Riverside Cartop Kayak Carrier

So you purchase the kayak, the paddle and the PFD and then you realize that you need to get the kayak home and to and from the water.  Those Yakima and Thule racks are really nice but can can get really expensive especially if your car doesn't already have a roof rack installed, which one of my cars doesn't.  So I  picked up one of the Riverside Cartop Carriers for about $60.  I went with the extra wide blocks since I have a recreational kayak that is a little wide.  In hindsight, I probably could have gotten away with the universal set for $10 less.

The set consists of two foam blocks, 4 S hooks and 4 straps.  You plop the foam blocks down on your roof and loop two of the straps over the top of the kayak and though the car doors.  The other straps attach to the bow and stern and are anchored to with the S hooks to front and back of your vehicle.

Getting it installed the first time can be a little frustrating especially if you are in a sporting goods parking lot in 85 degree heat.  The directions aren't great but they have a website that provides better instructions.  My biggest challenge was figuring out where to attach the S hooks to the front of my car.  The back had some conveniently located holes in the frame.  The front of my Volvo V50 had nothing that I could easily find.  My first trip home was rather precarious as I didn't attach the bow to the front of my car properly.  To give credit to the product the Kayak still stayed in place at close to highway speeds.

When I got home I found that I can attach one tow hook in the little crevice about two feet under the front driver side of my car.  The other side can be attached to my car's tow hook.  After setting it up a couple times now I can have my kayak ready to go in a little under 10 minutes.  When lifting the kayak onto and off your roof you will probably want to lay a towel down as I scratched my roof when my kayak slid across it the first time I used the carrier.  You will also want to twist the straps so they aren't flat in the wind, otherwise you will get an annoying hum when traveling over 35mph.

The manufacturer suggests not traveling more than 200 miles with this product.  I haven't taken any long trips yet but it seems very secure at highway speeds.  The first couple trips you will probably want to stop a couple times to ensure that everything is still tight.    One thing I have wondered about is if it is possible/safe to carry two kayaks with this type of carrier.  There is no info on the Riverside website about it, but if anyone has any experience please post a comment.  Overall I am pretty happy with the Riverside Cartop Kayak Carrier.  It is a very functional, economical product for the price if you don't have the budget for the more expensive roof systems.