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Advice for car topping
Rita Zeidner
We cartop our two 13' plastic kayaks. We've always been able to use J-bars on a sedan. But we want to cartop on an SUV and we're too short to be able to use the J-Bars.  Taking portable stools along with us is not a viable (or safe) option for us.

So we are resigned to have to carrying the boats flat on top of the SUV. (we load them torpedo style from the back.)

Are the dents that the crossbars put in the bottom of the boats a problem? (The boats do undent pretty quickly when we put the boats out in the hot sun.But what if it's cool and or cloudy?)

Should we bother to invest in pads for the bars - about $35/pair , so an expenditure of about $70 for four foam pads.

Would pool noodles, or even a towel be a low-cost way to prevent denting?  

We have one set of cradles -- but would need to invest about $100 in new clamps that fit our new Yakima aero bars. (Our sedan has square Thule bars.) Should we make that investment, plus buy a second set of cradles?

Should we just throw money at the problem and call it a day?

Appreciate your thoughts. Feel free to respond directly to rzeidner@gmail.com.
Thanks! Rita
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