Respectfully, I'd consider another option. Aero bars are sleek, but for a cargo box plus a kayak, you realy need the rigidity of Yakima HD Bar Crossbars or Rhino-Rack Heavy Duty Bar. Aero shapes still flex too much under heavy stress, and honestly, the T&C rails are the real bottleneck here, so dont exceed the factory roof capacity even with better bars! TL;DR: Get HD bars to stop bowing, but still respect the vehicle's weight limit.

Sooo, I've been thinking about your question for a few hours and it honestly brings back some pretty stressful memories from a trip we took back in 2016. I had a similar Town & Country and tried to "make it work" with the stock setup plus some cheap universal bars. Big mistake. We were halfway through Utah with a massive cargo box and a mountain bike when I noticed the whole assembly *vibrating* like crazy. It was terrifying seeing those rails flex in the rearview mirror... I was convinced the whole roof was gonna rip off at 70mph. Basically, what I learned the hard way is that even if the crossbars are strong, the factory side rails on these vans are usually the real weak point. If you're doing a heavy box AND a kayak, you're definitely pushing it. After my near disaster, I upgraded to something way more rigid. I ended up going with the Yakima CoreBar Steel Crossbars (60 inch) paired with the Yakima TimberLine Towers for Raised Side Rails. Unlike the aluminum aero bars mentioned earlier that can sometimes still feel a bit springy, these CoreBars are roll-formed steel. They have that teardrop shape to keep the wind noise down, but they're stiff as a board. It literally changed the whole feel of the drive. Another solid, budget-friendly option I've seen work well on the T&C is the Malone SteelTop Square Steel Roof Rack (50 inch). It's a bit more old school and might whistle a little more, but for serious hauling, it's tough to beat steel. Just a heads up though, even with a great rack, you gotta check those mounting bolts every few hundred miles. Unfortunately, the vibrations from a heavy load on a long trip can loosen things up over time. Stay safe out there! 👍

oh man, I totally feel u on this. I had a 2014 T&C and basically had a mini heart attack seeing how much those stock bars flexed under my cargo box... like it was literally bowing. honestly, the factory rails are way too soft for a heavy load plus a kayak. For your budget, I'd suggest looking at these: * Rhino-Rack Vortex ROC25 Flush Roof Rack System - Usually around $450 and feels way more secure than stock.
* Yakima JetStream Black 60 inch Crossbars paired with Yakima SkyLine Towers - Great if u need extra width for the kayak. The biggest lesson I learned? Even with heavy-duty bars, the van's built-in tracks are still the limit - so dont over-tighten everything but definitely check the bolts every few stops. It just makes the highway drive less stressful, ngl. gl with the trip!! peace.

So basically the consensus is stock rails suck and you NEED rigid bars. Reply #2 is spot on about HD bars, but for your budget, I'd compare these: - Thule SquareBar Evo Load Bars: Steel bars that are SO strong and basically indestructible.
- Inno Square Base Roof Rack System: Fantastic value and stays rock solid for years. Honestly, square bars are the way to go for maximum weight. Square beats aero for heavy hauling EVERY time!

Ok so I've been doing a ton of research for my own van because I'm also worried about that flex. Honestly, if your doing it yourself, you don't really need to pay a shop to install these. I'm a total beginner at this stuff but realized you can save a lot of money just by doing the bolt-on setup in your driveway. Since the big brands are already covered, I found some more budget-friendly but still beefy options that fit our T&C side rails. Here's what I’m looking at for a DIY install:
- Malone SteelTop Universal Cross Rails - These are high-strength steel and they come basically pre-assembled. They're way cheaper than Thule but still feel super solid for heavy loads.
- BrightLines Anti-Theft Roof Rack Crossbars - These are specifically molded for the Town & Country rails so there's no guesswork with "universal" fit kits.
- Get a basic TEKTON 1/4 Inch Drive Click Torque Wrench - Using this made me feel sooo much better about the bars not flying off because I knew they were tight enough. Do you think these would be enough for the kayak too? I'm still learning but these seem reallyyy sturdy for the price!

Regarding what #5 said about Ok so I've been doing a ton of... research and doing it yourself in the driveway, you might want to be a bit careful there. Sometimes those easy bolt-on setups turn into a massive headache if a bolt snaps or the alignment is just a tiny bit off. honestly, DIY can be such a trap. Actually had a moment to think about this more and it reminds me of when my brother-in-law tried to save a few bucks on his 2013 T&C. He figured he could just rig up a custom platform using some old lumber and U-bolts from the hardware store. spent three days measuring and sawing in his garage. we finally get the thing loaded up for a trip to the coast and about ten miles down the interstate, the whistling sound was so loud we couldnt even hear the radio. we had to pull over at a gas station and take the whole thing apart right there in the parking lot because the wind resistance was literally pulling his weather stripping up. we spent the rest of the trip with his gear crammed into the footwells and everyone was miserable. what a total disaster that turned into...