# what car?



## spacepig3000 (Sep 6, 2008)

hey guys im not sure if this question has been asked before but i was just wondering what sort of cars you guys put your kayaks on, what kayak and how many kayaks?

cheers

ben


----------



## Flump (Apr 17, 2006)

Honda CRV. Used to use soft racks but now have Rhino racks with the longer aero bar. Fairly easy to get the yak on top and have had two up there but I'm quite tall making the lift a bit easier


----------



## surfingyaker (Jun 18, 2008)

Toyota hilux. I only put on the one but would easily fit 2 and passible three with one on its side.

Lochy


----------



## JuzzyDee (Aug 27, 2008)

I drive a daewoo lanos :lol:

Im yet to work out how I'm going to get the yak home. Once home I will cart it on foot when launching it, so it may be worth hiring a capable vehicle, or I can use the missuses Mazda 6, which I'm sure would be capable, but I have to invest in roofracks for it.


----------



## lonewolf (Aug 14, 2007)

hi i use a rav4 with thule roof bars and have no problems with both my p13's


----------



## homemade (Jan 24, 2008)

X6 one tonner with 1 or 2 Totos atop


----------



## spacepig3000 (Sep 6, 2008)

well at the moment i have a diahatsu mira wich is lucky to be 3 meters long, so i dont think it would be legal to put a kayak on it??? :?

im lookin at getting a small 4x4 like a suzuki jimny or vitara or somthing.


----------



## L3GACY (Sep 2, 2007)

spacepig3000 said:


> well at the moment i have a diahatsu mira wich is lucky to be 3 meters long, so i dont think it would be legal to put a kayak on it???


You will need to check with your local rego, licence etc place. In SA we have TransportSA I think NSW is RTA but don't quote me on it. Anyway to the point of this post. The answer you will get will most likely be something along the lines of:



> If the load overhangs more than 1.2m to the rear, drivers must hang a red flag or other warning device from it during the day and a red light or two reflectors at night


If the law happens to be something like that for you then you should be fine with a 4m kayak which gives you a pretty good range to choose from.


----------



## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

BJ70 Toyota Landcrusier. No racks on roof incase it colapses







. The rust has nearly formed a ring right around the roof, it used to have a roof rack but the gutter started to sag a bit







, took it off. Yak goes on trailer behind the Rusty Roller.


----------



## Flump (Apr 17, 2006)

If sbd can do this with a Revo








I'm pretty sure your car will be fine with proper racks, just add the red flag for any rear over hang, check the RTA website for details


----------



## riv (Aug 13, 2008)

Holden crewman with a Wavedance Kingfisher on it cars juat on the 5m mark Yak 4.2m, sitting on a set of Pro Racks.

Loading is easy i just wheel it up to the tray and drag it onto the roof.


----------



## wobbly (Jun 13, 2007)

Disco 3 SE TD and Mitsubishi Paj Exceed TD

Both sweet rides but high roofline makes yak loading difficult, will post pictures of a homemade side loader roof rack that clst less than 300 to make and all your troubles will be over.

Regards

Brian


----------



## Crazy_Horse (Nov 3, 2006)

The old 1990 Ford Laser. So trusty. And I get a bit of overhang too...


----------



## SharkNett (Feb 20, 2006)

Subaru Forester. Past polls have found them to be pretty popular on the forum.


----------



## scleburne (Aug 10, 2008)

Not surprising the amount of people who have soft-road 4x4's here. CRV's, Foresters, xtrails and outback's. They just seem to mesh well with the kayak fishing attitude. :mrgreen: 
"I don't need a full sized boat to go fishing" eace: 
and
"I don't need a diesel guzzling 4x4 to go camping" eace:

I have a subaru outback and revolution. The temptation was high to get a Hobie outback so I could say I had a matching pair, but I found the revolution nicer so resisted this trivial reason.

When I borrowed my mums commodore wagon while the outback was in the shop. 
It carried the kayak perfectly well of course... Being used to the traction of my AWD though meant the commodore was returned with a few layers of rubber missing from the rear tyres... :evil: Good thing new RWD cars have traction control. :twisted:


----------



## koich (Jul 25, 2007)

I have a pajero and a trailer.

I need the grunt to tow the awesome combined weight of my kayak,paddle and tacklebox.


----------



## scleburne (Aug 10, 2008)

koich said:


> I have a pajero and a trailer.
> 
> I need the grunt to tow the awesome combined weight of my kayak,paddle and tacklebox.


You must have a HUGE tackle box koich... lots of lead for bottom bouncing? ;-)


----------



## JuzzyDee (Aug 27, 2008)

The trailer carries mostly Mojo


----------



## crazyratwoman (Feb 26, 2007)

i had a Hyundai Accent which carried my kingfisher (sometimes 2 kingfishers) with no prob... .now have a diesel guzzling Pajero with no roof racks... contemplating some soft ones til i can afford a trailer because i have NO idea how i'll manage to get it up that bloody high... my little Pacer will probly fit inside the car til that happens....see what santa brings me eh?


----------



## koich (Jul 25, 2007)

scleburne said:


> koich said:
> 
> 
> > I have a pajero and a trailer.
> ...


Deadset, I'm rubbish. I have a massive trailer to carry 35kgs. 

I don't even own any sinkers.


----------



## Tank (May 26, 2008)

Handy Hint; ;-) Don't have the supermegaliftedskyscraper lift and big tyres as it means you get to do the milkcrate dance with a yak perched on your noggin like me :lol:


----------



## koich (Jul 25, 2007)

JuzzyDee said:


> The trailer carries mostly Mojo


If that's the case, my trailer is broken.


----------



## crazyratwoman (Feb 26, 2007)

Tank said:


> Handy Hint; ;-) Don't have the supermegaliftedskyscraper lift and big tyres as it means you get to do the milkcrate dance with a yak perched on your noggin like me :lol:


haha Tank... I can stand on a chair and still not reach the middle of the roof now.... damn vertically challenged....


----------



## etr420 (Jan 7, 2008)

scleburne said:


> Not surprising the amount of people who have soft-road 4x4's here. CRV's, Foresters, xtrails and outback's. They just seem to mesh well with the kayak fishing attitude. :mrgreen:
> "I don't need a full sized boat to go fishing" eace:
> and
> "I don't need a diesel guzzling 4x4 to go camping" eace:


In general I agree with you, but in my case my kayak lives on top of my slightly battered Nissan GQ Patrol. I guess my attitude is "I couldn't get a full sized boat to the places where I want to go fishing" or something to that effect. To be fair, though, when I wear out the Patrol I'll probably get a soft roader.

Regards


----------



## scleburne (Aug 10, 2008)

Yeah I saw your patrol - I can't say I wouldn't love one of them. (Wait... actually I think it was granpops patrol I saw, newer than a GQ.. eiher way..)Except the fuel costs.... Plus I like a little speed...
The outback is like the ultimate compromise. Except it sucks for off-roading due to its approach angles... stupid plastic bits..

They may be replaced with a bull-bar I hear though.. maybe when I have a lot of money laying around... ;-) :roll:


----------



## Daveyak (Oct 6, 2005)

Just for something different...
I'm pleased with this soft roader 4WD (Hi & Lo range), 5 cyl turbo diesel I bought in February this year. Very comfortable, fairly economical & capable kayak transporter. Just after I bought it I found the (unused) TJM roobar on eBay to make it a finished package.








It's a Ssangyong


----------



## Flashlight (Jul 8, 2008)

I have a Nissan XTrail with roof bars fitted, Nissan branded. However, the bars accept Thule kayak racks. I covered the rear two racks with auto carpet and the kayak (Bass 2) slides easily into position, otherwise it sticks making it very hard to get it on the racks. I also made a roller that attach's to the top of the car with suction fishing rod holders and the kayak rolls on that instead of the roof - an old folded doona cover does just as well. I have done plenty of km's with it (Canberra to Coffs) a few times and has not moved.


----------



## GregL (Jul 27, 2008)

Mine's a 80 series Landcruiser diesel (with 'Competion' go faster stickers on it), originally bought to haul around 2.5 tonne of my last stinker.
Now its got racks and a hobie on the roof.
Overkill?
Methinks "Aye cap'n..."


----------



## berto (Aug 18, 2007)

holden vs ute with ladder racks, super easy to get the yak on and off by yourself, almost as good as a hummer and a chicken feed.


----------



## JuzzyDee (Aug 27, 2008)

Oh good, Trent has found his way here too?


----------



## berto (Aug 18, 2007)

how fkd up is that guy! he is beached as.


----------



## breamingfromabass (Aug 22, 2007)

Toyota corolla - Revo and Australis Bass


----------



## scleburne (Aug 10, 2008)

berto said:


> holden vs ute with ladder racks, super easy to get the yak on and off by yourself, almost as good as a hummer and a chicken feed.


A hummer and a chicken feed...?

I suppose your not talking about the car... ;-) :shock:


----------



## JocksRdown (Jul 14, 2007)

04 Ford Futura with soon to be this bad boy.


----------



## paffoh (Aug 24, 2006)

Man thats cool dude...

Subaru Forester X with Outfitter & Quest, Mazda Protege did ok too! ( Same time even ).










Dont worry about the plastic bits Scott, they just snap off Subaru's pretty easy. A few too many snaps and you can get better approach angles with larger wheels, raised springs and Subaxtreme bars ( rear and front ). My Stock Forester is in the process of a serious pimpamage and is smiling ( Just not all the way to the bank ), the bars for Outbacks look even tougher.


----------



## AJD (Jul 10, 2007)

Hilux dual cab ute - put all the extra's (tackle boxes, paddle, anchor etc) in the back and the yak on top. Have put a set of driving lights backwards on the loading bar for night time launches/retrieves.


----------



## Revo (Aug 3, 2008)

The Subaru Outback works well for me and the Revolution (just over 4 metres long).  I got it with the yak in mind. The yak sits up on a Thule Slipstream carry system with a roller bar on the back, making it easy to roll the yak up and down.  The Slipstream carrier is set up in the centre - not sure that I could move it across to fit another yak on the side? :?


----------



## spacepig3000 (Sep 6, 2008)

what roof racks do most of you guys have or think is the best?


----------



## Cwazywabbit (Sep 7, 2008)

I don't live very far from where I go into the water so I put all three Kayaks into the back of the toyota tarago and and the boys follow on thier bikes. So a Tarago wil fit three very nicely inside the car. (with the paddles and equipment.


----------



## bongorust (Jan 31, 2008)

Got an X-Trail with stock racks & rear spoiler(for what I dont know) & a Kingfisher(4.1m). I cut 3 lengths of pool noodle in half & strap em to each rack & the spoiler(its quite strong) & that spreads the weight over 3 bars instead 2 & avoids the need to tie the nose off to the front of the car because its close enough to the racks that it dont get the speed wobbles


----------



## SgtWilson (Oct 6, 2008)

I have a Ford Courier Ute compete with front and rear racks (ex plumbing supplies company ute). The front rack is a double (overhangs the cabin roof) and helps with support.

Perfect for the job and could probably fit up to 3 kayaks on the racks, and my 8ft sailing dinghy just fits in the tray.

Cheers,

Paul.


----------



## radar (Nov 4, 2007)

a cheap one


----------



## fishnfreak (Jun 22, 2007)

2002 WH seriesII Statesman international LS8 and custome built 4-kayak trailer. 8)


----------



## prozyak (Feb 27, 2008)

New shape lancer and 8x5 box trailer with racks, roof racks on lancer only hold 30kg max between them, not much good if you have two kayaks


----------



## spacepig3000 (Sep 6, 2008)

those inflatable roof racks any good?


----------

