Wagon or SUV?

[22Tango]

I'm looking to get a relatively inexpensive vehicle to help with moving my kayaks. I camp a lot also, and my current 4 dr sedan isn't getting it done any more.

Since I expect to use whatever I get to also cartop the kayak, i've been researching and have seen many suggestions that a wagon like a subaru outback or forester, or the volvo xc70 are great because they have the lower roof for raising the kayak. The also have supposedly good gas mileage.

The kool kid in me sees an suv. Opinions on the 'net seem to say that its more difficult to cartop alone with an suv. With the exception of meet and greets, I am almost always alone while kayaking.

I use foam blocks now, so either way I see a roof rack system in my future, though I hullavator is out of the budget.

My question, should I be concerned about the suv height issue? I may move to peddle kayaks sometime in the future (but not for a couple years), so perhaps the suv with a trailer hitch makes sense. Any comments/ suggestions would be appreciated.

[RavensDfense]

Have you considered a smaller pickup with a bed extender? Decent gas mileage and loading a yak into the bed of a truck is about as simple as it gets.

[22Tango]

I did look but I may again. I guess I didn't know much about bed extenders so I thought a roof rack may be easier. Do you have a pickup? I may want a cap or something for that too.

[Pat Smith]

I would second the pickup. I have a Jeep Wrangler and toss my yaks on the top.. it is far harder to get the yak above your head than it is to get it waist high like in a truck. I hear Ford is coming out with a new Ranger(they were discontinued for a couple years). Might be worth looking into.. or an old ranger, or S10.

[bignose]

I have a Subaru Outback. I really like it.
It has a built in roof rack. The lift over with my canoe (55 lbs.) isn't too bad.
I killed myself trying to load the canoe onto a Honda Pilot SUV. The lift over was more than 6 feet. I had to slide it from the back end over the crossbars.
The Honda did have better storage capacity since it was wider, but how much gear do you need to carry?

Also a real good snow/rain/mud vehicle. The Pilot had 4WD, but the transmission disengages the 4WD at 18 mph. The Subaru's is full time.

The only drawback is unless you opt for the $600.00 factory trailer hitch, you need to have some Thule Quick Loops ($19.95 on Amazon) or homemade straps to tie the front and rear bridles onto.
I place a set in the tailgate and a set under the hood.

I would not recommend using the Subaru to tow much more than a light trailer. I towed my 17' Center Console with it, but it wasn't real happy about it, so I sold the boat.

[EMSer]

The extra height of an SUV could prove problematic in car topping your yak. I do not know what you paddle now, but the ease of loading and unloading your hull can have a direct correlation to how often you end up using it. I have definitely been guilty of not going out because I didn't want to deal with the hassle of putting my kayak on my car just for a quick outing.

My solution is (albeit uncommon) to keep my boat on my Suburu all the time. It negatively impacts my mileage, but I do not hesitate to go, even for a short trip, with everything at my fingertips. I also keep my rods and assorted gear in the vehicle as well so spontaneity and opportunity are regularly taken advantage of. A truck may not offer the ability to keep everything securely with you.

Another consideration against an SUV is that, after a long day of paddling, when your arms may already be spent, humping a boat up above you head is especially onerous.

[moc]

I have a Honda 2003 Pilot. Very reliable vehicle so far. Never broke down in the 230k miles that I have amassed on it. I have several kayak friends who have the Suburu vehicles and they are great too and lower to load a kayak on the roof than an SUV. With that being said, I love my pilot. I think you just need to get the right tool to do the job, in order to make it easy loading your kayak on your vehicle. Using foam blocks on a pilot would make it hard to load my Hobie Revolution, but when I got the Thule Slip Stream Rack, it made my like so easy. With the Slipstream, you are only lifting half the weight of your Kayak, and your kayak literally slides (slip) onto the roof rack when you are putting it up there. So if your kayak is 80 pounds, you are only lifting 40 pounds at a time. Now, that you can the kayak without breaking your back, you now have a vehicle that has a lot of room inside to car camp when needed.

[echo5oscar]

A truck is by far the fastest. I could unload/launch in 3 or 4 minutes if I wanted to. And be loaded up and gone just as fast. If you consider a truck but don't want a full size, the small 2 wheel drives like a Toyota would be great with an over head rack. Higher than full size truck beds, but a good bit lower than an suv or similar.

I never worried about my outback sticking out of the back of my Ram 1500, with the 6' bed plus tailgate.

[RavensDfense]

I have a Silverado with a Bak Flip cap. It folds up in sections and allows me to keep things out of the cab and locked up when I am out fishing. I also had a solid flat cap on my old truck and I like the Bak Flip much better. With the tailgate down on a full sided pickup I do not need a bed extended while hauling a 12' Hobie Outback.

[bunnielab]

I am kicking around the same idea, but I want a minivan I can fit the kayak into fully rigged. As it will be a second vehicle, I can just leave the yak and my fishing gear in it all the time, so I am ready to without needing to pack or load. Additionally, used minivans, especially compared to trucks, have low resale values, so I can get a nicer vehicle for the money.

[Mark]

My Sienna minivan is a bit tall for car topping but I'm assisted by a retractable roller that extends over the tailgate and also helped by the fact that my Revo is relatively light. While an extra pair of hands is always appreciated I can hoist it up myself and strap it down quickly.

But what I really like about my van is that it offers secure storage of my gear. I can even lay fully rigged one piece 6 and 7 foot rods in it, including my 9 foot fly rods. That saves lots of time at the launch site by not having to reconnect or restring rods.

So don't discount a minivan as a kayak transport vehicle. They're certainly not "hot" cars but they are tremendously functional, have excellent cargo capacity and as Drew said, many cost lest than SUVs and even some of today's high option pickup trucks.

[Yak67]

Season One-Used trailer on my Subaru Cross Trek XV to pull my Hobie PA-14(DAS-BOOT) heavy.
Season Two- roof rack(car-top) using Rhino Rack T-Loader with my Hobie Outback. The Cross trek is not a Tall Subaru.
I can still get all my gear in the Cross Trek and it gets great mileage. The key is how much energy you have left when you get back to the launch point at the end of the day

Yak-67
2015 Hobie PA-14
2016 Hobie Outback LE

[Salty Dog]

Got a Tacoma 4 door long bed with a cap. Being Older, I decided to go with the Thule Hullavator Pro. Going into season 3 with no regrets. The young spirited part of me says, no problem humping an 80 lb kayak, the old man in me says your not getting any younger.

[PigPen]

I built a custom kayak rack for my Ford ranger. Easy loading right in and out of the water. Plus plenty of room for damp / dirty camping gear. My ranger is 18 yrs old and never had a problem with it @ only 130k miles but looking forward to the news ones hopelly coming out in 2018.

[DanMarino]

I'm a Volvo nut. I love Volvo vehicles, especially station wagons. The Volvo XC70's are nice cars. The turbo 5 cylinder engines inside them get about 18-19 mpg at best. So if you are expecting good gas mileage, you will be disappointed. They also take 91 octane gas with the turbo engine. I have car topped my kayak on an old Volvo 240 station wagon and it works fine, but can be a challenge.

99% of the time I transport my kayaks using a utility trailer. The trailer makes loading and unloading so much easier since everything is at waist level. Ergonomically, a trailer makes it easy. However, you still have to have a place to park your trailer and you have to hook up and unhook for the trip.

My opinion is that a pickup truck is the way to go for kayak fishing. Fold the tailgate down, throw in the kayak, strap it in, and you're off. No trailer to mess with. Quick, easy, convenient.