If you checked out our video covering how we attach the kayaks to the roof of our truck, you’ve seen that we used the Malone Versarail system as our roof rack.
This system is perfect for anyone that has a bare-roof (meaning that you don’t already have any roof rack system installed on your vehicle. Malone sells these in 50 and 58 inch lengths depending on the width of your vehicle’s roof. You can see what systems you would need for your vehicle via Malone’s fit guide.
The great thing about this Versarail system is that it is really easy to take on and off. If you watch our “install video” you can see I just leave our roof racks attached to the Malone Kayak mounts (*Sold separately from the roof rack*) we own. That way I can just put it all on as two pieces rather that having to worry about getting it all lined up every time.
When I first bought these bars I was concerned about how secure the kayaks really would be to the roof of the truck with suction cups…but honestly they do a great job. I just make sure I clean the suction cups and the truck roof each time I mount the rack to the roof.
To be fair, I’m not super happy with the way the “ratchet strap” goes inside the vehicle and is just above my head as I drive the truck. I’m sure this is situated a bit differently in each vehicle depending on the curvature of your roof…but this system is not something I would just leave on the truck full time due to that very reason.
If you want a more permanent solution on your vehicle’s roof, these probably aren’t the best roof racks for you. Malone, along with many other manufacturers such as Thule and Yakima, make more permanent solutions but will cost you a bit more money. After doing a lot of research online myself, this was really the best fit for the Nissan Frontier unless you had a factory installed roof rack already on the truck (looks pretty cool I might add).
I asked a Nissan dealer before I bought this particular rack if they would install the factory roof rack that you see on many Nissan Frontiers. Unfortunately they said that was not something they installed at their location. After looking between the different manufacturers I ended up settling on this particular system. I didn’t want to spend a ton of money, but wanted something that would still last a long time. Based on my previous experience with Malone products, I knew they were built well and built to last.
I used to own a 2008 Jeep Liberty with a roof rack already installed so I also used Malone’s Steel Top Cross Rail System. That particular system only works if you already have the vertical crossbars installed on your vehicle…but definitely make sure your vehicle is compatible with the crossbars first. What fit on my 2008 Jeep Liberty did not fit on my 2015 Jeep Cherokee.
If you think this might be something you would like to purchase, please make sure you get the right fit for your vehicle via the fit guide. If you want to purchase this item through Amazon, click the link below.
Amazon Affiliate Link (disclosure):
Adventure On!
