Best fittings for kayaks compatible with Tonneau

[Jeffs72MGB]

I have the Ford hard Tri-fold tonneau cover, the Elevate rails, and a bed rack from Harbor Freight. I drilled some holes in the bases of the rack, and bolt it to the rails with the included t-bolts. I cut the posts down a bit so it didn't stick up so high, which makes loading the kayaks a lot easier. I can fold the cover up tight to the back rack, so I still have full access to the bed. I have an Old Town Sportsman 106 PDL in the middle on some cheap amazon saddles, and the two side kayaks on J-hooks with longer bolts. Nothing moves around, and it's not terrible getting everything up there. And with the tonneau cover closed, I can keep all my fishing gear and life jackets secure and out of the weather.

Hi Bill,
Could please post some close up pics of how you mounted the Harbor Freight rack.
Thanks Jeff

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[Distracto]

I have the Elevate racks, hard cover rollup tonneau and Thule DockGrip. The Thule DOckGrip holds my 17 wood kayak pretty good and more importantly doesn't scratch it! I don't have any issues with the kayak shifting left or right while driving.....it's held in good. It sticks out about 4 feet from the bumper and can't see the front of the kayak from the front windshield.

Thule or Yakima have a device to help you load your kayak onto the rack by yourself. With the Elevate rack I'm going to strap a 2x4 onto the front rack and have it extend out 3 feet so I can place my kayak on and pick up the rear kayak on the back rack. Elevate doesn't sell anything like what Yakima or Thule have.....At least I didn't see anything.

If the Yakima or Thule racks would have worked with my hard cover rollup tonneau I would have went with one of them b/c they have the device so I can load my kayak by myself. I will post more pictures in a couple of days on how I load my kayak by myself.

Wow that kayak is beautiful

 

[maverickVT]

Hi Bill,
Could please post some close up pics of how you mounted the Harbor Freight rack.
Thanks Jeff

I drilled through the low part in the extrusion, and reused the bolts with some extra washers.

 

[Jeffs72MGB]

I drilled through the low part in the extrusion, and reused the bolts with some extra washers.

Thanks Bill. I think I'll do the same if I ever get my Maverick. It's been built and sitting at the plant for a week waiting for shipping.

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