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These J-style cradles let you transport 1 or 2 kayaks on your roof rack. Integrated ramps help you to load a kayak from the side of your vehicle. Padded arms fold down when not in use. Clamp to most crossbars without tools. 4 Tie-downs included.
Features:
Specs:
This Yakima J-style kayak carrier can be adjusted to hold 1 or 2 boats on your roof rack. The space-saving design holds your boats on their sides to free up roof rack space, and built-in ramps make it easy to load from the side of your vehicle. The lightweight, rust-resistant aluminum rack includes tie-downs for securing 1 kayak. The padded cradles protect your kayaks during transport, and the upright arms fold down when you're not using the carrier.
When you're ready to go on the road, lift your kayak up and onto these J-style cradles. The integrated ramps will help guide your boat as you load it from the side of your vehicle.
Each cradle has an integrated cam lever that allows you to adjust the upright arm. Simply release the lever, rotate the arm to the desired position, and close the lever. These levers allow you to move the upright arms from the J-style position to the vertical position, and they allow you to fold the arms down for storage when the carrier is not in use.
This carrier holds 1 kayak in the J-style position. To carry 2 kayaks, just move the upright arms from the J-style position into the vertical position. In this configuration, one kayak will rest directly on your crossbars.
Foam padding on the arms and rubber on the base helps to cushion your watercraft during transport and also protects the hull from scratches and scuffs. Grooves in the base help grip your boat.
Two nylon tie-downs are included to secure 1 kayak to your roof rack crossbars. Loop these straps through your crossbars, around the hull of your boat, and through the arms. The straps have cam buckles that let you tighten the straps and secure your boat. The cam buckles are rubber coated to prevent damage to your kayak or vehicle when you're using the straps.
Two bow/stern tie-down straps with stainless steel hooks let you anchor your boat to the front and rear of your vehicle. Tying down your boat's bow and stern helps to prevent the boat from shifting forward or backward during transport. And ratchet pulleys allow you to easily adjust the tension of the straps to ensure the boat is secure on your roof. A protective sleeve on each strap helps protect your bumper from scratches and friction damage.
You will need additional tie-down straps and bow/stern tie-downs (sold separately) to secure a second boat to your roof rack and to your vehicle.
The mounting clamps on these cradles fit most crossbar configurations without the adapters. To install, simply place the cradles on your crossbars and turn the integrated handles until the mounting clamps are tightly secured. If you have round crossbars, the included adapters will provide a secure fit, preventing the cradles from twisting or sliding on the bars.
Each cradle has a removable plug that you can replace with a Yakima Same Key System (SKS) core (sold separately) so you can lock the system to your roof rack. Yakima's SKS cores can be swapped out to make all your Yakima locks keyed alike.
California residents: click here
Great kayak carrier! Highly recommend!
The product seems great but I have not figured out how to get it safely attached to my bars. I have an Agricover Adarac on the bed of my truck and the crossbars are 1-1/2 x 1-1/2 inches square. I thought this would work well since it's for up to 3-1/2 x 1-11/16" crossbars, but it isn't secure on these. I'm going to try and figure out an alternate method for attachment though. Thule Hull-a-port Pro's are the perfect (mounting) solution but don't seem to be made any longer.
Sierra K.
5/3/2022
The Thule Hull-a-port item # TH849000 is recommended with Adarac racks. Or you can get tie downs like item # A4000882 and load stops, item # A4000880, and use ratchet straps like item # EM34416. If you have a rack like the Adarac Aluminum Series Custom Truck Bed Ladder Rack item # A4001234 then you can use item # RRS520 with the channel.
Helpful Links
Accessories-and-PartsAdaracA4000880.html
Accessories-and-PartsAdaracA4000882.html
Ladder-RacksAdaracA4001234.html
Ratchet-StrapsEricksonEM34416.html
I really like these kayak racks. They come fully assembled, and they installed easily on the aero crossbars of the factory roof rack on my 2015 Toyota Tacoma. The "ramps" on the front really do help in loading the kayaks, because you don't have to lift the kayak up as high. I opted to get two sets for our two kayaks, rather than try to transport two with one set of racks, because it seemed like it would be much easier to load. I agree with some other reviewers that the directions are a little cryptic, but the installation process is pretty self-evident. I also agree that the provided S hooks are a bit small (I'm going to replace them with carabiners), but these are minor issues. Overall, the racks are very sturdy, and I like the fold down feature. I also got the locks (not available for many of the Thule racks) because it seems like a small investment to protect the larger investment. My wife and I took our kayaks to a lake today using the new racks, and had no problems loading, unloading, or tying them down. Loading is a two-person job, however, at least for us and our 12-foot boats on a pick-up truck. We carry a folding two-step stepladder to make the reach easier. These racks are well worth the cost, and I would certainly recommend them to my fellow kayakers. And great service from etrailer, as always.
Great product and great customer service! Very easy to install, but I highly recommend to watch the installation video first. We used typical black office clips to clip the excess straps down since they came untangled when driving. Also, I recommend to purchase locks for the racks since we are concerned someone may steal them because they are so easy to take on and off.
Adam
3/4/2025
Its still working great after one year! Weve got better at taking them on and off, and putting kayaks up, with experience. We bought a small fold-able stool to help too.
These work great. Easy to install and the hold the kayak nicely.
Very happy with eTrailer service!
Paul
6/29/2019
Careful if it is windy - We took our Kayaks up the 395 from Los Angeles to Lake Tahoe and back. On the way back we hit wind gusts from the side and it ripped the factory Jeep rails right out of the roof. Because of the straps provided from the boats to the front and rear bumper they did not blow off the car entirely. It seems like the boats on their edge just catches too much wind if it comes from the side. From now on we just put the boats basically flat on the Yakima racks and that seems to work well. You have to be careful when you tie them down but I think it would have saved a $3000 repair bill to fix our roof.
These work great. I went ahead and picked two sets for our two kayaks rather than try to wrestle two kayaks down to a single set. Comes with all needed straps, hooks, etc. Makes loading and unloading so simple. Being able to fold down the uprights when not in use is nice to reduce the clearance height of the overall vehicle for entering / exiting garages etc. The are a bit noisy with whistling sounds due to wind when in the empty and folded down position between 40 and 60 mph. This is well documented in other forums and reviews also. Not a deal killer, but loud enough to want to leave the sunroof closed.
Note that the deflector shield does not help with this on my vehicle application.
The Yakima JayLows are ready to go out the box and very easy to set up. They attached to our vehicle’s factory crossbars with ease and seemed secure on the road with little to no movement with kayaks attached. We haven’t tested them on the highway yet, but I’m confident that they’ll be fine as long as you strap the kayaks correctly and use tie downs. I’m extremely happy with the JayLows and I’m considering purchasing another set if we get a third kayak. I HIGHLY recommend that you watch the videos on setting up and securing kayaks on the racks prior to first use.
Easy to use. Does as expected. I use it to hold 4 ~ 10' Pelican kayaks on the ARE truck cap Yakima rack. Installation took less that 30 min.
Easy to install. Cradles my kayaks securely. Superb value with timely shipping and delivery. My CRV is now ready for summer and transporting two kayaks!!
These make it easier for one person to load a kayak up on the roof by themselves. We have used them for a whole year and they are holding up well so far.
Highly recommend etrailer.com. This is the second time I have used them for a product either for towing or roof racks and there service is excellent. Also they are always on the mark with regards to fit for the vehicle. The staff is very knowledgable and friendly. Would highly recommend them.
I like the Yakima product I ordered and I think it looks great on the 4Runner. It was easy to install with the exception of one confusing piece of the instruction. It was not clear in the fit kit instruction manual what was being referred to adjust the spacing of the foot piece now attached to the bar (in Step 2 of installation). In addition to this etrailer video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQhsOY7zvuE this etrailer video shows it better at about minute 1:50 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IZFFJnUWc4 That screw needs to be loosened and THEN the foot will slide easily in and out when it is pushed upon. I am pointing to it with a pen in the picture in my review. Hope that helps others avoid some frustration I had.
I would definitely recommend.
Your customer service is the best! I appreciate all your communications, excellent delivery and your personal communications!
The racks and tie downs work perfectly for our truck. We secured them on the canopy and did a test run down the freeway.
The bars along with the kayak carriers (Y04073) worked perfectly. Easy to install. The lock system (Y07208) keeps the carriers and the bars secure. The kayak carriers are easy to take off to reduce noise. The bars stay on all the time and are not noticeable noise-wise. We've taken several trips of 1000 miles or more and many local trips without any issues.
The bars along with the kayak carriers (Y04073) worked perfectly. Easy to install. The lock system (Y07208) keeps the carriers and the bars secure. The kayak carriers are easy to take off to reduce noise. The bars stay on all the time and are not noticeable noise-wise. We've taken several trips of 1000 miles or more and many local trips without any issues.
Tried to install locks and the rack insert will not align so the lock will fit into the rack.
This is a nice quality rack with all of the required straps and adapters included in one kit. The only issue I have with this model is that it does not firmly fit my Malone aero style crossbars and "leans" to the rear when mounted. I doubt it will come off when snug on the cross bars but it does leaves a sloppy appearance. It also will not "straddle" the cross bar feet as shown in the mounting instructions and diagrams so both of my kayaks are left toward the middle of the roof and difficult to reach for stow and go.
Joseph
9/21/2019
Theses have been great and the down style when not in use means I can park my jeep in the garage without removing them from the bars. They have help up well and I have only removed them during the winter season otherwise it stays on the roof top.
Easy to install, and the fold-down feature is great for parking garages.
Works great with Whitewater Kayaks.
I'm very impressed, but not surprised, at the quality of another Yakima product.
I've somewhat placed the cart before the horse as I've not yet received the kayak I recently ordered, however, by then I will have my JayLow installed on my existing Yakima cross bars & be good-to-go.
I purchased this particular kayak carrier due to the side loading feature as well as the ability to fold it down, thus I can keep it installed while parking in my garage. That of course as long as the kayak is not on top as well!
Chris G.
8/9/2017
Tie-down straps permanently attached to the rounded top of the rack sure would be convenient.
Easy to install. Have had the product for a short while but appears to work well
Fantastic addition for the kayak lover.
Super easy to install and looks slick too ??
the product was great but the roof rack, unfortunately, slid around due to the friction-only mounting on my Honda Fit. We almost lost our kayak due to that. But there was no problem with the yy04073
William
5/23/2020
I actually bought a new car, so this rack does not fit it. Im thinking of purchasing a suction cup type rack to avoid the difficulties with the friction type racks that kept sliding around.
The Yakima products are doing great. Just got home yesterday from a 18 day trip using them in Michigan's upper peninsula. Love them. Great products. Thanks again.
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Chris
4/12/2026
The yakima kayak rack has held up to heavy use without any issues. I would highly recommend this product!