roof rack than 1 person can load that holds 2 kayaks?

I recently bought a new subaru forester and need to buy a rack. I have a 2009 outback and revolution that have a combined width of 61.5 inches. The increased height of the vehicle will make using my old yakima bowdowns vertical style pretty difficult to use. I currently have roof rails but not bars. Does anyone have experience with a glide or roller system that works well with 2 kayaks? I was hoping to use the factory aero bars but I'm guessing I will need more width to accommodate two flat kayaks.

Any recommendations?

The outback is 33" wide and the revolution is 28.5" wide.

Thanks,
Chris

You will need to allow width for the tie-downs on the cross bars. If you get 78" cross bars you can cut them down if necessary for the exact width you need.

The extenders that Yakima and Thule make that provide a temporary longer bar to rest half the weight of the kayak on while loading makes the process a lot easier to manage. Put them on the rear cross bars on each side and that way you can first lift up the end of the boats with the rudder and then lift up the bow and slide it into the saddles.

I have Thule gear on my truck and Yakima on a Yakima kayak trailer and much prefer the Thule setup. Easiest to download the catalogs from both companies (and check out Malone as well) and see the different loading options that each company offers.

The Thule Hullavator is good in principle but the unit weighs 40 lbs. and both Yakima and Thule rate their roof racks for a total load of 165 lbs. which minus the 80 lbs. for a pair of Hullavators does not leave enough load capacity for the two boats. I would also check with Subaru and confirm the load that the roof rails are designed to support.

When I carry my Outback and Revo11, I use j-racks for the revo and put the outback upside-down on the cross bars. I have a Mazda CX5 for reference.

Long bars with cradles is my simple & cheap solution (VW Passat/Volvo XC70 wagon). I load the yaks stern to direction of travel with the seats on but pushed flat, stuff like rods, pfds, masts, paddles inside them and with heavy stuff like carts & daggerboards under the bungees on the load deck. This makes setting up and tearing down for travel so much faster and stowage of all the kit inside the boat frees up space in the car. (you can even fit the drives into the yak for travel without risk damage to drives, yak or car if you want but I'll leave you to work out how to do that on your own!)

To load I put a thick rug over the back of the car and the rear cradle.

I start with the yak on the floor with the stern overlapping the back of the car & pointing out to one side.

I lift the stern onto the rug-covered rear roof of the car & rest it there (may need someone to assist to stop it slipping off).

Then I pick up the bow of the yak & push/slide it onto the bar/cradle.

When supported in the rear rug-covered bar or cradle it is an easy job to push the yak into the forward cradle: applying downward pressure on the bow end will lift up the stern at the front of the car and then, because the rug covering means that the rear cradle cannot grip the hull, you can just slide it into the correct fore/aft position.

Then remove the rug (take it with you though!), strap down - in cradles this doesn't need to be massively tight in my experience - and drive off.

Thank you for the great tips!

Wintersun, thanks for the brand comparison on the extenders. I'm kind of leaning in this direction. I don't know if it's a big deal but some complain about wind noise with the round bars. I'm excited to use the moonroof but I'm guessing the noise is more so a concern at higher speeds.

Jcanracer - do you use anything between the bars and your yak? I wasn't sure if you would see any superficial damage. It would be nice to slide the outback beast direct rather than wiggling it onto the bowdown carrier.

Stobbo - I like the simplicity of your approach but I'm not sure if I could balance the stern of the 2nd yak on the back of my forester if I already have the first kayak loaded on top. I might be misunderstanding the position or sequence though of your approach. Even so this would allow me to load the 1st yak without the need for an extender. Could you let me know what cradles your using?

Thanks!

I just use the cheapest cradles I could lay my hands on - got them second hand so I don't know what brand they are but they are not very fancy and I reckon any sort will do the trick.

Most people seem to go for Thule but they seemed very over-priced when I was looking for mine.

Stobbo is right, Thule is pricey.
However since I didn't know any better at the time, that's what I have

I bought removable crossbars that clip into the door frames. I had them for my Toyota Matrix and then re adjusted them to fit on the Mazda when I traded up. I always had foam pads that wrapped around the bars, they were a gift from the kayak dealer when I bought the first Hobie. You can achieve the same effect (on the cheap) by sacrificing a pool noodle and cutting a slit in it so you can enclose the crossbar. You will want to zip tie it in place though, because it will not stay there on its own.

I load my kayaks from the sides or the car, lifting them over head, so no rolling on the bars for me. I think you will probably get a few scratches here and there when loading them, but its all superficial and doesn't affect the kayak much.