Roof racks

I have a Tacoma with a shell and roof racks (Yakima round cross bars) that I'm planning on using to transport my Yak. I was hoping to throw some pool noodles/foam on the cross bars, strap my kayak down, and call it a day. Trying to avoid dropping $100+ on kayak roof racks. Is there any reason this is a bad idea?

Should work!👍

That's how I transport mine upside down like that no issues. I also have a bow and stern line tied to front and rear webbing.

Ok cool, I was looking around online and wasn't seeing many people opt for some simple foam so I got nervous I was missing some obvious fault. Also seeing a lot of recs for bow/stern lines which makes sense.

Are you planning to load it upright or upside down? You really don’t need any kind of cushion if loading upside down.

I load my yak upside down on some Thule squarebars without any sort of cushioning and have never had an issue. Just make sure you don't have anything in the gear tracks or other pressures points.

Upside down on round Yakima crossbars. I figure I'd put foam pipe insulation or something on to ease pressure points and lessons scratching (they're old racks). I've seen some people suggest getting a cheap bath mat to put on the roof to help slide kayaks up when loading/unloading? Sounds like an easy idea.

I use pool noodles velcroed to my stock bars on my Toyota.. Works fantastic for the past 2 years. Driven from SF to LJ with it and back

Upside down on round Yakima crossbars. I figure I'd put foam pipe insulation or something on to ease pressure points and lessons scratching (they're old racks). I've seen some people suggest getting a cheap bath mat to put on the roof to help slide kayaks up when loading/unloading? Sounds like an easy idea.

The deck rails on kayaks are reinforced with thicker plastic. There's no way you'll dent that. I've been transporting kayaks this way for a long time. However, the hull is soft and will can if you load it upright and pull on the straps too tight, hence the cushion/insulation. The bath mat method works. Another method if you don't have bath mat is to wrap the crossbars overhang with your strap. You can then slide your kayak over it instead of your roof. Be careful though, too much pressure can move your rack mounts. I would use it as a last resort.

I used to transport my kayak on a truck lumber rack with pipe insulation, wrapped with black gas pipe tape.

I wouldn’t use pool noodles.

Pool noodles slide perfectly onto the round Yakima bars. I would wrap the noodles with electrical tape, though. Otherwise, they'll shred and blow away into the air and water over time.

I used YAKIMA - Crossbar Pads for my Subaru Outback factory roof rack.

Awesome, thanks for all the feedback!

Pipe insulation with intermittent wraps of black duct tape or pipe tape. Don’t use electrical tape, regular rolls are too narrow, shed adhesive and aren’t as UV resistant, IME.

Also, covering the rack tubes makes it less slippery (ever unloaded/loaded on a cross-slope?) and allows the yak to be cinched down in the foam.

Pipe insulation with intermittent wraps of black duct tape or pipe tape. Don’t use electrical tape, regular rolls are too narrow, shed adhesive and aren’t as UV resistant, IME.

Also, covering the rack tubes makes it less slippery (ever unloaded/loaded on a cross-slope?) and allows the yak to be cinched down in the foam.

thanks   EF -X for that tid bit never really noticed with the e-tape

Just my experience over the years - if the electrical tape you have been using isn't a prob, and you don't mind it only being 3/4"-ish wide, carry on.