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This J-style kayak carrier allows you to transport 1 kayak safely and securely on your roof rack. The space-saving cradle system mounts to most crossbar styles and folds down for storage. Includes padded anchors and tie-down straps.
Features:
Specs:
The arms on this J-style kayak carrier are adjustable to fit a variety of boats. There are 2 levers, 1 on the outside of each arm, which are used to adjust the carrier. Depending on the size of your kayak's hull, simply rotate both of the side levers forward and pivot the arm to the appropriate angle to ensure that your boat sits properly in the cradle. Then rotate the levers back to lock the arm into place.
When the carrier is not in use, the upright arms fold down flat and out of the way. Again, simply rotate both side levers forward, pull the arm down so it's parallel with your roof racks crossbars, and then rotate the levers back to lock the arm into place. When in the folded position, the carrier extends just 4-5/8" from the top of your roof rack's crossbars.
The 2 included load straps secure your kayak to your vehicle's roof rack. Run each strap underneath the carrier arm, around the hull of your boat, down through the cradle and underneath the roof rack crossbar. Then pull the strap back up and through the integrated cam buckle. Use the buckle to tighten the strap and secure your boat. Each strap includes a padded sleeve that slides over the cam buckle to ensure that it won't scratch or damage your kayak or your vehicle.
Unlike many other kayak carriers on the market, which typically use metal S-hooks as anchors, this unit includes padded hood and trunk anchor points to secure the bow and stern of your kayak. Not only does this make for a quick and easy setup because you don't need to search for a safe place to secure a hook, but it also ensures that your vehicle's paint job remains intact. Tying down your boat's bow and stern helps to prevent the boat from shifting forward or backward during transport.
Simply open the hood of your vehicle, insert the padded anchor point, and close the hood. Then attach the strap to the bow of your kayak. Use the ratchet pulley to easily adjust the tension of the strap. Repeat this process at the rear of your vehicle by anchoring the strap in your trunk and attaching the other end to the stern of your boat.
Installation is quick and easy and doesn't require any tools. The included mounting clamps fit round, square, aero/elliptical, and most factory crossbars. First, position the cradles so that they are lined up correctly and are sitting at least 24" apart. Then slide the mounting clamps underneath your roof rack's crossbars and attach them to the cradles with the included screws. Use the included hand knobs to easily tighten and secure the clamps around your crossbars.
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (200 Customer Reviews)
This J-style kayak carrier allows you to transport 1 kayak safely and securely on your roof rack. The space-saving cradle system mounts to most crossbar styles and folds down for storage. Includes padded anchors and tie-down straps.On my second attempt to find a carrying rack for a Pelican Mustang 100x recreational/fishing kayak, I took great care seeking out a rack that would provide at least six contact points for the boat. The kicker is trying to get good contact points to securely cradle the shape of the Mustang 100x "twin arched multi chine hull" while also cradling the edge of the deck. Delta kayaks calls a similarly shaped hull a "fusion hull". After doing a ton of google advanced searches for images for a racked up Mustang kayak model, I concluded a J-Style carrier seemed to be a secure solution. The etrailer J-Style - Folding carrier has solved the equation, and for a very reasonable price. Paired with a Sherpa Boat Roller, my 5' 4" wife can load and un-load her Mustang 100x kayak on her own for her afternoon paddles on nearby waterways. Now she needs a cockpit cover to keep out the rain, and her carrying system is complete.
And etrailer made it an easy return of the first rack system I tried.
Thanks etrailer!
Overall it was a pretty good experience. However I have three suggestions. 1. The washer and wing nut should be one piece. Trying to fit your hand under the rack holding the washer and wing nut trying to screw the two upside down is a challenge. 2. Strapping the kayak down, it’s difficult to get the strap in the middle of the top bar. Perhaps velcro on the top bar and strap would make it easier to begin the tie down. Finally a better video on the proper tie down procedure for the kayak would be very helpful. It’s maybe the most important part of transporting the kayak and the least part of the time spent on the transport instructions.
First off, I own 2 sets of these and think they are good when they work. However only 1 set is usable because a mounting bracket for one set bent and etrailer does not sell the replacement parts. The one functional set works great and would give that 4-5 stars. Lower rating is due to no replacement from parts.
Brought home a new kayak yesterday using this J cradle for the first time. Easy to set up and load. Two complaints: not impressed with the strap buckles - had to tie knots to secure. And the 3-inch bolts weren’t long enough to easily attach the cradle to my Rhino Rack crossbars, so I had to replace them. Also got my finger pinched pretty good adjusting the cradle knobs - my fault for not being more careful, but just saying …
We purchased the carrier for our 2011 Sienna to add to our factory installed roof rack. My 15 year old and I manage using it all the time with no issues. We’ve put both our double and our single kayaks up top with no issues. We leave our rack on all the time and have noticed some sun damage to the foam and plastic, so will it last forever in the TX heat? Probably not, but for the price and ease of use, I’d gladly buy another in a few years. Thank you. I reference the YouTube video whenever I forget exactly how the toe downs go, it’s so helpful. Happy customer.
Great product for the price - The cradles were very easy to mount (and lay flat once folded). The videos were helpful in showing how to set the straps in the most efficient way. I test-drove my car today with my fishing kayak on top on a 80-mile round trip (a mix of freeway, country road and dirt tracks). The kayak was perfectly still, no particular wind noise and I was able to muscle to kayak up the roof and take it down on my own (it's a 52 lbs boat). I really recommend that product and I'm glad I went for J-Style cradles!
These kayak carriers work very well, plus the manufacturer includes the straps. The racks fold down, so my Tacoma fits in garage. They were in the sun for 3 months and thick foam padding is holding up very well. I traveled them 5,000 miles with no problems. They are attached to a round crossbar on my Yakima rack.
Victoria B.
4/21/2020
Great set up! Just remember to tie down the kayaks bow and stern before taking off.
Ok... It's the middle of winter in Colorado, but I'm getting ready to put the kayaks in the water. Shipping time... Great! Three days. Packaged perfectly. Mounted easily. Mounted the kayaks. The only hard thing was putting the strap around the back of the bracket. A stepladder will need to go with me to the water! I drove around to make sure all was secure. Perfect! 60 plus mph.... All is fine. Nice to have the front and rear tiedowns included. All hardware is heavy duty, and well supported by my stock Outback racks. Need to take them for a trip to the mountains! (After the snow clears out...) .
Victoria B.
2/26/2020
I drive a crossover SUV and love to kayak, so I understand the need for a boost to get those kayak straps in place! The Rightline Gear Moki Door Step # RL100660 is going to be coming with me this summer on all of my kayak trips to help give me a boost to reach the center of my roof and the kayak cradles. It is a lot smaller than a step ladder for stowing in your vehicle.
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I’ve had one of these racks since about 2020 and it has worked very well. I like being able to fold it down to fit in my garage door. It’s easy to install and use although it does take awhile to put a kayak up there and strap it down and then do all that in reverse to take it down. I just bought a second kayak so I immediately came back to etrailer to order another of the same rack.
I think everything was designed perfectly. No detail in design was left out. In particular I appreciated the front and rear lines with the under-hood stops. My car hood, however had them sliding up toward the fire wall but they eventually stopped and I just tightened the lines. In addition to all that the installation was simple and fast for 68 years old me. Thanks for a great product.
Anthony
8/12/2022
The kayak carriers have served us well. Theyve held up well on several highway rides from far southern new jersey to central maine. Ive recommended them to many friends and family. The strapping system always impresses folks.
Not impressed for the price point. Many similar quality carriers on Amazon for half the price. Packages were also missing washers as described in instructions, so additional cost and trip to the hardware store was required. Would not buy again.
I was about to spend over $500 on Thule roof carriers for two kayaks, and I wasn't even going to have all the necessary straps or a way to attach them to our Subaru Crosstrek. Then I saw this etrailer alternative, and I'm so happy I did. Each set comes with everything you need to secure a kayak to existing roof rack bars, and installation is super easy. I bought two and saved at least $300 and a lot of hassle. We were able to transport the two kayaks from Seattle to our cabin no problem, driving upwards of 60-70 mph through a bit of rain and wind.
Overall these items are great. My only reccomendation is to have a longer strap to tie down the rear of the kayaks (Only because of the truck bed that increases the length required).
Recently got this and far they have been great for holding down the kayaks. The straps work great but the elastic band which is built in with the straps suck. Other than that great product.
It was easy to notice that one of the boxes was repackaged and the product was previously used based on the indentations on the foam. The installation was easy, but i haven’t thrown a kayak up there yet.
This is the second set of this carrier that I've bought. Having a need to transport 2 kayaks now, buying this again was a no-brainer. The original set have stayed on tight and held up well through this year (11.5 ft / 65lb kayak) and the price point is fantastic. Installation was super easy. Took about 20 minutes after work in fading light. I believe the newer set has longer bolts than the earlier set so that upgrade was very much appreciated. Looking forward to see how they both do at the same time on a much longer transport this weekend.
We finally pulled the kayak trailer out for the season last week; so two seasons we have owned the carriers. We have a Yakama Rack and Roll 66" in which we have four sets of etrailer J-Style kayak carriers; installed with two facing toward the outside on each side of the trailer to easily carry four 10(+)ft kayaks. Easy to access the tie downs which cinch plenty well... for the short trips we have taken. We also purchased two sets of paddle straps which I have installed in the middle of the trailer between the kayaks. They each hold two paddles well. The strapping to cinch the paddles tight, I am gaining confidence each use with how hard I can pull on them to get the rubber strap and bumper tight without fear of it breaking. The carriers are aluminum which was my first draw to them from a corrosion standpoint (no paint to scrap off), but also weight. The locking mechanism on the articulating leafs are plastic, but feel robust. Just take a second to make sure the teeth are aligned. Adding the carriers to the bars of the trailer was easy as pie; I have to down grade Yakama for not providing a bit more vertical clearance between the bars and the fenders, as the thumb screws on the very outside sets hit the fender when tighting, and is tight to get your finger in there. The carriers look as robust as any of the "popular namebrand" units that I researched, but for a much better price. Would I recommend these to anyone, yes, I would. And I would buy them again. I browse the etrailer website often wondering what else I can use since I have been happy to date with this product.
The racks provided are a perfect fit for my Subaru sedan, had trouble finding one on other sites. Rack are rock solid, rattle free and look good, and priced right. Installation instructions are lengthy but spot on.
Thomas
7/31/2023
These racks have been problem free, and still look great.
I installed this product on my Kia Soul. It was easy to install and worked perfectly for my 12 1/2 ft kayak. Great company to purchase from!
Easy enough to put on the roof rack, but not reliable. With wind they untighten and become loose. I wouldn’t get this again.
Thank you etrailer! This is exactly what I was looking for. Perfect addition, just in time for summer fun!
Very satisfied with these kayak carriers. Been in use for over a year, from local jaunts down country roads to blasting down the Interstate. These racks have been very stable and easy to load. They are used to haul Ocean Kayak Malibu 11.5, which are fairly wide and heavy. I like that they are adjustable and can fold down when not in use. 2019 Subaru Crosstrek with standard Thule Aero crossbars. The Extended Aero Bars would give a little extra room and allow the kayaks to lay a little flatter, which I think would be even more stable.
Super happy with this product and the customer service I experienced. I'm a beginner kayaker and am super happy with how easy this system was to install and figure out. I discovered etrailer through an instructional [online] video, which also made this set up so smooth. One of the carrier pieces was damaged in shipping, and the eTrailer team responded ASAP and got me a replacement with no issue. I would definitely order this item and from this company again!
I've had 2 sets of these carriers for a year now.
I've carried my 2 kayaks on several occasions with them. They are secure, steady and well made.
They come with all the straps and hardware needed to carry your boat. A nice feature is that they have these little pockets made on to the straps to secure the extra length when you are using them which eliminates the loose ends from being blown around while driving.
The folding feature is also great. I mount the carriers on my roof rack and make all the adjustments needed just one time. I can keep them up there for the entire season without having to fuss with them every time I want to take a boat out.
I can use one or both of the carriers at any time.
The price looks like its more than other sets but it really isn't because, as I said, they come with everything you need AND they fold down when not in use.
I realy do like these carriers.
Jonathan L.
5/11/2022
Excellent
I purchased two etrailer J-Style Kayak Carriers. I have used them on and off through out the year. Easy to setup on to the stock Kia elliptical crossbars. What is extremely nice about this carrier is all the straps are included. They are easy to use and if your not sure how to attach youtube has many videos about strapping your kayak. The only problem with the straps is the excess length. I tried to wrap, roll, and tie but the wind manages to uncoil. So I wrap up then use a little duct tape to secure. My first trip using the carrier was a 3 hour trip with some heavy crosswinds. Nerve-racking but the kayaks remained secured. Solid rack and convenient with everyhting included.
Victoria B.
2/26/2020
I can understand your excess strap issues! Once I have used my straps a couple of times and know what length I really end up needing, I cut the straps and burn the ends to prevent unraveling. I still give myself plenty of wiggle room, but get rid of the extra strap length that I just end up fighting with.
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Pierre R.
6/24/2020
A year later, still looks and works like new! Kept the cradles on the roofbars over the winter and didnt see any rubber cracks. The only accessory which did age over time are the straps. Definitely recommend the product and am considering purchasing a second set for another boat.