Having a hard time deciding on which way to go for a rack to haul kayaks. I have a roof rack that we used for the first time this past weekend and it was an absolute PITA. Took me over an hour to load 3 kayaks by myself (2) 10 footers and a 12 footer. Here's the criteria I'm trying to meet and the options I've narrowed down so far, but am still looking for any other ideas. I already have a bakflip x4s on the truck and would like to have full functionality if possible. Rack needs to be easily removable as I'll only be using it when taking kayaks and camper together. Needs to be budget friendly, I came across the elevate system but they want 1200 bucks for that thing... No thanks! I've tried finding something to go into the stake pockets but options seem to be very limited.
What I've found so far.

First option is cheapest, is listed as having to drill into bed rails to mount... But I'm wondering if I can mount in the stake pockets using 1)adarac stake pocket replacements, 2)find a toggle bolt big enough that will catch inside the pocket, 3)run a bolt through a strip of wood and drop it into the pocket.
Gives me full function of the cover, fairly easy to remove, most budget friendly. My concern is how strong/sturdy will it be with one bolt in each corner pocket?


Option 2 is adarac. Seems to check every box but is most expensive


Option 3 is budget friendly, will accommodate my 3 kayaks, but mounts to the rails. I called their customer service and obviously they said it will not work with a tonneau cover, but asked on Amazon and a response said they were able to make it work. I would also have to leave the cover rolled up whenever the rack is in place.

 

Adarac

It looks the best. If you're like me, you'll regret it later if you don't get the nicest on in favor of saving money.

 

I intend to use the receiver hitch for kayak transport. But not for towing at the same time. I have been thinking a simple T shaped tall bar from the receiver hitch to a cross bar at cab height. With soft racks on the cab. Totally removable just throw the tall bar in the shed when not in use. If I were planning to tow at the same time, I guess one could make such T bar with a ball just behind it.

 

Find a used Thule. Cheaper than $1200, can fit your gear over the cab, can be removed, no drill. Otherwise I'd just buy a trailer for 3 10'-12' yaks.

 

While I appreciate the response, this does not solve anything because as I said this is to take the kayaks while pulling my camper, so throwing them in my utility trail2is not an option. And all of the Thule racks I've seen clamp onto the bed rails.

 

You are in quite a pickle.

Do you need the BakFlip to be closed while traveling??? Are you not able to tandem tow?? Your budget limited my response capability.

 

Not saying this is what you want. Don't know what you're towing. Just something cheap and easy I was thinking about before I saw your post. I have a good set of soft racks from surfing.

 

They make foam blocks that go under the kayak and on your roof. I transport mine, when camper is on, with one end in the bed and the other over the roof with the foam block between them then ratchet strap them down. Works great.

 

I have thought about this situation a lot too. The solution isn’t cheap but I saw this setup once and fell in love. Look at the RetraxONE XR. It is a roll-up bed cover with T-slots. In the T-slots you can put some compatible roof racks that you can then mount some kayak racks to. It’s one of the only solutions I’ve seen to have full bed coverage access and have kayak racks.

I can’t afford this right now but it’s a possible long-term option for me when I pull my camper. Currently I have some basic C-clamp roof racks with kayak racks mounted to them that I put on when I am camping or need to tote my kayaks.

 

The problem I would run into with bed mounted kayaks and a camper is that the kayaks will hit the camper at tighter radius turns.

 

I've used the Adarac truck bed rack, standard model with tie down rails, for 10 years. I'll add another one to my next truck. It doesn't have the sliding rails, but I use the multi-hole rails as tie down points all the time. I never expected to get that much use out of the rails, but easily use them 10 times more often than how often I use the full racks. I bought the setup for carrying kayaks (with Thule kayak mounts) but I use them for lumber, ladders, camping gear (pop up tents etc). I pull the racks off when not in use but take advantage of the rails at least weekly. I have a Truxedo Lo-Pro tonneau that works well with it too.

 

I’ve been pulling my TT for years with my kayaks (10 and 12 footers) bed mounted with zero problems or camper interference.

 

Are each of those kayaks in their own j-cradle? Currently we have 3 but I can see us adding a 4th down the road. Right now I've been stacking the 10 footers.

 

I have 2 sets of Malone racks.you can find them here:

Malone Foldaway-5™ Multi-Rack Folding 1 or 2 Kayak, SUP, Canoe Carrier, Black (MPG125) https://a.co/d/5bLg1oX

They work great. They fold flat when not being used and I like that it has a pad for the second kayak. Also, I don’t normally travel with the paddle board squeezed in between the kayaks…I usually only do the 4 kayaks.

 

Not the cheapest but I had a local fab shop make a custom rack for mine c/w a removeable rear hoop. It mounts via the stake pockets and requires no drilling and it's 10x stronger than any other purchased rack I've seen....could probably double as rollover protection! 😄