I’m shopping for a new or late model SUV that can carry my 18 foot EPIC V8 and 20 foot EPIC V10 surf skis on the roof rack and still allow me to fully open the lift gate. Everything I’ve seen so far has a long spoiler that would hit the boat before opening more than a crack. My existing 2010 Subaru Forester has no spoiler and I’m able to open the liftgate almost completely. Not being able to open the gate with a boat on the roof rack has been a deal breaker so far. Creating risers to raise the crossbars a foot or so to clear the nearly 12 inch spoiler on a new Forester or Outback isn’t in my plans. Dealers tell me the spoiler is not removable. What are you folks using?
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Welcome, IronNick,
We have a 2016 Crosstrek that we use to haul an 18.5 ft. canoe and although we can’t open the hatch door completely when the boat is on the roof, the hatch opens up much farther than “a crack,” more like half way or so. I just checked the 2022 Crosstrek and the spoiler doesn’t look much different.
We try to load and unload the car without the canoe on the rack but if we need access to the cargo area it’s more like an inconvenience than a major hassle.
Tom
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Yup - it’s a pain. Just like you I had an older Forester without the spoiler, now have a 2020 with the spoiler. Once the boat is up I can’t open the lift gate. Now I put things in the back seat rather than the storage area in the back. It works out OK. I just dump everything in the back if I need the backseat for a shuttle.
The spoiler on the Forester is really flimsy. I am afraid I am going to forget, open the back and snap it off, which would probably be an expensive repair. Otherwise, the new Forester is great. It was a deal breaker for me for a while, but eventually I just needed a new car.
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The Toyota Rav4 spoiler impacts some, more than prior models, but l can still stand under it. I am 5 ft 3.5 in.
The trick is to find a vehicle with a fairly vertical lift gate. The impact of the spoiler is less than when the lift gate is raked.
Not going to find a car where they can take it off because they mounted brake lights in all of them.
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Are any of the SUVs still making the split back doors Barn/Ambulance type back doors? I know the Blazer and Suburban used to come that way. Mini Cooper is making a larger mini that has that style.
I always liked the split style where they had a tailgate and the hatch was pretty much just the window. Now they are all this giant hatch with a huge spoiler that does nothing. Our Kia Sportage spoiler causes the rear window to get covered in dirt and makes it hard to clean at the gas station as the squeegee won’t fit under it. I would love to take the thing off.
If you haven’t already, check out the forum at subaruforester.org. Folks there are often modding their Foresters, and someone may tell you if the dealer’s statement that the spoiler can’t be removed is in fact true. Dealers aren’t always the absolute authority.
[I’d always figured I’d get another Forester when the time comes for a new car, but this would be a deal breaker. It’s a shame Subaru is changing their focus from outdoor adventure to suburban grocery store runs.]
[Edit] I found a YouTube video of someone replacing a Forester spoiler. It wasn’t a '22, but maybe a '19 or '20 (I dont think he said). When he pulled it off, there were large holes in the top of the hatch with no plugs or trim pieces to fill them. Grrrr.
The 2022 Forester base trim level has no spoiler but also no roof rack. The fact that it is an add-on implies that it can indeed be removed. https://driving.ca/subaru/forester/convenience/?year=2022
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Toyota 4Runner has a spoiler which lightly contacts the boats if I’m carrying 3 or 4. Using 4 J Cradles boats carried in the outboard positions don’t get in the way of the lift gate. Another feature that is oft times useful is that the lift gate glass retracts so you can reach into the cargo area with the lift gate closed. I still wish it was more like my old Landcriiser with the short tailgate and lift gate that wen to just horizontal but all in all it’s quite workable.
See you on the water,
Marshall Seddon
The River Connection, Inc.
9 W. Market St.
Hyde Park, NY. 12538
845-229-0595 main
845-242-4731 mobile
Main: [www.the-river-connection.com]
Store: [www.the-river-connection.us]
Email: marshall@the-river-connection.com
Facebook: [fb.me/theriverconnection]
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My car is a 2013 RAV4 with a spoiler and I’m neither athletic nor tall. So I cannibalized my old Thule Slip Stream and added a pair of Thule small felt lined saddles at the end that hangs over/bypasses the spoiler. The front part fits under the rear cross bar of the roof rack. Holding the combing I manage to get the tip of the kayak bow to rest on the small saddles, put the stern skid-plate on the ground and hold the stern grab handle to push the kayak into place. Then I have to remove the contraption and store it inside the car - it takes up a bit of space.
I once noticed that a neighbor’s Suburban sitting in the supermarket had its tailgate closed but with the window top part (this was NOT a liftgate) open only a few inches. Concerned that someone had broken into it, I found her inside and asked about it.
She had her dog in the vehicle and was just providing more ventilation without allowing room to squeeze through. This was accomplished by putting in a commercially available prop that locked the windowgate in that position. It could not be used without proper access from the doors, so she said theft was not an issue.
I don’t know if similar products are available for small SUVS or wagons, but it’s worth searching online.
Or, if you would consider a truck instead, topper windows do not have spoilers. I saw an ad for one that even has intermediate stops between closed and fully open.
I haul my ski on a trailer (when going alone) or on my husband’s open-bed truck with bed rack and GoodBoy Vee system. We need both of us to use the latter due to height, or lack thereof. It would not be a problem for a tall person alone, though.
But without the spoiler, when you are going around 140 mph the car will not grip the road as well!
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My first truck was a 2WD and I added a light weight aluminum cap that was light enough I could take it on and off myself. After a while I was using the cap for camping and dropping the tailgate and lifting the hatch got to be a pain, as did lifting the hatch and climbing over the tailgate. I took the hatch and the tailgate off and built a large hatch that had a door off center. It made it into a perfect camping rig and even though I didn’t have a paddleboat then it would have worked great.
When I sold the truck I asked the guy buying it what setup he wanted as I still had the tailgate and hatch cover and they would slip back on. He said can I have both?
They now make caps just about like what I made only the door is centered. I had a Plexiglas window on one side and the door on the other and that left the window side for my bedding and mattress.
Some of the smaller trucks now are almost like an SUV. Just an idea.
Thank you to all who are responding. I’m getting some interesting feedback. The oversized “spoiler” on Subaru liftgates seems to be like a vestigial organ like the appendix, serving no useful purpose until it becomes a problem. Yes, I’ve had an appendix go bad and it was very unpleasant pre- and post-surgery. The spoiler is at the wrong angle for downforce traction at 140 mph and people tell me that it doesn’t keep the rear windshield clear either. A Toyota truck like the HiLux I had in the early '70 would be perfect but all I can find at the dealers is four year old Tacomas for $3000 over the 2018 MSRP. Guess I’ll just keep my Outback until something that works for me comes along. Fortunately it’s in excellent shape.
I had a 2003 HYundai Santa Fe to which I had added a Thule rack to carry multiple long boats. While it did have a moderate protrusion in the rear (radio aerial, I think, not spoiler) the fact that the rear window on the back hatch could open independently of the lift door meant I could easily load and unload stuff without the nuisance of having the lift door blocked from opening by the boat overhangs. I have never owned another wagon with that feature (at least since our family’s 1950’s Chevy Nomad station wagon.) But it is something I wish more makers of wagons would include in their models as it was extremely handy. Also was great when I had to haul building materials in the car , since I could let longer stuff hang out the open window for short trips.
I bet a good auto body shop could customize a spoiler disconnect for you.
I had to wait for the rain to stop before going out and checking the wife’s 2022 Forester.
The way the spoiler is laid out you might be able to use a couple of saddles to raise the boats up and get clearance. The problem is with the automatic openers. They don’t like it when you bypass them or block them. They are meant to break as a safety feature and think hitting boats a few times will break them.
I’ll stick with a pick-up with Thule rack on it.
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I have seen at least a couple of Rav4s on car lots with adjustable openers for the hatch. Apparently it is possible if challenging to find. The question marks around frustrating an automatic doors normal inclination because of boats on the roof are the biggest reason l have never gone for the highest package level in a car.
After going through the Consumer Report April issue last night, the one where they “rated and reviewed” 260 models, the leader in this quest now seems to be the Ford Bronco Sport: stout longitudinal roof rails for racks, no liftgate spoiler, four wheel drive for my 15% grade unpaved driveway in winter, and the safety feature I really want, Blind Spot Warning, is part of the standard package. Of course there probably won’t be one available at a dealer until next year given the recent suppl problems Ford has been having. After the many Subarus that have been in the family, probably 10 or so, it may be time for a change. Our other car went from a Subaru to a RAV4 in 2014 when the Outbacks went to that ridiculous roof rack setup that doesn’t allow you to carry much of anything on the roof, preceding the addition of the foot-high spoiler. More to follow…
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After going through the Consumer Report April issue last night, the one where they “rated and reviewed” 260 models, the leader in this quest now seems to be the Ford Bronco Sport: stout longitudinal roof rails for racks, no liftgate spoiler, four wheel drive for my 15% grade unpaved driveway in winter, and the safety feature I really want, Blind Spot Warning, is part of the standard package. Of course there probably won’t be one available at a dealer until next year given the recent suppl problems Ford has been having. After the many Subarus that have been in the family, probably 10 or so, it may be time for a change. Our other car went from a Subaru to a RAV4 in 2014 when the Outbacks went to that ridiculous roof rack setup that doesn’t allow you to carry much of anything on the roof, preceding the addition of the foot-high spoiler. More to follow…
The rear window flips open on Bronco Sports too. Nice feature.