Take a look at my profile page and you will see the design of the roof rack I developed and had made by a local fabricator. It is all aluminum, 2" x 2" and 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" square tubing, 6061-T6. The total weight is around 100#.
The front support is from the tow hook mounting locations, with 2 - 2" receivers. The rear support is a headache rack bolted to the top os the box sides. It is simple and functions well.
It has worked very well for us. No vibrations with the kayaks and bikes mounted, up to speeds of 65 mph. It was well tested on its first trip last summer, Vancouver Island to Toronto and back.
Check out our unit. We travel with one or 2 16.6' canoes. Or We travel with one canoe and 2 bikes. It is a Yakma rake system. We have carried canoes with a trailer on a Tahoe and Suburban prior to this setup. This is the most secure system we have used. The canoes really don't interfere with vision. Kayaks would sit higher out of view than the canoes.
Mike & Dava
2007 Sierra Classic 2500 HD Duramax/Allison 4X4 Crewcab
2005 Carriage Compass 30RLS, MOR/ryde suspension & Pinbox, Onan 3600LP
Huskey 16K EZ Roller, DigiTrac
Thanks guys, you have all given me so great ideas & the pictures really help to see how this might work.
Roy, your setup with 2 kayaks & 2 bikes is really a great idea. I was so concerned about the kayaks, I hadn't given the bikes (that we normally haul in our truck bed) much thought.
The design is strong enough that I walk on the structure to place the bikes into the Thule saddles, with the kayaks in place. The main side beams are 2" x 3" on the vertical. This gives a simple strong roof rack system (with 4 cross members) that has very good road speed characteristics.
I use the Thule saddles from the Thule bike rack (goes into the rear hitch receiver) to mount the bikes on the roof rack.
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