Thule J Rack/Hull-a-Port Question

What is the minimum, and I mean minimum, bar space needed to fit a J Rack on a roof rack. I have a factory rack on a Mountaineer. I'd like to be able to fit my cargo box and my kayak on the rack. I refuse to spend $300-$400+ to buy a rack to go on my rack.
I don't care if I can't open my box, and I don't care if the J Rack is installed backwards (with the longer ends of the cradles pointed out) if that's what I have to do to make it fit. At this point, IIRC, I have about 7-9" of free space. Doable?????
I'm also open to home made jerry rigged options!

I have about 7-9" of free space. Doable?????

I don't think so- I have the "pro" version and assume it's the same dimensions- as you can see in the picture, from the top of the J support to the far right of my factory installed bar, its 12-13 ". I assume your cargo box is at least 12' high. Even backwards you will still need 7-8", not including the depth of the kayak beyond the base support.

good luck

Marty

Thanks for the response...I think the pros are a bit more bulky due to them being able to be folded down, but still pretty similar in size.

Kind of what I assumed, I was just hoping for somebody to give me some good news. I was hoping with the way they're angled there might be a bit of clearance that it would work.

Believe it or not, it actually fits!

I should have done this from the beginning, but I work part time at LL Bean so I went over and tried it out. They sit right up against my cargo box, and I can't open it, but I'm fine with that. The front crossbar must be a little shorter because it's a hair tighther there, but still works.

The best part is my boss told me to just borrow his spair set!

That's great- I've had a couple of different set ups for my kayaks and the j racks are my favorites

FWIW to those pondering a rig for a boat and a roof box, I have the Thule Hullavator and Atlantis 1200 on my Xterra and it works out fine. My only concern is that my kayak is 21' (tandem) and the maximum distance between cross bars for the roof box is less than the distance I'd prefer for the boat, though it works. I'm thinking of installing an additional crossbar as the cost is modest compared to a misshaped hull.