Front Runner Slimline II bed rack & mounting 2 Kayaks??

We will be going on a trip this summer to the Canadian wilderness with hopefully 2 Kayaks. I was thinking how I'm going to carry them. I wanted to mount them down lower and NOT on the roof for 2 reasons... dont have a roof rack and we will be doing a fair amount of highway driving at speed so wanted a low profile mounting system.

My thoughts are a Front Runner Slimline II bed rack that attaches to my bed rails with 2 sets of J brackets to hold the Kayaks with. Put our gear under the rack with kayaks on top. I've looked around and see the slimline II bed tray gets good reps here and elsewhere but haven't seen any Tacos with kayaks attached to one. Kayaks are 12' and 14'.

looking for advice would much prefer using a bed rack instead of a roof rack. Is my idea even doable?

 

What you are talking about will involve having 8-9' of kayak sticking out past the end of the short bed or 6-7' sticking out past the tailgate if they ride in the short bed using a goal post bed extender deal in the receiver hitch. I know you don't want them on top of the truck but not many other options other than pulling a small trailer with them on it. The Thule xsporter will give over head and over bed options but again, the bed rail option will leave a lot of yak hanging out bak. These are my options for my 12' pr of WS Tarpons.........

rec hitch bed extender on 08 RC............


Thule Xsporter over cab position on the old 05 AC - works same on the 08 RC.............

 

Thats an expensive rack. If you are doing a bed rack, you might as well go higher. Then your options go way up. The Thule is popular and will have a high resale value down the road. See http://www.kbvoodoo.com/shop/toyota-tacoma-bed-rack-fits-years-2005-2016 for another option.

Tons of rack systems that are cab height which frankly better serves your needs. Gonna be hard to strap down 12 and 14' boats otherwise (without the hitch extension).

 

I used J hooks attached to factory roof racks on my Mazda P5 and it sucked bad with 12' boats. Almost lost them one time in some bad wind from thunderstorm and wasn't even on frwy. I have 2 sets of Thule hullaports I'll sell if anyone can use them. I won't put them on my car or the wife's RAV4.

 

My truck and the stuff in the pics above.......bed extender goal post or Thule Xsporter depending on length of trip and/or whatever else I may want/need to bring along.

 

I've seen Thule racks and I am sure they are very functional, but I can't help but think they look like weight lifting posts at the gym.

 

A shell with a rack on top plus roof racks and you'll be good to go

 

This is my setup when i need bed space and kayaks for camping.

Now these are 9.5 ft kayaks with a long bed. I used voodoo xrxs bed rails and drilled them to accept j hooks. With them slid all the way back with 24ins apart, they barely hit center. Worls great but i am pushing the limits. If i did it again woth voodoo racks, i would buy the cross bars that hook into the tracks but rest on top of the bed edge to support more weight.

 

First spot was unsuccessful so we packed up and moved to another. 3 12ft kayaks and a lot of fishing gear. DCSBFTMFW

 

I use Yakima Whispbars and the Thule Stacker. Very secure!

This was my first time using it but I figured out the way to use the straps and the Stacker so I only need two ratchets to get both tied down and together. Also flipped the kayaks around so the hull is outward was much better.

 

Do you have better pics from the side? Would that work with the short bed?

 

That's the setup I have with my 2nd gen but I am considering a bed mount on my future 3rd gen and our two 9.5' kayaks.

 

I dont unfortunately. I may have a chance this weekend to get one. The kayaks stick 3.5 ft out the back (tailgate up).

I am limited to how far back i put my cross bars by the tracks. i could probably get more 6 inches further back with a new crossbar design that sits on top of the bed edge and doesnt rely on the tracks.. So it may be possible with SB but no promises..

 

Thanks guys for all the great feedback. I'm leaning towards either a Voodoo bed rack or a Mobtown Bed rack - they both mount to the bed rails and I can use them with a Toyota hard cover. I "might" have to go with an additional hitch extender from Cabela's that is height adjustable for added stability.

Here's my wife's Prijon Combi, I just drove it 2 hrs highway 80mph and beat up streets today just strapped down and it was fine. This is a 12' Kayak.

I'll get some bed bars and install them and then see how we can mount this one and a 2nd yak to the bed bars. I don't want roof racks too noisy and boats mounted up high on long trip would mean I'd have to drive the whole distance. My wife already was sayin no go on a roof rack with boats and her at the wheel. Trailer is an option but I think the bed rack will work and then I can add bike mounts later and its going to be all around more flexible for what we need.

 

Thanks guys for all the great feedback. I'm leaning towards either a Voodoo bed rack or a Mobtown Bed rack - they both mount to the bed rails and I can use them with a Toyota hard cover. I "might" have to go with an additional hitch extender from Cabela's that is height adjustable for added stability.

Here's my wife's Prijon Combi, I just drove it 2 hrs highway 80mph and beat up streets today just strapped down and it was fine. This is a 12' Kayak.

I'll get some bed bars and install them and then see how we can mount this one and a 2nd yak to the bed bars. I don't want roof racks too noisy and boats mounted up high on long trip would mean I'd have to drive the whole distance. My wife already was sayin no go on a roof rack with boats and her at the wheel. Trailer is an option but I think the bed rack will work and then I can add bike mounts later and its going to be all around more flexible for what we need.