Carry a variety of kayaks on most roof-rack configurations, including naked roofs, with this premium, block-style carrier. Foam blocks slide along bars to adjust for various hull sizes, and straps allow you to attach the kit directly to your vehicle.
Features:
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Today we're going to be taking a look at the Sport Rack Foam Block Rooftop Kayak Carrier, part number SR5527. This kayak rack will allow you to carry up to one kayak on the roof of our vehicle. It even works really well with naked roofs. These foam blocks can slide up and down this black cross bar here accommodating different roof styles and kayak sizes. On the bottom side of these foam blocks is an anti-skid pad so that when the bar is tightened down to the roof, it's going to not slide back and forth or move when you're transporting your kayak. It accommodates a variety of roof styles and sizes and also a variety of styles of kayaks and sizes. The blocks here are a nice soft foam, so that's going to cushion your kayak and provide ultimate protection when you're traveling down the road.
This kit does include straps that'll secure the kayak to the rack, and also straps that are going to secure the bow and stern of your kayak to the vehicle. No drilling is required for this kayak rack. Now we'll go ahead and show you how to install it. To begin our installation we're first going to take the blue strap and insert it into the open end of our bar. We'll go ahead and pull a little bit through.
Then what we can do is just open the door of our car, throw the strap over. We're just going to make sure that this buckle doesn't hit the paint when we're placing the bar on our roof. Now you'll notice here that there's a pad on the bottom, this nice rubber pad and that's going to help grip the roof of the vehicle so that the carrier doesn't kind of twist or slide back and forth. Then what we'll need to do is we'll just go ahead and insert the blue strap into our rear bar as well. Now that we've got both blue straps through the openings of the bar, now we'll just kind of make sure that both of the bars are in line with each other. The gap right here, I'm just going to make sure that when we set the kayak onto the rack, that the kayak is straight and in line with the roof.
Now you can notice here that the pads move back and forth along the bar. What that's going to do is that's just going to accommodate different slopes and arches of different kind of roofs, so that way you can get the majority of the pad surface on the roof. Now with that done, we'll go ahead and move to the inside of the vehicle where we're going to connect the two ends of the strap. We'll just push down on this little tab on our silver cam buckle and insert the end of our strap in the buckle. Now when you're tightening it, you just want to make sure that the bar still stays in the position in which you had it before. Pull this tight.
We'll just go ahead and repeat the same process for the front bar. Now you can see with the strap running through here at the top of the door seam. When we shut the door it's actually going to create even a tighter hold on the roof. Now we'll go ahead and show you how to load up a kayak. Now for today's demonstration the vehicle that we're using does have a small antennae here at the back and it looks like it's going to interfere with us loading our kayak. I'm just going to simply remove it by untwisting it. Now we'll go ahead and lift the kayak up. Place it onto our roof. Slowly drop it down. Then we can go ahead and make our adjustment, making sure the majority of the pad is on the hull side of the kayak. Trying to get it as centered as possible. Make sure that the majority of the surface area of the pad is touching the kayak. We'll take the end of the red strap with the silver cam buckle and throw it onto our kayak making sure it doesn't slam into your roof. Then we'll bring the other end, on the underside of our black bar and we'll throw this end on the roof as well. We'll repeat the same process for our other strap. We'll then take the end without the cam buckle to go around the bar again. Bring the strap back up. Feed it through the slot and this leather protective pad, which is going to rest on the kayak to protect the surface of the kayak from any scratches or abrasions. Then we'll go ahead and insert the end through the cam buckle and pull it tight. I'm just going to get it snug and then do the back strap next. Now that we've got both straps in place we can go ahead and tighten them down all the way. Then we'll just go ahead and tie off the excess strap. Now we're ready to install our bow and stern straps. What we're going to do is we're going to be using the Thule Quick Loops, part number TH530, which we're going to secure the bow and stern of the kayak to the quick loops. Then here at the rear we'll go ahead and use the trunk. Now since we don't have a lot of space here between our quick loop and the end of the kayak, we're just going to use the black strap and just simply tie it off. Then we'll just go ahead and tie off the excess strap and move to the front to secure the front of the kayak. Then we'll just go ahead and tie off the excess strap. That'll complete today's review of the Sport Rack Roof Mounted Foam Block Kayak Carrier, part number SR5527. .
Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars (10 Customer Reviews)
Carry a variety of kayaks on most roof-rack configurations, including naked roofs, with this premium, block-style carrier. Foam blocks slide along bars to adjust for various hull sizes, and straps allow you to attach the kit directly to your vehicle.It's doing the job of securing my kayak to my rackless prius, at a fraction of the cost. However, the instructions included along with the straps did not work for me. I spent a considerable amount of time adjusting things: the red straps that are supposed to go over the boat and secure on the bars were not long enough. The blue straps are much longer, so I am using the red straps to secure the bars to the car, through the open doors and cinched inside the car. I am using the blue straps to reach over the boat, and I decided to feed those into the car too- feels more secure than to attach them to the bars on top. The black straps for front and back strapping don't work for my car in the way shown, I had to jerry-rig. Overall I have figured out how to make it work, and I'm glad I didn't spend $xxx.xx on a serious rack system.
Works very well. I will only use on short trips. I'm not a fan of the straps rubbing on the car. I need to invest in roof rails for longer trips.
It's reliable and very easy to install. Trapped several different kayaks onto roof and driven long distance at top speed and no issue with kayak getting loose or moving around.
This is a terrible product. I only carry a kayak a few times a year, so I was looking for an inexpensive way instead of spending more for the mount than I did for the kayak. The first problem was the straps that are provided to go around the kayak were too short. My kayak is 31" wide - had to buy more. The second, and most significant problem is - you can't use this product in the rain. The straps that go through the vehicle compress the seals around the doors. When it rains, rain runs down the straps and POURS in. I was caught in the rain 200 miles from home with no way to get under cover. The headliner in my truck is permanently watermarked now. etrailer did a great job getting these to me quickly, but they really shouldn't be selling junk.
For the price, the foam roof rack has done a good job. Be ready to take some time to tie things down. The straps however are easy to strap down with the locking mechanism. Be sure to twist straps to avoid buzzing sound when cruising down the highway. Had to use duct tape to create folds to stop the flapping even after twisting. I'm a satisfied customer! :)
Works perfectly. I didn't feel like spending a lot of money on a roof rack at this point in my life so this fits the bill. The roof on my Honda is a little weak so it buckles when I go over big bumps, just take it slow.
I have a 2013 Toyota Corolla this works perfect and holds our kayak secure in place. Lucky we do not have to drive on the highway or I would need more permanent stands. Thank you for inventing this for people like me without an SUV
Just right
Richard - 03/28/2019Not very practical and a pain to put on and take off. It does the job I guess.
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