Cooper S underpowered?
To me, the base Mini is a girly car. The supercharged Copper S, or better yet S with Works package, have plenty of power.
They are goofy though - and that dash is too much. Fun to drive though.
Honda Civic
I’ve got a 4 -door Civic outfitted with standard Saris racks. No problems on long road-trips, at highway speeds, with a 15’ plastic yak, or solo canoe. (or that oak dresser I had to haul once…)
I’ve had 2 solo boats on several occasions, and even 2 tandem aluminum canoes up there with no problem - but I didn’t need to transport them long distances so I can’t comment on that.
Power, of course, is a little lacking…but heck, it’s low on power with NO boats on top. I can’t tell much of a difference with a single boat up there. I felt a little more resistance with 2 boats on top.
Stability of the car, or the racked boats, has never been a problem (well, except when I had about 160 lbs of aluminum canoes up there- I could feel that, but it was more a concern of weight and power rather than stability …)
-jarvis
Honda Element
Just FYI to all you folks looking at those Honda Elements…
We were recently looking at replacing one of our worn-out cars and were excited with what we saw in the Element - roomy, easy to clean interior, reasonable(?) price, decent mileage, etc.
Then we saw the load ratings! According to the specs it’s max load is around 600 lbs! That’s LESS than a Civic. A couple adults with camping gear and their dogs would be OVER the rated load limit. We passed…
One other thing…If you have a small car and you are considering getting a trailer for it; be sure the car is rated for pulling. My Civic, and I’m guessing other small cars, are NOT rated for hauling a trailer of ANY kind. Again, just something to keep in mind…
-jarvis
hmm
Honda Gold wing & a Trailer…
http://www.castlecraft.com/images/Trailex-SUT-200-Motorcycle-Canoe.JPG
I’ll have pics on Sun or Mon
of our xB with two 16’ sea kayaks on it. We did get some pretty confused stares when we drove down to San Diego July 3rd weekend.
Even with the high profile of the box and the boats, she hauled at 70 with no complaints. Not to mention, one boat is in saddles and the other in a hullraiser, so it’s up on its side, giving us an even higher profile. I was pretty conservative driving on the way down, but hit 75-80 on the way home (it was getting late, I had to pee). LOL
Love the lil’ boxcar (aka Boxcar Willie)
-Tracy
Cayenne!
Yup, I traded in the Expedition (room for 6 sea kayaks) for a Cayenne (tight fit with 4 seakayaks).
But it looks good
I used to carry two kayaks on…
…a Hyundai Excel. The Accent is the newer, more powerful replacement for the Excel and should haul kayaks just fine. With a manual transmission, it should get you over 30 MPG with two kayaks on the roof at reasonable speeds (65-70 mph). You can get one for under $10K.
If you want something more powerful and luxurious, consider an Elantra. I’m currently driving an Elantra GT hatchback with a 5-speed. It gets me 30-32 mpg combined city/highway, 34-35 on the highway (at 65 mph) and ~30-31 with a kayak on the roof. It hauls a lot of gear inside. It’s loaded (leather, alloys, cruise, A/C, CD, sunroof, 4 wheel disks, power everything, etc.) and cost me under $14K.
2x4’s
My boat bowed a little bit with my roof racks on my Saturn SL so I added some 2x4’s to the rack. The rear rack has a homemade roller bar. The front rack had a foam block with notches cut out of the corners to fit the 2x4’s. Two 2x4’s sit parralell to the boat on top the rack/foam block mount. I use two straps per rack (pulling in opposite directions) and the 2x4’s stay secure with the strapping. I can crank down the straps and not worry about damaging the boat.
If I had a smaller car, I would probably make a cradle out of 2x4 with notches cut out of the board to fit the roof rack. It would be butt ugly but very secure.
scott
The perfect small paddling car, IMO
With thule bars mounted on the siderails, I have a 40 inch spread between the bars, ability to carry 2 SK’s or one SK and a canoe, and as much cargo room as a small SUV.
50 MPG means I can still travel a bit to paddle & not break the bank. Very happy with mine.
Wayne
mini
The Mini Cooper S can carry a good amount.It has a
good deal of power and the roof seems strong.I am
not sure if there are restrictions on how far a kayak extends in the front and rear of the car.
John
My ‘95 Toyota Corolla
carries two 17’ Curritucks with no problem. I think the Yakima racks are worth more than the car now, but it gets us from A to B with 30 mpg.
Greyak, did your Neon have 150 H.P. ?
Good luck on Audi Resale. To use your word L
it’s all about crossbar spread
There are many great fuel efficient cars but our word to the wise is the more spread apart the crossbars on the car (the one’s running side to side not front to back) the better they will carry kayaks and roof boxes. So the small wagons shine in this department since you can get 40 inch or more. This means far less torque on the roof cargo (side to side) and less reliance (if any) on bow and stern lines. We’ve found that running cam straps over the cockpit rim itself on two piece systems can break loose the bond of the rim to the hull if you strap it too tight. Longer crossbar spread means your straps will nest in front and behind the rim and cinch more uniformly. Our boat haulers are Focus Wagon and Outback Wagons and the single only negative in each over our former Grand Cherokee is less leg room for rear seat passengers. Who cares about them! The boats are more important!
Pics
– Last Updated: Jul-17-05 6:16 PM EST –
K, just got pics of my Scion xB with the QCC on top....hope the link works:
http://community.webshots.com/album/397462027stYBAy
(Tried to get the boat color to match the car... it's close, at least in the same family!)
-Tracy
Yeah
The downside to my 90 Legacy waggon is that the Yakima bars are located close together, per Y’s instructions, even though I have a lot of roof further back. I guess the clamps have to stay near the doors. That means I get twisting in the wind, particularly with the hard chine boat. On the bright side the straps are just in front and just behind the cockpit rim so the boat won’t slide back to front. And, as I think I have mentioned before, low is good for loading/unloading and I can drive the boat into the garage then hoist to the ceiling. Saves my time and back.
I use bow lines except around town when it is calm. Bow & stern on the highway.
Driving home today
I saw a generic looking compact car carrying FOUR kayaks on top and a bike on the back. Didn’t seem to be holding up highway traffic at all.
I think pretty much any recent vintage vehicle can be made to haul a couple of boats.
Over three feet of overhang a flag
is neccesary in most states. I use an international orance acryiil t shirt tied to the toggle.
TDI
Another VW TDI vote - I have the Jetta Sedan and have just enough bar spread to go around the cockpit of my NDK Explorer (longer than the car). And I always use bow and stern tie downs… Windows down, highway speeds and mid 40’s for mileage isn’t bad!
Oh my God
– Last Updated: Jul-18-05 11:50 PM EST –
Check this out:
http://www.minimania.com/images/articles/galleries/kymer/pages/Mvc-033s.htm
What have you done now. It is bad luck to carry your boat backwards on your car (or trailer). Not only is it bad luck for you it is bad luck for your friends, for people driving next to you, even for the state cop that pulls you over because you have the bad luck to get caught speeding.
The end of civilization as we know it in now on your head.