The Jeep Wrangler is one of the top vehicles for an outdoor enthusiasts. Few vehicles have the capability to get you out deep into the wilderness like the Jeep Wrangler can. It is honestly quite surprising how well a stock Jeep Wrangler can handle even the roughest of roads or trails. Many whitewater kayakers have turned to the Jeep Wrangler as their vehicle of choice for getting them to the river. Getting all your whitewater kayaking gear into a Jeep Wrangler may seem like a job in itself but I will share some of the best ways to carry a whitewater kayak on a two door Jeep Wrangler with a soft top.

Carrying a Whitewater Kayak on a 2-Door Jeep Wrangler

Although the Jeep Wrangler is notorious for their off road performance, they are also known for their lack of storage space. I have paddled whitewater ever since I was ten and I have driven a Jeep Wrangler ever since I got my license. It has been a struggle to find ways to fit boats into/onto my Jeep without breaking down and buying a roof rack. (I was trying to avoid doing any drilling.)

Carrying a Freestyle Whitewater Kayak in my 2-Door Jeep Wrangler Without a Roof Rack

My first attempt to put my whitewater kayak in my Jeep was simplified by the fact that I was transporting my Dagger Jitsu which is only 5’9″ in length as well as the fact that I was only going to be driving three miles down the road to a park and play spot. My solution was to unzip the back window and slide the boat in at an angle sort of resting on the spare tire carrier and sticking out the back.

To do this the rear seat needed to be removed. Removing the back seat opens up a surprising amount of space in a Jeep Wrangler. There is enough room for the bow or stern of the kayak to rest against the back of the driver seat with extra room for gear to the side of the boat. There is even enough room for a second kayak to slide in on the other side of the spare tire carrier.

This was fine for a short drive on a summer day but this solution has caused me problems when it comes to winter time, rainy days and long drives. In the winter having the boat sticking out the back of the car invites all the cold air into the car. On rainy days water tends to get into the Jeep which results in a musty smell. I hoped that there was a way to get the boat into the back of the Jeep without having it stick out the back.

Luckily I found that I can fit my entire Dagger Jitsu 5.9 into my two door Jeep Wrangler with the back sealed. To do this it does require that you slide the passenger seat all the way up and sort of position it diagonally in the back. So yeah, you can fit a Dagger Jitsu or other similar boat in the back of a two door Jeep Wrangler; but what about larger river runners and creek boats?

Carrying a Creek/ River Running Kayak in a 2-Door Jeep Wrangler Without a Roof Rack

It turned out that I could easily fit a single Dagger Jitsu in the back of my two door Jeep Wrangler. The question is what if a you want to carry a larger boat in your Jeep? In my experience you can carry larger boats but don’t expect to carry a long boat like a Dagger Greenboat or a Liquidlogic Stinger.

To fit a river running or creek boat you will need to remove your rear seat or at least lean it forward. You will then unzip the rear of the Jeep and slide the bow/ stern of the kayak through the back window and between the two front seats. Yes this is sort of an extreme measure but its really the only option if you do not have a roof rack. I have fit a Liquidlogic Party Braaap in the back of my two door Jeep Wrangler and driven about eight miles to the put in at the Nantahala River. To say the least it looked a little ridiculous hanging four feet out the back of my Jeep. A Pyranha 9R II would look very similar in the back of a two door Jeep Wrangler. If you had a four door unlimited Jeep Wrangler you could get away with having longer creek boats as they would not hang so far out the back window.

Can You Strap Kayaks On Top Of a Jeep Wrangler Soft Top? Can You Strap A Kayak To The Roll Bars?

The thought of just strapping whitewater kayaks on top of my soft top has entered my mind many times. I’m sure if you put some sort of padding down that prevented the boat from rubbing the top, you could get away with passing straps through the door jams and over the kayak. This may be a little sketchy but it would work. I may try to strap a kayak on top of my soft top the next time I have a short drive with my kayak to see if it works.

Another option would be to drop the top completely and just strap the kayak to the roll bars on the Jeep. This may work, the only problem I could see having would be the bar directly above the windshield getting scratched. From what I have seen many kayakers do this with their large fishing kayaks which are much heavier than whitewater kayaks. For this reason It seems like it would be easy to strap a whitewater kayak down to the roll bars and head to the river. The only downside to this is if you are driving a long distance, having the top off on the highway can be annoying.

Best Jeep Wrangler Roof Rack For Whitewater Kayaks

If you have a hard top on your Jeep Wrangler you have more roof rack options than if you have a soft top. With a hard top you can get roof rack kits that basically just attach two cross bars to the top of the Jeep. This is the most clean cut solution to carrying whitewater kayaks on a Jeep Wrangler. There are a number of different options like this. There is one from Extreme Terrain that is pretty basic but functional and another one from Quadratec that has a bit more complex and even has a ladder.

If you have a soft top on your Jeep Wrangler, finding an affordable roof rack that looks like it belongs on the Jeep can be a struggle. There is a rack from Smittybilt that sort of wraps around the entire Jeep and attaches to the frame. The problem with this rack is that it requires drilling. Another Jeep roof rack option that is great for carrying whitewater kayaks during the summer time is something like This Rack. It attaches to the roll bars while the top is off, providing a surface for you to place up to three whitewater kayaks.

I will have another post with more details about the best racks for Jeep Wranglers soon!