August 19, 2010
Rack Attack Team
Here in the land of 10,000 lakes owning a kayak means unlimited possibilities for recreational activity. Whether joyriding on some of the metro areas lakes or fishing from your kayak on Lake Winnibigosh you're going to need a way to get your gear to the shore while keeping your kayak safe and free of any damage. Here at Rack Attack we specialize in creating racks that are specific to the needs of any given person no matter what type of vehicle they drive.
Today we're looking at an Audi A6 wagon that needs to be capable of carrying at least one kayak (for now!) The long, raised factory rails provided by Audi make for an excellent place to begin building the rack. The one bolt installation design makes installing and uninstalling the rack as easy as pulling back the cover, using the built in allen wrench to loosen the bolt, and removing the rack from your factory rails.
In this particular application, because of the length of the factory rails, we were able to set the towers a great distance apart which will make for a much more stable base when hauling the kayak or any other long load.
To complete the base rack system we used a pair of Thule 50" load bars which will make this rack capable of carrying nearly any of the accessories on the market today. The accessory that we chose to best get the kayak from point A to point B was the Yakima Bowdown. The Bowdown is a J cradle style rack that has a steel substrate core surrounded by a durable foam padding making it not only one of the strongest most durable products available, but also one that is sure to be safe for your boat as well.
On top of the durability of the Bowdown there are a couple of features that make this product one step above the rest. The Bowdown uses an integrated SKS locking system so that even though you're out paddling, your cradles are safely secured to your vehicle. Another bonus feature (and the reason for the name) is that with only the turn of a knob the cradles can fold down and out of the way of low overhangs and garage doors.
For any questions, concerns, or comments please call or stop by at any of Rack Attacks 9 locations throughout the US and Canada to have one of our rack experts get you all hooked up with a brand new rack. Happy paddling!
