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PostPosted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 3:33 pm 
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I just purchased 3 of the Revolution 13' kayaks. One each for my wife, daughter, and myself.

I have a 2011 Subaru Outback with the factory roof rack. The factory rack is only rated at 150 pounds, which isn't enough for all three kayaks.

My local Hobie dealer also sells Thule products and thinks he can set me up with a system that will allow me to carry all three kayaks on my roof, but it will be pricey. I believe the Thule solution that he was recommending is still somehow tying onto my existing rack, so I don't quite understand how that will increase my weight capacity, but I'm wondering if I'm better off with a trailer setup anyway.

I don't have a hitch on the Subaru yet, but I have been wanting to put on on anyway. The factory hitch I can get installed is only a 1.25" receiving and not the normal 2", but I'm assuming that would be sufficient for a lightweight kayak trailer.

I'd appreciate any advice on which direction you would recommend for transporting these 3 Revolutions at the same time. If you have any web links to trailer setups for 3 kayaks or photos to share, then please do.


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 1:50 am 
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Location: New Zealand
Could you get 3 Outbacks on a Subaru Revolution :lol: sorry couldn't resist that.

I have no doubt you could get the 3 yaks on the roof on a Thule. They would create quite a bit of wind resistance and I imagine you would get better gas mileage with a light weight trailer plus the option of carrying your kayaking gear on the trailer, if you are going away on holiday this leaves plenty of room in the car.

I have racks that I use when going away on my own and a trailer when my wife and I go away with our yaks together - best of both worlds. My trailer is simply my garden trailer with bolt on racks, the yak gear goes into the trailer bed in plastic boxes. My car is an 1800cc Mazda - tows the lot without problems.

I would post a picture except I am a bit of a techni - phobe and haven't mastered the seemingly difficult technique of posting on this site - unfortunately my IT savvy kids have all left home!


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 7:29 am 
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Location: Ontario, Canada
A couple things. Subaru rates their roof rack at that weight for two reasons, one is for the strength of the rack, and the second is for the safety of the vehicle. Putting that much weight up high raises the centre of gravity and will change the way the vehicle reacts in an emergency situation like a quick swerve etc. Even the Stability control on the car is set up for the vehicle without that amount of weight on the roof. Interestingly, the Audi A5 senses how much weight is on the roof and adjusts it's stability control system to suit (within a certain weight limit)

That being said, a Thule rack will help you carry the three boats.

Finally, on fuel mileage. I get better mileage towing my 200 lb Bravo on my 300 lb trailer, than I did with my 115 lb Adventure Island on the roof.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 8:27 am 
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Location: Venice Fla/Summer New England
Hi Paddler,
Because of my long trip (Massachusette to Florida) hauling a tandem island my sources recommended a Sea Lion S-16-1200 trailer which comes with 12 inch wheels. Even with the rack modification the cost will be quite less than the Hobie TI trailer with 8” wheels. You might look at a Sea Lion and see if you can pick one up that fits your needs.


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 8:51 am 
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west coast papaya wrote:
Hi Paddler,
Because of my long trip (Massachusette to Florida) hauling a tandem island my sources recommended a Sea Lion S-16-1200 trailer which comes with 12 inch wheels. Even with the rack modification the cost will be quite less than the Hobie TI trailer with 8” wheels. You might look at a Sea Lion and see if you can pick one up that fits your needs.


The Hobie Trailer works awesome - no need for larger wheels and tires - you would only really need those if you had a heavier load. The larger wheels aren't necessary for such a small trailer, this is info direct from the manufacturer.


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:03 am 
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Jbernier wrote:
this is info direct from the manufacturer.


The manufacturer of the trailer says that their trailer is the one to buy? I'm shocked. :)

I'm a big fan of all things Hobie, and I hate to disagree with anyone from there, but I have to say, when I had my trailer built, they wouldn't build it with smaller wheels than 12 inches.

I agree that the Hobie Trailer will work fine, but larger wheels rotate less, which creates less heat, especially at highway speeds, which in turn requires less maintenance of the hubs.

I wouldn't expect the manufacturer of the trailer to say that their trailer isn't up to the job, I'm sure it is. But if you talk to other manufacturers of trailers, they'll want to put 12" wheels on any trailer.

Just my two cents worth, you don't have to take my word over Hobie's, keep in mind, they're much more knowledgeable of their equipment than I am.

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 11:10 am 
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Heavy galvanized trailers - yes large wheel...Light weight kayak trailer with a tiny load - small wheels - yes they are spinning faster - but the heat is also from the load... trust us on that... the large rims are fine, we have them on the sailboat trailers that need them - but a lightweight kayak trailer it's way over kill. At such a light load - with bigger wheels - if the load is too light it will be a very harsh ride and the trailer bounces down the highway = our trailer manufacturer (Trailex Trailer Co.) has many years of experience in the business - and what they say we have no reason to dispute.


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PostPosted: Tue Apr 03, 2012 9:47 am 
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It should be noted that the 4 x 8, load range "B" tires on the Trailex trailer are only inflated to 15 psi.
I own this trailer to carry my Outback.....there are no issues with this size tire.
The trailer does not bounce down the road and tracks superbly.

About 42 years ago, I owned a small tent trailer.....same 4 x 8 size tires.....the trailer weighed just short of 500#.....I pulled this trailer camping for 4 years and covered over 5000 miles.....much of the time at 65 - 70 mph....never had a problem with the tires or wheel bearings.

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:31 am 
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Thanks everyone for your responses. I am leaning towards the trailer route at this point. It will cost me more, especially since I have to get a hitch installed on my Subaru, but I think it will be money better spent in the long run.

I don't see any of the Hobie trailers set up for more than 2 kayaks, and it looks like most of them are set up for their Island boats.

I looked around online a bit and it looks like there are just a few big manufacturer's of aluminum kayak trailers. They look pretty simply made. If I had the base axle, suspension, and the time I would like to make one of these myself, but that is not the case right now.

If anyone has any links to reputable aluminum trailer dealers, please feel free to pass them along.

Thanks again.


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PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 10:19 am 
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http://trailex.com/

Look at their kayak/canoe trailers - and also their SUT line - they offer several trailers that carry multiple boats. Trailex is who we use to build our trailers, but we don't offer the multi-boat types because they are just so specialized, and we don't have much demand for those - but we do have tons of demand for Island and Pro Angler so we focused on those only (along with our sailboat offerings of course)

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PostPosted: Wed Apr 04, 2012 5:30 pm 
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Picked up the new kayaks today and got a new hitch installed on the Subaru. Still need to come up with a solution for hauling them as using my Dakota and my car hauler trailer is not going to be ideal.

Image

We got them out of the bubble wrap and safely into the barn, but didn't get any further with them tonight. You can see my daughter is happy with her new blue Revo.

Image


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 05, 2012 6:16 am 
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Just buy this one from Harbor Freight for $190 and build some custom saddles/supports for your Revos.

http://www.harborfreight.com/870-lb-cap ... 42708.html

I can't see spending $2000+ for a trailer just to hold 3 kayaks...

Also, check out this thread for ideas on the modifications.

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=41773&p=171733&hilit=harbor+freight+trailer#p171733


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 06, 2012 11:27 pm 
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Stack it! Here are our 4 outbacks:

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:51 am 
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When we used to ski, even the empty ski racks on the roofs our mid size v6 vehicles caused a dramatic drop in mileage. They didn't really impact my OJ Simpson Bronco with its big engine.

With my Ridgeline and our Oasis on top for a couple of trips, we could see the gas gauge dropping as we drove at expressway and normal highway speed.

With our Malone Sport Trailer, there is basically no impact with mileage, the noise if any is in back of us. The noise level with the racks, saddles, tiedown ropes and other straps in front and the Oasis on top came close to putting my wife on her choice to hitchhiking. :roll:

augaug wrote:
A couple things. Subaru rates their roof rack at that weight for two reasons, one is for the strength of the rack, and the second is for the safety of the vehicle. Putting that much weight up high raises the centre of gravity and will change the way the vehicle reacts in an emergency situation like a quick swerve etc. Even the Stability control on the car is set up for the vehicle without that amount of weight on the roof. Interestingly, the Audi A5 senses how much weight is on the roof and adjusts it's stability control system to suit (within a certain weight limit)

That being said, a Thule rack will help you carry the three boats.

Finally, on fuel mileage. I get better mileage towing my 200 lb Bravo on my 300 lb trailer, than I did with my 115 lb Adventure Island on the roof.

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2012 5:53 pm 
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I wasted a week waiting for an online auction to end last night. GovDeals.com had a 6-place 10-year old Trailex trailer I had been hoping to get at a reasonable price. It was owned by Kent State University, so if I had won, I would have had to spend about $150 on gas to go pick it up.

I had my max bid in my head and luckily I stuck to it instead of getting caught up in the heat of the moment during the last five minutes of bidding.

So, today I followed up with one of the other aluminum trailer manufacturers I had found online. They don't sell direct and none of their dealers seemed to stock the trailer I am interested in, but today I dug deeper.

I'm happy to report I bought the model from them that I wanted over the phone today, sight unseen. I still have to drive some to pick it up, but only about 2/3 the distance I would have had to for the used Trailex.

Going to pick it up Saturday. Details and pics to follow.


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