Kayaking with Jetta

[Mrrogers1]

No, not IN the Jetta silly... I'm looking for a solution to transporting kayaks with a Jetta TDI.

Do any of you know of a good way to do this? Roof rack? Hitch and mount? Hitch + trailer maybe?

Welcoming any and all recommendations and feedback on known wins and fails at this.

Thanks!

 

[Mongler98]

Roof rack
Quality straps. Or a blanket and more straps! Done it for years.
If you want simple kyaking.... go inflatable.
Part of me wanted this thread to be making a Jetta amphibious

 

[pedroYUL]

Click-bait title!

...I do use my roof rack and ratchet straps (3-4 in fact), yet I do get nervous when the winds catches inside the kayak. I have been pondering a way to block off the boat opening to prevent that from happening.

Edit: ...and I use pool noodles around the cross bars for grip, and to prevent damaging my kayak (actual flat water K2)

 

[kjclow]

I have both a roof rack for my JSW and a trailer. The trailer is a whole lot easier to load and unload. You just have to have a place to store it. Trailer also doesn't hurt the mileage as much.

 

[Mongler98]

I have both a roof rack for my JSW and a trailer. The trailer is a whole lot easier to load and unload. You just have to have a place to store it. Trailer also doesn't hurt the mileage as much.

Most places that you go kyaking is very inconvenient to have a trailer. And if somone else is picking you up... it's a hassle.
Some pool noodles and a mile of home depot string are free if you find some free noodles at the local pool!

 

[Mrrogers1]

Thank you all very much! Hopefully other people will get sucked into the thread with more info, this is great!

 

[Mongler98]

Look. I've had more than my fair share of strapons used on my Jetta. It honestly makes little difference what you use for bondage but fluid dynamics and forwards thrust forces and sudden stopping is a big deal. Your rack/top probably cant handle anything over 100 lbs dynamic loads! So you have to keep it petite and balanced towards the rear!
Also bring towels as it can get really wet in there!

 

[Mirrorman]

kinkkyyyyyyy.
I’ve seen golfs carrying canoes, makes me wanna put a roof rack on my Jetta. Tie it down to the tow point, and take off.

Look. I've had more than my fair share of strapons used on my Jetta. It honestly makes little difference what you use for bondage but fluid dynamics and forwards thrust forces and sudden stopping is a big deal. Your rack/top probably cant handle anything over 100 lbs dynamic loads! So you have to keep it petite and balanced towards the rear!
Also bring towels as it can get really wet in there!

 

[Abacus]

I use my primary car to go kayaking all the time, at least until the Thule rack blew off the car while driving across the country. While it's not a VW it is the size of them so the same mounting points apply.

No crap about it not being a VW, I bought it because I needed a car for work and didn't want to keep working on the car. I had 3 criteria for deciding on what to get: 1) not a diesel, 2) not turbocharged, 3) not a VW. Other than that I didn't care and this one was CPO used and the right price. It has no soul, doesn't ride as nice as the B4's, and doesn't get the fuel economy but I have literally done nothing to it for the last 100,000 miles other than basic maintenance. Push the button and drive from A to B. But I digress...

I've used many kayak rack mounts and all seem to work well, but for the larger ones I prefer the cradles.

It is handy to have some front/rear anchor points to stabilize the longer boats. I use some Thule Outriggers to help load and unload due to their size and not wanting to dent the top of the car, and we have Thule hydraulic assist Hullavators on the wife's SUV since it's so tall.

 

[Mrrogers1]

I use my primary car to go kayaking all the time, at least until the Thule rack blew off the car while driving across the country. While it's not a VW it is the size of them so the same mounting points apply.

No crap about it not being a VW, I bought it because I needed a car for work and didn't want to keep working on the car. I had 3 criteria for deciding on what to get: 1) not a diesel, 2) not turbocharged, 3) not a VW. Other than that I didn't care and this one was CPO used and the right price. It has no soul, doesn't ride as nice as the B4's, and doesn't get the fuel economy but I have literally done nothing to it for the last 100,000 miles other than basic maintenance. Push the button and drive from A to B. But I digress...

I've used many kayak rack mounts and all seem to work well, but for the larger ones I prefer the cradles.

It is handy to have some front/rear anchor points to stabilize the longer boats. I use some Thule Outriggers to help load and unload due to their size and not wanting to dent the top of the car, and we have Thule hydraulic assist Hullavators on the wife's SUV since it's so tall.

Can't fault you for the Kia, they are one of the only with 100k warranty on the power train and they are pretty reliable, souless, rides.

Can you share the rack, cradle and outriggers you are using (part numbers if possible)? It looks like a perfect setup for what I'm looking for.

Thanks!

 

[Abacus]

Sure.

The racks are just standard Thule racks for the car, although after a mishap on the move west I would recommend Yakima instead.

It turns out Thule has an 80 mph max wind rating, but it's combined speed, so if you're traveling at 65 mph into a 50 mph wind, its combined speed is 115 mph. Yakima has a 100 mph rating. I learned all this after the bikes blew off the car and went skidding down the road in New Hampshire, despite being properly tensioned on the car with a new fit-kit. Luckily the bikes were undamaged since the titanium fatty took the main hit and it's tough (which is why I bought it). These DOT workers were out fixing road signs that blew down, saw what happened, and stopped to help. The racking coming off the car cost almost $9,000 in damage to the car.

So for that reason I recommend Yakima racks or the clamp-on ones for rails. My wife had those on her Sorento and the kayaks stayed in place despite her being able to go much faster due to a larger engine.

But to answer your question, the racks were just standard Thule racks, any would work.

The kayak cradle were Yakima Hully Rollers, the outriggers were Thule Outriggers (Yakima makes some as well), and the tie down straps are some I picked up locally but can be found on Amazon.

 

[Mrrogers1]

Sure.

The racks are just standard Thule racks for the car, although after a mishap on the move west I would recommend Yakima instead.

It turns out Thule has an 80 mph max wind rating, but it's combined speed, so if you're traveling at 65 mph into a 50 mph wind, its combined speed is 115 mph. Yakima has a 100 mph rating. I learned all this after the bikes blew off the car and went skidding down the road in New Hampshire, despite being properly tensioned on the car with a new fit-kit. Luckily the bikes were undamaged since the titanium fatty took the main hit and it's tough (which is why I bought it). These DOT workers were out fixing road signs that blew down, saw what happened, and stopped to help. The racking coming off the car cost almost $9,000 in damage to the car.

So for that reason I recommend Yakima racks or the clamp-on ones for rails. My wife had those on her Sorento and the kayaks stayed in place despite her being able to go much faster due to a larger engine.

But to answer your question, the racks were just standard Thule racks, any would work.

The kayak cradle were Yakima Hully Rollers, the outriggers were Thule Outriggers (Yakima makes some as well), and the tie down straps are some I picked up locally but can be found on Amazon.

1) WOW
2) Thank you very much

Take care

 

[kjclow]

Sure.

The racks are just standard Thule racks for the car, although after a mishap on the move west I would recommend Yakima instead.

It turns out Thule has an 80 mph max wind rating, but it's combined speed, so if you're traveling at 65 mph into a 50 mph wind, its combined speed is 115 mph. Yakima has a 100 mph rating. I learned all this after the bikes blew off the car and went skidding down the road in New Hampshire, despite being properly tensioned on the car with a new fit-kit. Luckily the bikes were undamaged since the titanium fatty took the main hit and it's tough (which is why I bought it). These DOT workers were out fixing road signs that blew down, saw what happened, and stopped to help. The racking coming off the car cost almost $9,000 in damage to the car.

So for that reason I recommend Yakima racks or the clamp-on ones for rails. My wife had those on her Sorento and the kayaks stayed in place despite her being able to go much faster due to a larger engine.

But to answer your question, the racks were just standard Thule racks, any would work.

The kayak cradle were Yakima Hully Rollers, the outriggers were Thule Outriggers (Yakima makes some as well), and the tie down straps are some I picked up locally but can be found on Amazon.

Glad your fatties weren't hurt. Bikes can be harder to replace right now than the car. I've not had any issues with my Yakima racks on either the JSW or Golf. Other than the weight of the kayaks with just getting them on the roof. That's why we got the Malone trailer.

 

[SMITDI757]

No, not IN the Jetta silly... I'm looking for a solution to transporting kayaks with a Jetta TDI.

Do any of you know of a good way to do this? Roof rack? Hitch and mount? Hitch + trailer maybe?

Welcoming any and all recommendations and feedback on known wins and fails at this.

Thanks!

6E76D6BD-07CA-4B4C-9592-AEDFE0DBA1B3.jpeg

• SMITDI757
• Jan 17, 2023

 

[jokila]

My setup is Yakima Mako saddles for the front and Hully rollers for the rear. Roll on, roll off.