Hi all
Freelander 1 TD4 5dr (2002)
Thinking of driving to the Western Isles this summer and taking the kayaks (two Ocean Kayak Frenzy's - specifications: http://www.oceankayak.com/kayaks/single_kayaks/frenzy/ ) with us (and paddles etc). My questions are:
1) is my Land Rover built to support the weight of these? Kayaks and paddles, including motorway speed driving etc... - what can I do/shouldn't I do
2) what equipment do I need/want to make this happen? And how do I go about attaching them? All I have to start from is the standard roof rails.

Thanks in advance

Your Freelander is built to take 75Kgs on the roof rails. I've had getting on for 300Kgs on mine without any real noticeable changed in handling. It leans a bit more than normal when cornering, but that's all. However I've only put that weight on the roof when collecting wood and the like from the local timber yard.

So considering you will be travelling at motorway speed. It's best to keep the weight to the recommended 75Kgs (160Lb)
Two Kayaks at 20Kg and a couple of paddles will be under that weight, even after you factor in the Kayak carrier bracket and cross bars. So you will be fine imho.
I put this on my Freelander regularly and don't notice much difference in the way it drives.

Used to carry a one man and a two man on my old 3dr. Standard cross bars and upright bars. Padded bars and strapped on.

Thanks both for replying - very helpful, exactly what I needed to know. I scoured the internet and managed to get some unused Freelander 1 crossbars at a very reasonable price (£20 for future reference).

I'll give the upright bars and padding a look into as well - the two kayaks I have are built to stack so was thinking of just strapping padding onto the cross bars and tying the kayaks on upside down flat on top.

I'll post a photo this summer when I have the kayaks attached in case anyone else is in a similar situation.

As promised (over a year ago, apologies it’s late), photos of how I attached (one of) my ocean kayak to cross bars (eBay, genuine Freelander). Given one kayak fits on the other all I would do (and I tested this) is place the other on top and use the same strap system, very secure. Thought it might be useful for other owners to know how I tied them on. I drove from Northumberland to the far West of the Isle of Skye in a day, checking the straps at the end of the journey and Dalwhinnie - they didn’t move a millimetre! Noise was tremendous at 55mph+, mainly from the shape of the kayak. No change to driving whatsoever.

Those cross rails look just like a pair I picked up on our Kiwi eBay, not sure if they were off a Freelander, don't think they were LR. They didn't come with a key though which was a bugger.

A few months later @htr bought a pair of rails as well. iirc I picked them up for him as they were in Chch. They did come with keys and the keys worked on my rails to, so got a couple cut. Begs the question, do all rails use the same key!