Bringing kayaks camping

If you want something really slick,,, A friend of mine sent me this,, he has it for hauling his Sea Going Kayak:

Hullavator!!

I have a Chevrolet Silverado...got a set of RacTrac's. Easy to put on truck..Kayaks sit on top. Easy to load....

Craigslist!! Look for a used ladder or lumber rack in your bed size! Also,, I have seen two lumber racks at garage sales so far this year,, Only thing was they were 5.5' and a 6.5',, to small for me,,one was going for $50 and the 5.5 had a $25 sign on it!
Also had a kayaking friend make a rack out of square tubing and U bolts!

Or,,spend the big bucks on Thule racks,, I have one on my camper shell that holds 350 pounds!!

wow those folding ones are pricey! As another option, there are modular hard-sided kayaks as well. Also pricier than inflatables, but not as much as the folding ones: link to an example

This was the setup on my old truck for hauling two kayaks and two bikes. My new truck has a rack on the canopy, but the crossbars are shorter, only allowing me to haul two items at a time, so it's either two bikes, two kayaks, or one of each. Eventually I'll get some Thule towers for the roof of the new truck so I can haul all four again.

rexlion wrote:
OP, have you tried paddling kayaks in that size range (8'-10')? I bought an inflatable 9' kayak last year and it tracks poorly. A longer, 2-person kayak would be easier and more fun for the two of you to paddle IMO. With an inflatable, storage and transport are really easy.

Completely agree. Paddling speed is also affected by length. Longer is faster.

For portability, other than inflatables there are foldables like Feathercraft, Folbot, and others. These are as light as you can get for a kayak, and pack down reasonably small. Expensive, but you get what you pay for.

As alway if you can, try before you buy.

I have a two person inflatable that's 11.5ft long. Fits in a bag that I toss into the bed of my truck.

OP, have you tried paddling kayaks in that size range (8'-10')? I bought an inflatable 9' kayak last year and it tracks poorly. A longer, 2-person kayak would be easier and more fun for the two of you to paddle IMO. With an inflatable, storage and transport are really easy.

We have two SeaEagle kayaks (inflatables) that we love and they store under the bed in the master. The lifejackets and oars also store in there with plenty of room for other stuff. There are 4 of us and we all needed a seat to boat in, that was our solution.