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 Post subject: Car top transport setup
PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 8:17 pm 
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O.K. Hobie kayak owners I need your expertise and experience. I'm about to purchase an Oasis and Revolution for family kayaking. I have an Honda Pilot that'll be our transport vehicle.

I'm planning on getting a Thule or Yakima base rack system. I'd like to have a load assist system that'll let my wife load the Revolution, or the Oasis if she wants to take it, in the top down orientation Hobie recommends for transporting their kayaks. I'll also need room to get both kayaks on top when the whole family heads out.

I'd love to hear from the Hobie kayak community the exact setups others are using to car top their kayaks and get advice on what setup might work best for us. If anyone is using bottom down saddle mount systems have you had issues with them denting the hull of the kayak? Seems like it would be easier to load up bottom down but I don't want to risk deforming the hull if that's a common problem.

There are a lot of options out there and I'd love to hear what's working for Hobie owners out there! Thanks in advance for taking the time to share your experiences.


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 10:49 am 
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Joined: Wed Oct 10, 2012 11:20 pm
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Location: London UK
snyderbd wrote:
O.K. Hobie kayak owners I need your expertise and experience. I'm about to purchase an Oasis and Revolution for family kayaking. I have an Honda Pilot that'll be our transport vehicle.

I'm planning on getting a Thule or Yakima base rack system. I'd like to have a load assist system that'll let my wife load the Revolution, or the Oasis if she wants to take it, in the top down orientation Hobie recommends for transporting their kayaks. I'll also need room to get both kayaks on top when the whole family heads out.

I'd love to hear from the Hobie kayak community the exact setups others are using to car top their kayaks and get advice on what setup might work best for us. If anyone is using bottom down saddle mount systems have you had issues with them denting the hull of the kayak? Seems like it would be easier to load up bottom down but I don't want to risk deforming the hull if that's a common problem.

There are a lot of options out there and I'd love to hear what's working for Hobie owners out there! Thanks in advance for taking the time to share your experiences.


1 roller on the back of the roof rack - if it is high in the air

2 thule sliding kayak mounts make it easier to put it on top

3 thule lashing rope front and back

4 live in England where it is cold and your kayak wont melt when it is the right way up

5 don't drive through a car park with restricted head room - I did and now have a slightly lower roof rack

CC

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PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 5:16 pm 
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Posts: 107
I have been doing research myself on the topic and am between the Thule Hulivator and Slipstream. Both seems like good, but expensive options. When I get an Outback, I will likely spring for the Hulivator.


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PostPosted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 4:23 pm 
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Location: Virginia - USA
May wish to read this thread for different options/solutions:

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=41373

Bob

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 2:23 pm 
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Location: Lafayette, La, USA
I tried saddle mounts early on, with boat upright, and with my blue Revo, I quickly had wear showing where grit/grime got between and began sanding the boat. ugh.

Now I use those small canoe gunwales mounts on my bars., and carry boat upside down.
http://www.rei.com/product/849951/yakima-keelover-canoe-carrier
Bought the earlier versions cheap on ebay, work great, when positioned properly the boat is locked in.

Regarding load assist.... I have a tall 4runner. From the side of the truck, starting with boat parallel with truck, front of boat about even with front tire. I lift the front of the upside down boat, onto top of a towel over the front door and front bar. It now won't slide or move while pinned there, as I then move to the boat rear, lift and ease it forward, then over the 2nd rear bar. Then just slowly walk each end of the boat into the gunwale holders.

This youtube load is very similar, but without the extra bars/parts. And my boat is upside down.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH5VyRuotLE

I used to load from rear using these same gunwale holders, but boat crashed off to side a few times before I reached them! :shock:

Side load is the way to go! No scratching, and never lift more than 1/2 the boat weight, all with good control.

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 6:47 pm 
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Joined: Mon Feb 25, 2013 7:38 pm
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Thanks all for the great feedback so far on my question. I very much appreciate everyone's time and effort put into replying. Keep'em coming please.

Many thanks for the link to the older transporting thread - lots of good info there.

I had though about using the canoe gunwale mounts and riding the kayaks top down as Hobie recommends. Glad to hear that setup is working for someone. Sounds like those mounts, maybe some bar pads between and one of the extension bars Thule and Yakima offer for side loading may be a good system to start with. The extension bars should make it a little easier for us to single person load.

I like the idea of sliding on from the back bottom down over a roller but, I live in the Southern United States. I'm just paranoid the heat down here will cause denting problems if I carrying bottom down - especially on the heavier Oasis. Rather try top down first and see how it goes. May change my mind after a few trips though and go bottom down! We'll see.

Thanks again for the great info. Love the Internet and the collective wisdom it contains. Looking forward to adding kayaking to the family's outdoor resume this summer.


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:27 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2011 10:21 am
Posts: 62
Location: Portland, Oregon
I transport my Oasis (and Revo too) on a ladder rack on my Ford Ranger, hull down. I position the yak at about a 30 degree angle to side of the truck - stern centered behind, and bow about even with the rear axle. I lift the bow onto the rear bar, (side bars keep the yak from sliding off the side) and then go to the stern and lift it, and then push it the rest of the way on. I lift only half the kayak at a time. (I added handles to the sides of the stern to help me control the stern better.)
When I have the kayak up on the crossbars, I lift it slightly and slip two 6' long piece of 1" PVC pipe covered with insulation between the yak and the crossbars. The pipes run lengthwise and fit into the grooves on the bottom of the Oasis. (On the Revo I use 1/2" pipe.) This supports the bottom of the kayak and keeps it off the ladder rack crossbars. I found I needed to use duct tape to wrap around the pipe insulation where it contacts the crossbar, otherwise the insulation gets torn up.

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