Is this right for you? Product Expert Matthew E says:
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.
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (65 Customer Reviews)
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.
This is a great product for the price. Good quality and good design - it is easy to add and remove from the rack and easy to configure the angle. Now if only I had more time to kayak - do you sell that? 783667
Victoria B - 04/24/2020This is my second set as I bought a second kayak. I bought the first set about a year ago. The first set has been easy to use with my Thule aero cross bars. The kayak was easy to load and tie down with just myself. 387363
These are so easy to install! I've used with one boat and two. They work great. I bought a second set because it's tough reaching over the truck to secure the second kayak. I bought the locks for them, because of how easy they are to get on and off. 419430
Needed carriers to haul my old 17 foot P&H Icefloe. Yakima J-low carriers were easily installed and are good fit for my '04 Toyota Highlander. I really dig the low ramp as I dont have to lift the boat as high to get it on the carrier. 269481
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. 279975
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 644616
William - 05/23/2020This was my second large order from Etrailer.com and my wife I are VERY pleased! Our first order was a Curt 5th wheel hitch which performed as advertised - so easy to use. Now we haul our 5th wheel camper and that takes up my entire full sized F250 truck bed which in turn messed up hauling the kayaks back there. I was leaning toward rigging something up on the back of the camper, saw lots of posts on how to many looked very sketchy. Rather than risk dumping our two $$$ fishing kayaks onto the highway.... somewhere..... we bought this GREAT Yakima roof rack system for the TOP of my truck cab. You see, it made me uneasy that I wouldn't be able to keep an eye on our boats if strapped to the back AND we read about many horror stories not limited to the rear bumper falling off from fatigue. Yakima Install; I'm a General Contractor and fancy myself a pretty handy guy so mounting the towers, the rack bars, and all of the accessories onto those took a total three hours. [on-line] videos very useful and follow the easy to read instructions that come with each part and you'll have NO trouble. I have to add, etrailer said it would take one week but I received the complete order within four days. Thank you etrailer for making the ordering through delivery experience so very streamlined! 529290
916497
Had to wait on delivery for several months due to manufacturer delays, but these are worth the wait! 916184
Set up and removal were very easy and install video was very helpful. Kayak feels very secure with bow and stern tie downs. 882330
First I want to thank e-trailer for their incredible customer service. They really know what it is. I was told that I probably would not receive my product until the end of Sept and it came today!!Other vendors that I checked also said shipping the product would not occur until the end of Sept. I called to cancel part of my order and spoke with, I think, Danielle. She was great too, especially working form home. I will be putting my racks on tomorrow and my past experience with etrailer is that if there is any problem they will take care of it and quickly. If I can buy a product from etrailer instead of somewhere else I do. Sooo easy and straight forward. 868668
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. 852273
Works great 837814
Well-made high quality product. The kayak racks fit perfectly onto the roof rack of our 2018 Subaru Outback. The one downside was the difficulty in getting the hold-down straps around the top of the loop on each of the racks after the kayaks were loaded on, even when following the strapping instructions to the letter. It would be nice if there were some way of holding the strap in place on the top of the loop without it slipping down. 837089
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. 818966
I love this carrier! It was easy to install and very easy to use! I would definitely recommend or buy again if we ever get a second kayak. 818803
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!! 817658
I haven't got to use it yet, but installation was easy. 811652
still assembling the rack. Seems pretty good so far. 802826
Easy to install, easy to operate and love the low profile! No more boat flying off the car on a bumpy road (yeah that happened twice). I am completely satisfied and Highly recommend! 791210
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. 781844
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. 781846
This is exactly what I wanted. The product was configured to fit my Honda CRV which has oval racks. Ordering and delivery were on point. 761758
This is my 2nd Jay Low. I have had one for 2 years that I use for 1 or 2 boats every other week. Got a 2nd one so I can carry 2 single and one tandem on the roof of my Sorento. 757241
Great product. The best customer servic e! 726216
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