you can just tie it off, and then use this hook and loop strip up top to secure it. Seeing if this is the best fit for you really depends on what you're carrying around. If you're carrying around a really long paddleboard, 'cause I know some paddleboards don't have that anchor point, this will be very helpful for you, because then you can have the proper bow and stern tie-down points along with your center cam buckles. Now, for kayaks that do have an anchor point, this would probably be a little bit more hassle compared to a simple strap that goes through that point. So hopefully, this video helped you out with seeing if it is the right fit for you, what you're carrying around, and for your adventures.