Features:

  • Steel design with adjustable padding for carrying strength and kayak protection
  • Wide mouth J bar offers easier loading and unloading
  • Quick on/off hardware ensures fast installation and removal
  • Optimally sized J style carrier leaves roof space
  • Accommodates kayaks up to 36inch wide and 75lbs. Authentic TMS products contain vacuum sealed installation hardware. Authentic TMS products are shipped in labeled boxes with item description (as shown in picture).
Great for the Price!

I ordered two sets of these J-racks and they arrived in perfect condition. They must have addressed the issues with holes not lining up and difficulty getting bars through rubber sleeve because they were super easy to assemble and everything lined up nicely when waiting to fully tighten all bolts at once (this is key). I mounted the J-racks to my 2008 Yukon Denali factory roof rack. Like many others, I had to shorten the longest bolts by almost 1/2 inch. I used a dremel rotary tool with a cut-off disk (mark bolt, screw nut on past cut-off point, cut bolt, screw off nut to align threads -- with all common sense safety measures). I opted to keep the same hardware but change the washers on the long bolts to locking washers (.11 each). There's not enough clearance below my roof rack to use the plastic knobs, so the locking washer works with existing, non-locking nuts. This allows me to finger spin them on up to the locking washer versus a locking nut that would require using a wrench the whole time. I also cut strips of that rubbery, non slip mesh used to line cupboards, and put that between the bottom metal bracket and roof rack cross bar to help prevent scratching/chipping while creating a bit of a "grip" when tightening the J-racks to roof rack. Despite what others have said, the straps that come with the J-racks are perfectly fine for their purpose, but be sure to also use bow/stern safety lines. I bought 4 separate 12' light-weight lashing straps with cam buckles and use hood loops on the front and hitch area on back to strap through (see photo). Bottom line: You won't find anything less expensive for the nice quality of these racks, and anything slightly nicer is WAY more expensive, BUT like others have said, expect to modify/change hardware for your situation (only on the long bolts) and be patient with mounting them if you don't have the luxury of space between your roof rack crossbar and roof. With some tweaks, they work great for the casual kayaker who doesn't want to spend more on a carrier than the kayaks themselves.

Very solid carrier, easy to assemble

Purchased this set of J racks for my new Ascend FS12T Kayak. Shipped to my door in less than 2 days. I read a lot of the reviews and the difficulty people had putting the rack to together and I don't get it. The directions while not step by step are an exploded view of the carrier. All you have to do is look at the picture and add the items and bolts together as shown, I even had my 11 year old assemble one just using the instructions, and he had very little problems. Didn't have any problems getting the forks through the rubber piece (just wiggle it don't boil it!) and some of the bolts that hold the 2 forks together had to be physically rotated while pushed down on the bolt head in order to seat properly. The one issue I saw with the directions was it shows the nuts on the longer middle bolts going on AFTER the lower bracket, I think this is incorrect, I installed the nuts and tightened the nuts before I put on the lower bracket and star knob this allows easy removal and install without having to keep a wrench to tighten down nuts if done the way the diagram shows, if you look at the fourth picture down to the left of the product picture I think it shows it that way. Brackets are VERY, sturdy attached to one of my cross bars I haven't put on my crossover yet and tightened star knobs and it was SOLID, no movement at all. Wasn't missing any hardware, but yes the bag was dirty (BIG DEAL) Assembly took my son and I less than an hour to do both. Looks like a solid product, saw the same exact rack in a sporting good store for $75. Will be purchasing another set as soon as I get my son's yak which if it's up to him will be tomorrow! LOL If anyone has any questions feel free to ask.

Assembled in less than 15 minutes!

I had my eyes on this set for about a month, but I decided trek to the kayak and board shop to ask about some things, including how to carry my kayak on my roof. He asked if it was plastic of composite. Being plastic, he suggested a pair of straps and drew me up a diagram of how to put the kayak on my roof bars without extra equipment. If anything, he said get a pair of J cradles and pointed a the Thule Hull-A-Ports they carried. I picked up a couple US made small items at the shop and went home feeling confident about how to strap the kayak to the bars. The next day, I decided that I might as well spend the ~$30 on the TMS J-Bars. I read a bunch of reviews and felt that I could handle the assembly and take care of any fitting issues. They arrive and gather up my socket set, a rubber mallet, a couple adjustable wrenches, a file, and a can of Rust-Oleum. I open the box and I'm pleasantly surprised. There was an easy to understand assembly diagram and there wasn't any rust on the bars, just a couple light scuffs. Assembly for both bars only required a 13m socket, the mallet, and a bit less than 15 minutes of my time. Even though there were some light scuffs, I expected way worse and still give 5 stars. I will update my review after use.

Good

So i am a metal worker and a welder and iv seen a couple reviews on this saying that it broke on the first use and made super cheaply. Well i work with metal a lot and can say that for the money this is a solid product. It comes with everything you need to assemble but i will recommend you have a 1/2" ratchet. the things that feel cheap are the foam pieces and the rubber cover but other that that it is pretty good. the straps that come with it are OK but if you are going over 55mph i would recommend a ratchet strap. if you tighten the ratchet too much it can bend or break so just be careful. I did purchase 2 of them and they both look good and came with everything. i have not mounted them yet but the mounting look decent enough.

No brainer... holds the kayak on the roof.

Don't be a fool and buy the exact same product with a brand name. These are metal bars with foam cushions that hold your kayak on the car. Whoever wrote a review about not understanding how to screw them on, I'm not sure what that was all about. They're pretty dang simple and it takes a crescent wrench, a pair of pliers, and 20 minutes. True story, I bought these before last summer vacation and drove from Indiana to Brooklyn, NY, to Portland, Maine, then to Ashville, NC and back to Indiana with my kayak. They were mounted to a 1998 Toyota Sienna and we had no problems at all the whole trip. If you're looking for something to get the job done, this is it. As a matter of fact, I just bought another kayak this Christmas and I'll be purchasing another set of the same kind. just sayin.... Jeff in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Awesome

Ok let me start by saying I have looked at so many kayak roof carriers but kept coming back to this one. Well I have read so many reviews saying it's hard to assemble. Are you serious. I mean it's about as easy as anything I've ever put together. Granted mine came with no instructions but in about 15 seconds it was clear how to assemble. How anyone would spend hours assembling is a mystery to me. There are 6 bolts per unit. 4 short and 2 long. In about 5 minutes it was done. I mounted on my Toyota Sequoia roof rack in another 5 and was ready to go. I read in one review that the length of mounting hardware too long and gouged roof. Well duh you can easily shorten with a hacksaw or a Dremel if you need to. I carried a 14.6 foot riot edge kayak very easily. Hit over 75 and it didn't budge. What a bargain to carry your kayak. As to the straps well they were ok for my use so far. Overall I would highly rate this product. With the money I saved I got a nicer paddle. Ignore the negative reviews. If you have some basic common sense this will work. Great product

It works wonderfully to get them to the campground

Works well on the luggage rack for our truck (which was also purchased on Amazon) to hold Kayaks and Paddle boards. It is hard to tell from this picture but we are hauling 3 paddleboards and 3 kayaks. It works wonderfully to get them to the campground. We loved it so much we bought one for our oldest daughter to attach to the luggage rack on her Subaru to haul her paddleboard and her boyfriends kayak. Here is the link to the luggage rack in case you are wondering. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LG53622/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

EASY ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS

These seem well-made and are a steal at this price. The only issue is the assembly. EASY ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS The racks come with a one page sheet listing the parts on one side and a diagram on the other. The kit comes with a dinky little wrench but toss that and get yourself a 1/2 socket wrench. Unless you have a very deep 1/2 socket you will also need a 1/2 box or open-end wrench to tighten beyond the depth of your socket. You can do without the socket wrench … it's just more work without it. Here's the secret to assembly. You must place the rubber piece in boiling water for about 40-45 seconds! If you don't do this, you are in for a very frustrating and irritating experience. Also, I recommend assembling one bracket at a time … boil one rubber piece, assemble, boil the next rubber piece, assemble, etc. (I bought 2 sets so I had to do 4) so that the rubber is as pliable as possible when you need it to be. Another tip … lube the tips of the metal pieces. Lube the inside of the larger piece and the outside of smaller piece with Vaseline so they will slide together easily. Assembly: 1. Slide the larger piece into the rubber from either side. Refer to the diagram to make sure the rubber is right side up. 2. Slide the smaller piece into the other end of the rubber and line up the tips so one will slip inside the other. Once you get them mated, just give them a shove until fully seated (pretty easy if you lubed them). 3. Next, peer down thru all 6 holes and massage the rubber piece so that you have clear passage thru the entire structure for all 6 holes. Once you have that lined up, insert the 4 corner bolts. Put the metal plate in place, add the washers and tighten with the locknuts as shown in the diagram. 4. Now insert the long bolts, washer and tighten using the regular hex nuts (if you do this before tightening the corner bolts, the long bolts will impede your box or open-end wrench). NOTE: The diagram shows the washer and nut going on the long bolts underneath the bottom bracket … THE DIAGRAM IS WRONG! All bolts should be tightened against the same metal plate. 5. That's it for the assembly. Just set each rack on the roof rail of your car, slide the bottom bracket in place and tighten with the plastic knobs.

Works perfectly

Works as it's supposed to. No problems at all although I was a little confused as to how to put it together. I know it should seem pretty straight forward and some people may think I'm an idiot but there are several holes in the arms to install the hardware. I finally just lined up all the holes and put the hardware in but I'm not sure if all the holes there are so you can push the arms together to make the space for the kayak smaller or what and since there were no instructions (probably due to it being so simple) I just lined up all the holes. It may be adjustable but I didn't want to take any chances so I just made sure all the holes lined up but if it is adjustable the extra two to three inches I could push it together closer would work perfectly for me because I have a smaller kayak that goes into the j hooks and I have a larger kayak I'd like to lay flat on my roof rack but I'm a couple inches short from being able to do that (run out of room on the roof rack) so if it's safe to push the j hook in completely that would give my the room to mount the larger kayak flat but I don't want to take the chance just yet!

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