Options for Transporting a Kayak on 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 That Tows a Travel Trailer  

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Since your pickup is towing a travel trailer your best option for transporting a single 12-foot kayak on any long trip will be to use a roof-rack-mounted kayak carrier such as a J-style unit like the Yakima JayLow # Y04073 on an aftermarket roof rack installed on your cab.

The JayLow offers side loading, which will be useful on your pickup, and it can handle a single kayak up to 80-lbs, or two kayaks up to 55-lbs each when used in its vertical mode. This carrier will fit on almost all roof rack bar types. All J-style kayak carriers are shown on the linked page.

Roof racks to fit your double cab, shown on the other link, include the Rhino-Rack Vortex Aero bar rack made of parts # RRVA150B-2, # RRRLKVA and # DK377. This rack's 59-inch aero-style bars will be quieter than other shapes and it provides a healthy 165-lb weight rating on your truck. The JayLow carrier will fit well on these bars.

If you are travelling only very short distances and/or only at back road speeds there is a very low-cost solution but it is not suitable for long cross-country trips on the interstates. Foam block carriers like # MPG152 and the others shown on the linked page require no roof rack at all, are lightweight and inexpensive. They mount right on the cab roof and include tie-down straps for the kayak. Do not use one of these if you'll be doing a steady 75-mph on the interstate for hundreds and hundreds of miles.

The linked article on watersport carriers will help you consider the best option for your circumstances.

expert reply by: Adam R

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