Is this right for you? Product Expert Kathleen M says:
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, that 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: 4.7 out of 5 stars (106 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.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.
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!
Pierre D - 06/24/2020I have a Mazda CX-5 with the factory aero-crossbars and they are too thin for the bracket. I was able to make it work by moving it all the way to the outside and have it clamp-onto the plastic bracket that holds the crossbar on the rail. I may try straightening the supplied bracket that goes under the crossbar. But, to their credit, it does list a minimum crossbar thickness. Other than this, I really like the mounts.
Kevin D - 08/31/2021
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 - 04/21/2020Ok... 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 - 02/26/2020I wanted to like this rack but ultimately it didn't work out for my situation. They look nicely built and very convenient to use with the folding option. However, I would recommend that if you have a larger kayak like ours (wider, tandem style) these might not work great. While still under the weight capacity of the carrier (65 lbs. kayak) the carrier struggled to adjust to hold it securely. The lips of the kayak don't sit properly in the cradle so it has to lean over a little more than desired. On top of that, we live in an area that gets some gusty winds in the afternoon and this rack could not handle the crosswinds at all on the highway. On one of our trips the metal backing plates bent and almost ripped the plastic wingnuts off nearly letting our kayak blow off the side. I had to pull over at the side of the highway and add 3 additional straps across the top to get us home. etrailer glady warrnatied the rack nd sent a new one, but the problem persisted on our next trip. The additional straps helped but it never felt secure up on my roof at anything above 40 mph. We opted for a roller/cradle type rack for more security. I will keep this rack though for future use on a smaller kayak.
These could use a bit more support left to right. Two attachment points on each cradle would make these much sturdier. I would buy these again in similar circumstances.
Overall, this does what it needs to. They carriers tend to get loose if travelling at high speeds for any amount of time (>50mph for 15-20 minutes). Luckily, we don't go much further than that so we're usually OK. I've started to tie down the straps directly to the crossbars on the back side and it helps a bit. I also make sure to take pliers with me so I can tighten them back up before we head home. Pliers are necessary because the black tightener has been stripped on a couple of them.
purchased the e-trailer j-style kayak carrier after reviewing the large selection offered. shipping was fast and installation easy on 2017 Outback. the carrier and associated tie-downs all of excellent quality. I particularly liked the e-trailer unique method of attaching the forward and aft tie-downs to the car. Initial trip with kayak was about 50 miles, much on the expressway at high speed, with no transit problems. this item works great and is a very good deal.
Robert - 05/17/2021I’d rate this item a 3.7 These carriers are fully extendable to 180 degrees so you’ll have to manually set each of the 4 carriers to the same degree before fastening to the roof crossbar. I generally like the foldable carriers that lock in place at the same fixed angle so you can fold the carrier down after they have been fastened to the roof when you’re not using them. When ready to use, you’d attach the strap to the top of the carrier bar while it’s in the folded position through some kind of strap ring to keep it in place and push it back to its furthest locked point before resting the kayak on top. This allows you to easily throw the strap over the kayak from behind and tighten it down and you wouldn’t have to worry about making sure all carriers are set at the same angle. Because this set is of the fully extendable type, I just keep all four carriers set at the same degree, bring them out of storage when im ready and fasten them to the roof crossbar. Then i get on a step stool or open the door and climb up, to wrap the strap around each of carriers top bars (wish it had a strap ring to keep the strap centered as it dangles) and allow the strap to dangle till the kayaks are ontop then im ready to throw the strap over. I am pleased with the product, you would be paying more for those more desirable traits that come with higher priced options so for the price of this model, I’d say it’s better priced than other attractive options and all n all it gets the job done fine.
We did a lot of kayaking last year, so kept our carriers on the car all summer and into the fall. They look like they did when first installed. Put them back on again this spring and are very pleased with their durability and performance. We like to keep the car in the garage and the ability to fold down was important to us. We had used the cheaper racks in the past, but putting them off and on all the time was a pain. The tie-down straps are better quality as well. I really love the foam bars that go under the hatch and hood. It’s soo much easier than trying to hook under the bumpers. I’m very pleased with these carriers.
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.
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.
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.
I have these as a spare. I wasn’t too pleased with them because of the tie down nuts being underneath and too close to my cars roof so I purchased a Yakima kayak rack instead and keep these as a spare.
These j-style foldable kayak carriers are an excellent value for the money. Although I have some concern on the durability of the plastic over many fold and open cycles, so far, so good. The included straps and tie downs were a great added bonus that keeps us from crawling under car to look for a tie location. Also, two thumbs up to the excellent videos on the etrailer site for both reviews and how-tos.
Easy to put on 2017 Subaru Outback stock roof rack and secure kayak to for transport. Seems very well built and everything you need to start haulng your kayak.
Arrived faster than expected. Had to go to the hardware store for two small washers that were not in the kit, but outside of that, pretty straight-forward install. Will be ordering the bike carrier next. Thx!
I just received the product, so I have not been able to evaluate the product. But, the service from etrailer.com was excellent. More to follow after using the product.
Overall I think this rack is a good purchase. It comes with everything I needed to do tie down my kayak.
Jeff - 06/17/2021I 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 - 02/26/2020Easy to assemble on the Yakima trailer. Have not yet had the kayaks on the trailer or on the road, but pleased with the easy installation. Product appeared a bit pricey but now appears worth the price.
Jim - 07/10/2020Easy enough to put on the roof rack, but not reliable. With wind they untighten and become loose. I wouldn’t get this again.
Fits great on my 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. Great quality product and the straps are a bonus! This is the third car we’ve outfitted from this company and I can’t say enough good things. The car looks awesome with my 2 vapor 10 kayaks on top!
Regina - 07/20/2020Works well for a regular kayak, didn’t handle my 35” wide 75lb sit on top fishing kayak well at ALL. After one use, the teeth on the mechanism didn’t line up anymore. I had to start carrying my kayak flat on my bars, which I had to extend by 11” to accommodate two kayaks. There’s nothing wrong with these but if you’re carrying a big sit on top, find a different solution.
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