40 years of paddling and experiencing some epic fails, along with unending research and connections with industry experts, have revealed a host of creative and practical options for securing and transporting your kayak on any vehicle (or bicycle!) you own!
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What’s the Best Method of Transporting Your Kayak?
By far, the best way to transport your kayak safely, easily, and securely, is to place it top down on a set of roof racks and then secure it with at least 2 tie-down straps. Without a roof rack, it’s possible to be just as safe using the flatbed of a pickup truck, or using a trailer that is made specifically to transport a kayak.
With that said, there are dozens of safe and effective ways to move your kayak from your garage to the lake with nearly any vehicle and with minimal effort.
Kayaks come in a virtually unending parade of colors, styles, sizes, and shapes, so it’s a good idea to understand the best options to transport your style of kayak.
I can tell you from experience that a sea kayak does not travel as well on solid crossbars as a fishing kayak.
Here are some of my thoughts and best suggestions after interviewing several kayak retailers and experts;
Do You Need a Special Roof Rack for Kayaks?
No, you do not need a special roof rack for kayaks. In fact, you don’t need roof racks at all. If you have a set of roof rails, a set of crossbars is easy to add. Once you have crossbars, you have all you need for carrying at least one kayak.
You can simply secure the kayak on the crossbars (which are placed as far apart as possible if you have a car) top down, and then tie down the kayak with tie-down straps.
When you see “special roof racks” on a car carrying kayaks, it is usually because the car needs to transport more than one kayak. Even so, you won’t need special racks, only an additional item of gear called a “J-bar“.
How Do You Carry a Kayak on a Car?
Some cars have roof rails (to which you can attach crossbars for a full rack system) but many cars have only a bare roof. In the case of a rack, it’s easy to simply lay the kayak on the racks and secure it to the crossbars with a set of straps. Ideally, the addition of padding on the crossbars is best to avoid scratching the kayak as it sits on the metal bars while being jostled by wind on the highway.
For cars with no rack system, a secure mounting can be achieved by placing something soft on your roof to separate the kayak from the roof directly.
It’s best to get something made specifically for this purpose like a foam block. Pool noodles would be at least better than nothing at all.
Since car roofs are fairly low, there is no special apparatus recommended to help mount the kayak. You would simply lift the kayak and slide it onto the roof racks from the side. You can also place the bow of the kayak on the rear bar and push forward while lifting the stern.
This method works only if there are no major obstacles on the back of your car like a Gurney Flap or a shark fin antenna.
For any vehicle with no rails or roof racks, it’s quite possible to fit a set of suction cup mounted cross bars. Here’s a great option we found recently: 
Without a rack, it is not possible to tie down the canoe to anything outside of the vehicle.
The best option for a secure tie-down would be to wrap your straps around the entire kayak and right through your vehicle with the strap sitting just above the heads of the vehicle’s occupants in both the front and rear seats (see photo below).
Wrap the straps around the kayak and around the vehicle roof through the car doors. Be sure to add 2 or 3 twists to the strap (no more than that) to eliminate or reduce wind vibration of the strap
How Do You Carry a Kayak on a Truck?
To carry a kayak on a truck (presumably a pickup truck), one of several methods may be used. A roof rack can be used with an extended crew cab or on a rack that is installed on the edges of the truck’s bed. It is also common to see kayaks in the bed of a pickup truck with or without an assistive device.
Truck bed extenders like the Yakima Long Arm and others, are helpful in carrying a kayak in the bed of a pickup truck.
Other truck mounting options include the use of racks that mount on the rear bed rails or just on the roof of the cab itself. Often, truck owners use racks that employ both the bed rails and the cab roof.
Still others simply use nothing more than the flatbed with the kayak sticking out through an open tailgate (while being secured to the truck to prevent sliding out) or, if the kayak is short enough, it can just stick up over the closed tailgate.
If you allow your kayak to stick out the back of your flatbed, it’s best to tie a red cloth (flag) to the end sticking out, and if it sticks out more than 4 feet, you’ll run the risk of being pulled over by the cops, so keep the “stick out” minimal if possible.
If you use only the flatbed of a truck with an open tailgate, you’ll need to be sure the kayak is secured to prevent it from falling out of the bed, but also from rocking around excessively in the bed.
If you use a truck bed extender (which, by the way, can also be used as a rear “roof rack”), you’ll want to secure the kayak to BOTH the extender on one end and at least tie the other end to something secure in the truck bed.
If you choose to mount your kayak(s) on a roof rack, you have many options for mounting hardware that can make life much easier, and make your kayak (and others on the roadways) safer.
Here are some great mounting hardware or mounting style options:
1 Just the Roof Rack Cross Bars
A flat (or round) bar can be used while turning the kayak upside down on the rack consisting of the 2 straight bars. This method is the least expensive (if you already own a rack) but is the least secure (might get some side-to-side play) and it may damage the sides of the kayak.
