Bow/stern tie-down points for kayak?

[zachc275]

Hi all, I'm transporting a kayaking soon on my BS' roof and wanted to see if anyone could give any pointers for tying down the bow and stern. I am strapping the kayak down flat to crossbars I have installed on my roof. I plan on feeding my bow/stern straps through my kayak's handles (photo of my kayak), but am not sure where to mount the straps on the vehicle itself and how to tie/ratchet them down correctly. I do see in my trunk two mounting points on either side, and also found this video. I am hoping to get more clarity though so that I do this safely.

As far as equipment goes, I have these bow/stern straps and hood loops I got off Amazon:

Here are the straps I'm using for the crossbars. Any and all help would be appreciated! Thanks!!

 

[thesavo]

Bump? Asking for a friend.

 

[Glamdring70]

I see a guy around town on an irregular basis parked at a store I frequent, that carries long kayaks on the roof with hold downs front and rear. I will snap a pic for you the next time I see it, but it is a Badlands and I think he's using the recovery hooks as the front tie downs. Not a bunch of options up there.

 

[zachc275]

Bump? Asking for a friend.

After getting my kayak I was actually able to figure it out and nail down a good system. There are two ropes on the front tied down to hood straps (same kind in my original post). They actually fit snug in a specific spot on each side:

For the back, I have the ropes going underneath the lift gate. They hook onto two tie-down points that come factory. I don’t have a picture of them right now, but they’re hard to miss and more down towards the trunk liner. Overall it’s a little tedious to tighten down but once you do it the first time you feel pretty confident.

 

[thesavo]

I

After getting my kayak I was actually able to figure it out and nail down a good system. There are two ropes on the front tied down to hood straps (same kind in my original post). They actually fit snug in a specific spot on each side:

For the back, I have the ropes going underneath the lift gate. They hook onto two tie-down points that come factory. I don’t have a picture of them right now, but they’re hard to miss and more down towards the trunk liner. Overall it’s a little tedious to tighten down but once you do it the first time you feel pretty confident.

I like those hood tie straps. My wife was spontaneous gifted two kayaks and I now have to figure out a transport method.
https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/kayak-carrier-spoiled-for-or-paralyzed-by-choice.7146/


I wish ford gave us the hood tie-points that are on the Full-size bronco. Do you worry about those hood strap scratching the paint ?

I know what yoou mean about the rear tie points. they are a bail-type just inward of the sill plate. I think i may use my tow ball.

 

[wmhoneycutt]

I can honestly say the hood straps worked perfect. For the stern, I had already installed the trailer hitch, and I just tied them to my trailer hitch. Purchased a double J-Hook carrier and strapped them in.

Trouble I had was with the shape of the back end. It is contoured just enough that you can't use the suction cup rollers to get your kayak up there. This combined with the weight and length of my kayaks, and how short my girlfriend is... I finally broke down and just bought a super cheap trailer kit from harbor freight and built a rack on it out of unistrut and secured the kayaks down that way.

 

[Sobieski]

Nice, thank you for answering your own question - it is a great help to me who did not have a clue on this. All the best with the long boat!

 

[zachc275]

I

I like those hood tie straps. My wife was spontaneous gifted two kayaks and I now have to figure out a transport method.
https://www.broncosportforum.com/forum/threads/kayak-carrier-spoiled-for-or-paralyzed-by-choice.7146/


I wish ford gave us the hood tie-points that are on the Full-size bronco. Do you worry about those hood strap scratching the paint ?

I know what yoou mean about the rear tie points. they are a bail-type just inward of the sill plate. I think i may use my tow ball.

No worries about scratching. Because the hood loops are under tension, they pull away from the hood. Even if they did touch I don’t think it would be any more abrasive than what the hood already faces while driving.

Nice, thank you for answering your own question - it is a great help to me who did not have a clue on this. All the best with the long boat!

sure thing!

I can honestly say the hood straps worked perfect. For the stern, I had already installed the trailer hitch, and I just tied them to my trailer hitch. Purchased a double J-Hook carrier and strapped them in.

Trouble I had was with the shape of the back end. It is contoured just enough that you can't use the suction cup rollers to get your kayak up there. This combined with the weight and length of my kayaks, and how short my girlfriend is... I finally broke down and just bought a super cheap trailer kit from harbor freight and built a rack on it out of unistrut and secured the kayaks down that way.

my technique has been to lay the kayak vertically up against the back of the car and the slide it up. I would recommend putting a blanket underneath to prevent scratches, but it’s worked pretty for my one-man mounting jobs.

 

[wmhoneycutt]

Yeah, a smart man would’ve thought of that. I had been itching for a small trailer, and used it as an excuse to buy one. I made the rack removable, so I could have a small flatbed trailer when I needed it.
Option 1:

Option 2: