Putting a Kayak J-rack on a T@G Boondock?

CharlieNY

My 2021 Boondock came with Yakima roof rack. I purchased J-shaped kayak racks, hoping to take 2 kayaks on a long trip. 2 questions. (1) I need to reposition the the vertical pillars and cross bars forward, to reduce the kayaks' wind resistance. There are key slots in the pillars, but turning the key doesn't do anything. Is there a trick I don't know about? (2) The cross bars on the Yakima roof rack are round, but the J-racks are designed to fit on an oval shaped bar, and they rotate easily on the bars. Has anyone found a solution? The camper came with a box from Yakima containing a "Roundbar SL Adapter" but it is not obvious how this will solve the problem. Many thanks for any advice.

ras

Turning the key only unlocks the pillar "door" Pull the top of the latch toward you when it's unlocked to expose the workings. Go out to Yakima and down load the instructions for your pillars. I found I needed a soft mallet to move my pillars past the screws fastening the track to the TAG. I could slide the pillar up to the screw but needed a little tap to clear it. And either get round bar adapters for your current j-racks or send them back and get a set of j-racks for round bars. Yakima manufacturer's web site to figure out what you need?

DaveB

Last year I put two kayaks on the roof of my 2020 booondock. I found it was awkward for me to get them on and off, it was just too high up for me to manage. I also felt that the added height to the trailer made it handle slightly differently and I noticed a decline in fuel economy.
After that trip I purchased a roof rack for my vehicle and handling and fuel economy returned to normal.
The extra benefit of kayaks on the tv is I can set up camp then take off and explore a lot more.
It should be noted that one of my kayaks is a 15' sea kayak so its actually longer than the trailer, the second kayak is a regular 12' Pelican.
When I had them on the trailer I slit some pool noodles and fit them over the Yakima round bars and just layed the kayaks upside down on those and it worked fine.
As far as moving the pillars, I think you need to remove them, just unlock the pillar then flip up(or down) the side of the pillar then it will lift off of the base, then you can loosen the screw in the base and slide it back and forth in the tracks.
Hope this helps a little.

CharlieNY

That's a huge help. Thanks to both of you.

LuckyJ

I agree with tge tower, I also had to undo tge base plate to jump them over the probslem screw.

As for tge kayaks, I know that pool noodle woukd not work for any of our 4 sea kayaks. And thay are all different models. Not saying that it is a good or bad idea, it is actualy a good idea if you have flat top kayaks. We don't. 😊

CharlieNY

This solution seems to be working. I bought a 6' steel bar and bolts for$25, plus the J-rack, and bolted them to short vertical posts mounted at the read end of the bed. The kayak easily clears the camper when backing at an angle (my main concern). It still has a pretty high profile, though (about 8'), so I will drop the 2 wooden posts another inch.