Paul, You should be okay with your 50lb. kayak. I carry two kayaks and a surfboard on my Yakama rack. One of my kayaks is 19ft. long (Surfski). I have carried all three at the same time down the hiway for 600 miles straight at 65-70 mph. The sideloader brackets come with a large backing plate. I read somewhere that it also helps to use large washers with the backing plate, which is what I did. One thing I do with my kayaks, if I am going any distance at high speeds, is put a strap across the bow porton of the kayaks and through the tie-downs on the luggage rack area above the driver/passenger area. This seems to take some of the stress off the wind force trying to pull up the pop-top and also takes some stress off of the racks themselves. Good luck, Bryan Jones '91 Westy '98 Beetle |
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