Roof rack rails for roof of Ford F250

[AlbertNTerri]

Has anyone mounted roof rack rails to the top of thier truck? I have a 2017 Ford F250 crew cab (large car). The roof has the plastic inserts which I've always assumed were covers for roof rack rails but I'm now thinking I'm mistaken. The only roof rack systems I'm seeing uses friction clamps that grab the door jams. 

 

Albert

[Guest]

Hello Albert,

We installed Rhino Rack Backbone. It’s a bit more involved on the install. However, it is way more secure and carries way more weight. We have been satisfied with it. It is mounted through the roof. 
Kirk

 

 

[John E Davies]

The plastic comes off so you can install longitudinal rails. For example,, https://www.etrailer.com/Roof-Rack/Rhino-Rack/JB0733.html

Edit: Kirk beat me to it, here are the installation instructions.

https://assets.rhinorack.com/Instructions/Parts/FittingApplications/RF2B2.pdf

I tried the Yakima type that grab the door frame up top, on a 2006 Ram 3500. Garbage!

Kirk, how in the world do you get your bike up onto that 1-Up tray???

John Davies

Spokane WA

[AlbertNTerri]

Thanks Kirk and John, That's what I'm looking for (except for the price). In the end I know I'll be glad I sprung for it but for now... 

OUCH!!

albert

[Guest]

9 hours ago, John E Davies said:

Kirk, how in the world do you get your bike up onto that 1-Up tray???

John, 

We have a ladder stored in a box on the truck. I can load them alone, although it’s easier if they are handed up to me. Our bikes are lighter than average, so that helps too. Carrie’s e-bike is 28 pounds. The rest all weigh less than that. 
 

Kirk

[Trainman]

I personally never cared for roof racks other then just for looks and not actual use. Being a retired Body Shop Mgr. we repaired several roofs where customers miss used there roof racks, of course many didn't use them correctly. 

trainman

[ThomB87]

Rather than the roof, you can get a bed cover with built end rails.  That is the set up I have. Retrax makes them and I think there is another brand.  The advantage is the bikes are not as high up and exposed to damage. Loading is a little easier. The disadvantage is the roll up cover takes up a small amount of bed space. 

https://retrax.com/

 

[John E Davies]

8 hours ago, albert60 said:

Thanks Kirk and John, That's what I'm looking for (except for the price). In the end I know I'll be glad I sprung for it but for now... 

OUCH!!

albert

Ouch indeed. Roof racks are useful, but they make noise (sometimes very horrible noise), destroy your truck’s carefully engineered aerodynamics, wreck your fuel economy, and are difficult to access for older folks and those with a disability. I used to climb up onto my rear tire or the door sills effortlessly, but at 68 I have some neuropathy and that is no longer the case. I took a tumble because my aggressive Vibram sole had an intimate attachment to my aggressive All Terrain tire, and I was literally flipped onto my back onto asphalt as I tried to step down. It was astonishing and eye opening. Now I only use a small STABLE  three step ladder to access the roof, life is too short to not take better care of your bones.

If you can find an alternative solution, do so. Small tow vehicles may require roof storage, but most full sized trucks should not. If you really have to carry a ton of toys buy a different vehicle like a van or buy a tall canopy for your pickup. If you want to carry watercraft, consider switching to foldable ones.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Guest]

4 hours ago, John E Davies said:

. Roof racks are useful, but they make noise (sometimes very horrible noise)

I agree. We had to have a custom wind fairing added to our rack. The noise was terrible without it. The wind fairing eliminated all the bad noise. Quiet now. 

Kirk

[John E Davies]

I will add that a 5 to 10% hit on your fuel economy might have been acceptable with cheap fuel, but with today’s prices, it isn’t OK at all. Pardon my language, but keep the cr@p off the roof 😬

With this exception, I saw one of these last month and it is super cool!

https://zoomroom.space/

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Guest]

6 hours ago, John E Davies said:

Pardon my language, but keep the cr@p off the roof 😬

For me, it definitely isn’t about wanting a rack on my roof. We are very active and need the extra roof storage. We are always after outdoor vigorous activities. When we travel we may take any combination of road bikes, gravel bikes, mountain bikes, sea kayaks, fishing kayaks, and paddle boards. Without the roof rack we would lose have to leave more gear at home and do less. Everyone has a different approach to how they spend their time outside. The important thing is to get out there, enjoy the great beauty of our continent, and; to the best of your ability, try to stay a healthy as possible and get the most out of the time you have.

 Kirk

[AlbertNTerri]

7 hours ago, John E Davies said:

I will add that a 5 to 10% hit on your fuel economy might have been acceptable with cheap fuel, but with today’s prices, it isn’t OK at all. Pardon my language, but keep the cr@p off the roof 😬

With this exception, I saw one of these last month and it is super cool!

https://zoomroom.space/

John Davies

Spokane WA

I saw one of those on a Hot-Shot in Colorado several months ago, Great idea to add a sleeper to the truck.

 

We have a 14 foot two-seat Hobie kayak (with duel mirage drives). I've bought a crane that mounts to the receiver 

 https://www.amazon.com/MaxxHaul-70238-Receiver-Hitch-Mounted/dp/B008CE0WCW/ref=asc_df_B008CE0WCW/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312128189269&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2416412560120601294&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9029069&hvtargid=pla-568683155946&psc=1 

which will help when I'm lifting full propane tanks onto the trailer or a full yeti to the truck bed etc. I'm going to have a modified boom fabricated so I can lift the 120# kayak to the roof. We currently have a cap on the truck with roof rack but I'm not confident that it will be sufficient so I'm looking into adding a single rail to the top of the cab to tie down the front of the kayak. Our first trip with it will  be in another week so we'll see, I'm expecting that this trip I'll have to just pad and tie down the nose of the kayak to the cab, but I'm expecting I'll need to modify my current setup so I can better fasten the front of the kayak to the roof of the cab. The only rail-type roof racks I've seen use a clamp that holds at the door frame, not to the roof channel, The Rhino rack attaches the way I was hoping to do it but it's way overkill for what I need. I'm thinking it may be worth talking to someone about fabricating some sort of gizmo to attach to the roof channel that could accept a third roof rack rail, but in the end it will probably cost almost as much as just buying the Rhino Rack...

Then there's the wind/noise issue but with the Kayak on the roof, I'm thinking it won't be the rack that's causing the drag and drop in mpg and added noise, it will be the toy on top. 

 

 

ANYWAY... here's the truck and the a link to the crane. I'm certainly open for suggestions, I'm always impressed with the feedback here.

 

Thanks Everyone!!!

albert

[John E Davies]

I love Hobies, I used to have a Hobie 16 sailboat long ago, and I was going to buy a Tandem Island until I came to my senses, but the rotomolded hulls are so SO very heavy. Have you considered trading your tandem in on a couple of these? https://www.hobie.com/kayaks/mirage-passport/ … you wouldn’t have to buy new drives. Half the weight, way shorter, they will be much easier to load individually and will probably be fine on your existing Leer rack. What is its limit? Or get a tandem carbon fiber canoe which would be about 50 pounds or less.

I envision bad events in your future if you are going to routinely lift and carry the heavy Hobie tandem up there. It would be a great way to hurt one of you. If the hydraulic jack fails, what will you do then? Find a strong young bystander to get it up top?

Have you seen these? https://www.orukayak.com/pages/compare You could carry TWO folded up on one side of your rear seat😳

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Guest]

We have a couple of Oru kayaks. They are a lot of fun. They are great on flat water. We have had them out in a few bays on the Puget Sound. If it gets choppy, you will get damp. They are surprisingly stable though. They newest design is supposed to be a little quicker to assemble.

Kirk

[AlbertNTerri]

the static weight limit on the Thule is 750#, the weight limit underway is 150#, the Kayak is 120# so I'm ok as far as that goes. Swapping out for two smaller kayaks was a consideration but given our current state of health the tandem is the better option for us. As for crane failure, getting lifting help would be the only option at that point. It's really not that big of a deal to lift the nose to the roof then lift-and-slide the kayak up. Do-able single handed but much easier with two lifting. I came across the crane and bought it then realized that I'd need to modify it to get the height needed to load anything on the roof. It's been a real help so far when dealing with a loaded yeti  in and out of the truck and like I said, it will be nice when lifting full 30# propane tanks (which are about 50# when full).

 

For now I'm looking at adding a bar across the cab (or possibly a rhino rack) and looking for a suitable way to lift the kayak singlehandedly to the roof hence a modified crane.

a.

[SeaDawg]

Those oru kayaks look amazing. Even the tandem that converts to a single weighs less than a 200 watt zamp suitcase solar kit. Even I could handle that by myself. Website shows they sell backpacks for the lighter singles, so you can walk them in to more remote areas  more easily.

@Kirk Peterson, which model do you have? Do you find the estimated assembly time and water rating (calm, choppy, etc.) from the website to be accurate?

Of course, I  realize your experience level is much higher than mine. We don't use our kayaks much, and then only in calm water /perfect weather. 

 

 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, SeaDawg said:

which model do you have? Do you find the estimated assembly time and water rating (calm, choppy, etc.) from the website to be accurate?

SeaDawg,

Our are between the bay and the inlet model. Back when we bought ours there was only one model. There are great for calm to mildly choppy water. More than around 10-12 inch choppy waves would be difficult, in my opinion. If you are out this way (Idaho) you can take them with you and see how you like them. I agree with their assembly time, after the learn curve is over. The first several times were slow. 

Kirk