home built kayak/lumber race--photos

Attached (I hope) are photos of my cheap kayak/lumber rack for my 2006 Prius. It also fits my 1995 Corolla.

The pads are foam "water noodles". In the center holes I've inserted for the entire length 1/2 inch schedule 40 pvc pipe to give it strength and mass. The length of the pads are 3 foot, 6 1/2 inches.

Through the pipe is treaded 12 foot kayak tie down straps. These are equipped with cam buckles.

I fabricated some brackets that fit in the door opening. I used flat construction bracket plates as the metal stock. These are simple to make. You need a bench vise and a hammer to bend them and a drill and a hack saw to cut out the strap loop. After they were done and I was satisfied that they fit, I coated them in 3 coats of rubber tool coating.

When tight, the brackets stay tight in place even with the doors open. Keeping the doors closed is the fail safe to keep them from coming off. They are extremeley secure and don't interfere with door operation or airbags.

I spent about $35 on this. It is clear that the rack would easily transport lumber, skis, etc.

 

Its not rubbing. It has about 1/2 inch of clearance.