Roof racks are quite useful and very effective, and they may be used on a wide variety of RVs. This is a great method to carry kayaks, especially if your roof is not being utilised for other storage. When designing a roof rack, keep in mind the wind resistance your kayaks will experience. Before you make sure the design is strong and solid, try it out.
1. Construct an Aluminum or Steel Frame
The steel or aluminium frame is the first step in making a rooftop kayak rack. If you are proficient at welding and prefer using steel, you may create a frame that is appropriate for the size of your RV and kayaks. If you don’t want to undertake any welding, you may use aluminium beams instead. The aluminium beams must be precisely cut using a metal cutting saw, but they are considerably simpler to install and move about.
2. Add Mounting Brackets
With mounting brackets, the kayaks and rack are secured. There are plenty of alternative styles to choose from depending on your unique tastes. Before you purchase any mounting brackets, you should make sure that they are suitable with the frame size.
3. Mount firmly to the roof.
By drilling and inserting mounting pads, you may adjust the rack to the roof of your RV. Pads will improve the security of your kayaks and guard against roof damage from kayak movement.
4. Tighten each of the bolt holes
Before installing the rack to your roof, make sure that all of the supporting bolts are tightened. Use a tool to completely tighten the bolts after finger-tightening them first. If you have washers, use them to sandwich the bolts.
5. Add Tie-Downs
Once the roof rack has been placed and your kayak has been secured, you should tie it down. You may buy straps from a tie-down kit to attach the kayak in a manner similar to the vertical rack. The straps need to be tightened in order to keep the kayaks from sliding about on the rack.
6. Examine the Rack
I advise you to properly test each rack you want to create since roof racks are always subject to wind resistance.