Fuel Efficient Canoe Haulers

Elantra Touring - wagon
The Elantra Touring is actually a small wagon and not a variant of the Elantra. The SE trim comes with side rails and is available with a sweet B&M racing shifter. But it has been discontinued in the trend away from wagons. It might be tough to find a 2012, but used Hyundais depreciate much more than subarus, toyotas or hondas, and a used one could be a steal after some negotiation.



The Sportwagen TDI will be the king of fuel efficiency among rooftop haulers, but at a higher purchase price.

Any fuel efficient 4 person hauler …
… is a reasonable answer to the question.

Second TDI Sportwagon
I also own a TDI Sportwagon, the long roof line is great as is the 42MPG with 2 kayaks on the roof, 2 people and a week worth of camping gear.



I’d recommend it to a friend.

Trailer ?
Unless you get a light trailer hauled by a fuel efficient vehicle you are not going to get great mpg for what you want…



I don’t think you can get anything that will remotely come close to 30MPG and still have the space you want with 2 canoes on top and nearly a ton of cargo in it… Shrimpy 4-seater wagons appear to be too small for you and any SUV or minivan or large wagon like a Volvo V70 with 2 canoes on top will be a gaz guzzler compared to a Prius V or diesel Jetta.

I would have gotten the H Wagon if not
For its pretty bad fuel economy figures compared to what I think such a relatively small and low power car should be getting. It has the older style engine that was phased out in the current generation Huyndai cars - one reason I did not get it, otherwise a nice car and drives fine too.



For the same $$$ as what I could locally find the 2011 Hyundai Elantra Wagon SE for (or whatever the “sport” version was - everyone asked at least $16.6K before fees and taxes and registration), I got a brand new 2011 Honda Insight hybrid that gives me almost 2x the MPG with very little loss in utility comapred to the E. Touring (hatch vs. wagon). I got permanent mounts for Yakima racks installed on it for a quick conversion from rack to no rack…



Of course, that’s no help to the OP (as isn’t the Elantra too, as both cars are too small for what the OP wants)…

TDI Jetta added to list…
I have an appointment Friday to check out the TDI Jetta Sportwagon. Thanks for bringing this one to my attention. The Prius V is interesting too, but I’d have to cut back on the gear we haul (which could be a good thing in its own right).


Full Size Pick up
screw the gas mileage - its only two maybe three trips a year. I have an old Tundra that does it all. Use it at home for load of mulch, gravel, trips to dump etc.

$5 gas … changes "screw the mileage"
My concern about good gas mileage isn’t focused around the 3-4 canoes trips per year. Its the rest of the year when the vehicle has to be the commuter vehicle for one of us.



Fuel prices are going to creep higher…we may retreat briefly from the creep toward $5 gas, but prices will continue to rise… Thus my search for the most fuel efficient canoe hauler.



Sure, the Sienna is great for the few weeks a year we’re doing big canoe trips. But we’re feeding it’s fuel appetite all year round. I’m thinking the situation should be reversed. Have great fuel mileage all year round, but have to squeeze to get the two canoes and gear aboard for the big canoe trips…hence the interest in the likes of the Prius V or VW Sportwagon TDI, or Highlander Hybrid.

Same here
Mine is a full size v8. We exercise it during the winter so it doesnt get too stiff. Its now has 285,000 miles on it and a new frame courtesy Toyota. I expect it will have several more years to fulfill its canoe hauler role.



Its a great canoe hauler…gets 22 miles a gallon. We have a more fuel efficient vehicles for around town where the miles really do sneak up on you.

22??
I must know more about this full size yota getting 22 mpg. My 02 tundra gets 17 at best with the 4.7 v8



Am I missing out on an awesome trick? I love my truck to death but would love seeing better mileage.

do the math
$30,00+ for a new hybred or diesel will buy a lot of gas. When I looked at a replacment vehicle for canoe hauling,when I factored initial cost, I couldn’t justify a new gee whiz fuel mizer. the pay back extended to far into the future. FOR ME,the 8,000 used car turned out to make sense.

Turtle

My Tundra seldom sees a stop light

– Last Updated: Oct-11-12 6:57 PM EST –

and seldom stop and go driving. I get out of my camp dirt road and its 55-65 mph.

If I were in congested areas it would be a bank drainer.

Its 13 years old now..1999. Given me many a good canoe trip and I figure that the $21000 I paid for it is pennies a mile. Its got nearly 300 k miles.

But it is NOT 4 wheel drive. Its two wheel. I can get a runnning start on snowy hills and have yet to get stuck in the snow. And we do get some 150-200 inches a year. Were I to have to have 4 WD it would sure be different. I bought my house here with priority of flat driveway. And our snow is usually powdery..ish..( not like the West though!)

Also my canoe hauling is into the wilderness for the majority of trips traversing twitch and logging roads. Traction is not so much the issue rather ground clearance. More fuel efficient cars are often ground huggers and that is where in my case a high vehicle makes more sense even if there is a penalty.

I learned to drive with rear wheel drive long ago so I might have a little experience with those vehicles in snow..(the Adirondacks were a former home). Those people of more recent vintage of course may have different experiences.

Totally agree with Turtle
Yes I think the math almost always leans to a good second hand vehicle that might not get the awesome gas mileage,…but will serve both purposes well.

Rent for those few exceptional trips
buy for what you need day to day.


Thats funny -
lots of Tundra owners. Mine is an 02. Gets about 16 mpg. Got a new frame just the other day. Taken me and my friends on just about every old woods road imaginable in Northern Maine with loads of wanigans and canoes. It owes me not one dime and it has years left in it. We like to trip in relative comfort so there is no way I could fit everything and drive those roads in a sedan or fancy wagon. Pick ups are the best.

Roof rack thoughts
I’ve had several canoe haulers over the years and have had to deal with roof rack issues. I’ve noticed many vehicles today have short little racks and the crossbars are located too close together or too far to the back of the vehicle to be useful. Subaru REALLY screwed up their racks on the newest model Outback. I had a 03 Outback 2.5L and it was a powerless gas hog for its size. Yakima Railgrab towers worked pretty good to put Yakima crossbars on the Subby, and carry two canoes.



I have a 06 Toyota Tundra 4WD mentioned above, gets 14.5 to 19 mpg depending on conditions and speed. It is parked unless I need it to haul or pull something. I have four Yakima Landing Pad #6 permanently mounted to the camper shell, for use with Control Towers and Yakima crossbars. But to haul a long canoe or kayak, I have a pair of Q-towers that attach about the middle of the front doors, so I can really maximize front to rear bar spacing with one crossbar over the pickup cab and the other on the camper shell.



New vehicle? Strongly consider a Hyundai Sante Fe. In front-wheel drive version, they get up to 30 mpg highway, which is awesome for a medium sized SUV.



I also have experience with Honda CRVs. I owned a 2000 model. Factory rack is good to use Railgrab towers on for Yakima crossbars.



Consider newer models of the CRV. DON’T be afraid of the roof rack options of ANY vehicle! I currently own a 2003 CRV, and the rack options are very limited. Using Yakima towers that attach at the factory rack mounting points, the crossbars are very close together. SO, on my 03, I dropped the headliner in the very front and very rear of the vehicle, and permanently mounted a set of the Yakima Landing Pad #6 on each end of the vehicle. I dropped the headliner to be able to use the regular “nut and bolt” connectors rather than the blind nuts available in the Landing Pad #7. Yakima can’t tell you where to put the blind nuts in…so you would have to drop the headliner anyway. The landing pads are not that noticable and come with covers when the rack is off the vehicle. I’m really, really happy with the custom install on the CRV. A similar install could be done on virtually ANY vehicle. If you are handy, you can drop the headliner yourself, or just find an upholstery shop to do it for you.



SO, my advice is to buy the perfect car, then get a rack on it. My choice would be a 4 cylinder late model RAV4 or CRV.



Joe




hate to harp
On my Focus wagon,but one of the advantages it has other than great millage,is long rack bar spacing and a flat roof. I use a clamp on yakama tower on the door channel in front,and a clamp to the factory roof rack in rear. This make a nice,level, long span that secures boats well.

Turtle

focus wagon
I rode in a Focus wagon with three grown men and a teenage daughter, two solo canoes and a big load of gear. I am positive that we exceeded the GVWR of the car. It was a hot day and we suffered a blowout to make matters worse. GVWR could be a concern.



The Subaru Outback wasn’t a bad vehicle…but both it and the Focus are too low to the ground for this old guy to drive everyday. I just hated getting into and out of it all the time. The CRV is a huge improvement in that regard. It is AWD and gets 23 city and about 25/26 highway. Not great numbers but not bad either, compared to my V8 pickup.

I agree
4 adults+ gear is too much for the Focus. For 2 adult + 2 solos and tripping gear works great as did 1 solo 1 tandem and 3 adultd for a day trip. I don’t think any 35mpg vehicle would do 4 adults+gear well. The trade off for a bigger vehicle is shared fuel expense,but then 95% of the time your’e driving too much car. We run into this when 4 of us drive to the ADK’s for tripping and take 2 vehicles.

Turtle

2 makes more sense
Put in canoe terms, if you were paddling solo 95% of the time, but once a year needed more capacity, would you want an 18’6" tandem as your only canoe? Much preferable to have a solo, and either rent a tandem or bring a second solo for the other 5%.



My math says that operating a car that gets 10 l/100km costs more than one that gets 6 l/100km.



20 000km/year

20 000km/100km * 10l * $1.25/l = $2500

20 000km/100km * 6l * $1.25/l = $1500



This is based on the current fuel cost in my city, and 12 000 miles per year. Extrapolated over a typical 10 year service life the bigger car costs $10 000 more in fuel. This is just fuel, too. Bigger cars usually cost more initially, often cost more in maintenance/parts (bigger tires cost more), and may have a lower resale value as a percent of their initial purchase price. Also, this equation assumes gas will stay the same price, though it seems reasonable that the price of fuel may increase.



On top of the economic argument are the other reasons for using less petroleum including climate change, local air pollution/smog, energy security, and keeping wealth closer to home.