Dodge Cummins 6 speed
extended cab with canopy. Like the Toyota, excellent reliability but way more power, capacity, and durability. Mine is approaching 400k and runs like new. These trucks have gone 1 million on original driveline and engine. Best vehicle I have ever owned. If you stand on the tailgate it’s easy to load kayaks. You can tow your house, drive through anything, and get 20 mpg. You can also run biodiesel.
My truck has been through hell, and it drives like new. It’s big, but gosh what a great value in a vehicle. If a car, hard to beat a Subaru Outback! Decent economy, a lot of ability, and generally long lived. I’d avoid the turbo version, as it eats fuel. Fun, but my friends gets less mpg than my 7k lb. truck! I’d avoid VW. Had a Jetta Diesel four years ago and sold it after three months. Good engine, terrible cheap rattly POS car. Toyota products are good, and Toyota will become the #1 car maker in the world this year (based on volume). But, my old Dodge Cummins truck puts the LandcruiserI had to shame. Bang for buck and easy kayak hauling, combined with good resale, and reliability = Subaru. Good luck.
Subaru=
Awesome!!!
2005 Outback…
Take A Good Look
at the A3 and then at the VW Jetta. Then take a look at the specs of the 2 liter turbo in each. Then remember, oh yea, they are both owned by the same company.
Happy Paddling,
Mark
A3/Jetta
Actually the new A3 shares the same platform as the new Golf. The real difference is you don’t have to deal with VW when you have an Audi. You also get the much better quality of interior and 4 years for free service with an Audi. I’ve had mine only a couple of weeks and love it. No racks by Yak or Thule yet. Thule is supposed to have theirs for the A3 my mid to late March. Good thing I have lots of friends with racks already!
Bob
Prius will not pay for itself
because the batteries are only good for 100k miles, cost a fortune to replace and are going to create and entirely new environmental problem down the road. In 4 or 5 years the only people who will be happy about hybrids will be the people that didn’t buy them.
New Vehicle
Currently use a '97 Toyota 4Runner and my wife’s 1999 Subaru Outback wagon. Both vehicles set-up with Yakima racks to haul 2 kayaks. Both vehicles are flat-out workhorses! Had an old '79 4WD Subaru wagon that eventually would NOT pass the strict NJ emissions inspection.
Subsequently, happily sent to a friends farm, where he cut off the back and replaced with a platform that he still uses as a “farm jitney” hauling feed and water for his cattle out to the pastures. That old Subaru just won’t quit.
The jetta wagon is a good choice
all the benefits of Toureg except the 4wd and the 50k price tag.
so far
So far, I’ve just been looking online. Have to see how much it will cost to repair sedan, and maybe wait a year to buy…or bite the bullet and buy now.
As far as I can tell Volkswagon Jetta’s no longer come in the wagon. Not interested in a sedan.
Since I am short, and like many women, don’t have great upper body strength for lifting and pushing high over my head, I have been looking a lot at vehicle heights. I find myself intentionally parking next to certain vehicles to see how tall they seem to my minivan( which would fall at the high end of this list in terms of height.
Mini Cooper 55* inches
VW Golf 56
Subaru Impreza 58
Subaru Legacy 58
Mazda 3 58*
Scion A 60*
Toyota Matrix 62*
Scion B 65*
Subaru Forester 65
Honda Element 70*
(Rounded down to whole #)
*Does not come with roof rack, so actual load height will be higher.
Scion XB
I know I posted this link once before… but we are using my XB as a boat hauler. We have Yakima racks, with one set of saddles and one hull raiser. Here’s a link of my QCC on the XB:
http://community.webshots.com/photo/397462027/397467089FmpsQe
I’m averaging 30 mpg, but haven’t seriously monitored it with the boats on it. The ridiculous traffic here has my mpg knocked down a bit, so if you’ve got wide open spaces, you’d get better mileage.
The interior is enormous, and is quite comfy with 4 people in it. We’ve camped with it, and tailgated with it… very roomy.
With the car so low, I wouldn’t exactly go off the pavement in it - it’s definitely a city-dwellers vehicle!
-Tracy
Engineers?
I really like the Toyota Corrolla Matrix/Pontiac Vibe. I like the look, the ability to fold seats forward and put muddy stuff on the plastic cargo area, and, most of all, the good mileage.
Do you folks think the engine is sufficient for highway driving with a boat or two on the roof? i.e. will the demands create undue stress on this drivetrain, leading to premature failure? I know very little about cars.
Been Happy
with my 95 Mazda Pick Up (AKA Ford Ranger) with a topper. It’s not so tall as to be difficult to load and I like being able to leave my paddling stuff in back all season long without having the passenger compartment take on the odor of the accumulated boat landings of the season.
Its a 2.3L four with a 5 speed stick and four wheel drive. It usually gets about 24mpg at highway speed with two canoes, though I have gotten as high as 30mpg with a tailwind. I’m at about 260K with it now and paid 14K for it new. All in all I think I’ve gotten pretty good bang for my buck with it. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend something along those lines to someone looking for an affordable boat hauler.
Of course if carrying a bunch of passengers was something I did a lot of I might make a different choice - but the question was about hauling boats. Its not especially fast either, but I’m not racing.
Volvo Cross Country Turbo Wagon
Love my
Toyota P/U. Pletty of room for the yaks, gear and all the other crap I take. It’s got 4WD, but is a 4 cylinder. It not only gets better gas mileage, but costs one heck of a lot less to maintain.
Not that I need one, but I’m afraind to get a new vehicle. Every time I turn on the TV, they’ve altered the Tacoma. The new one looks like a semi-truck mated w/a UPS truck, and produced the current product. Yuck.
save your money and buy a step ladder
it’s what the rest of the short kayakers do.
I love my F-150, but…
I replaced my Ranger with an F-150 and then discovered that the rack choices were wanting.
A topper rack just does not have an appealing look to me and the bed racks require that about another one thousand dollar investment for my 5’ 5" frame to lift the kayaks up to loading height.
For that reason only I regret not getting the Avalanche. And am now in the market for a sedan.
Subaru
Subaru wagon. If you need a bit more clearance then go with the Outback. I have a 1999 Outback wagon and it has served my paddling habit well.
Look at the way the hatch opens
Look at the way the hatch opens on the Magnum. About the last two feet of roof open with it, giving great access to the rear. However, you couln’t open it with kayaks on top.
Mini roof toping
The Mini is a pretty good car for roof toping . The optional rack is made by VW and Mini
drills holes in the roof . Its removable and is sturdy . The hight is increased by a few inches
though its not to much .Mini has said the car is not for kayaking or leaving around trail
heads ,but it seems to work .John
Really happy with
my VW Passat Wagon with 4 Motion. I’ve had it since 2002 and only normal maintenance has been needed. It’s very sporty yet very utilitarian. The 4 Motion gets me through rough winter conditions. The roof rails make it easy get two kayaks up on my Thule Rack and the vehicle isn’t too tall for easy loading.
NJP17
2000 honda crv
Great car, bought it over 6 years ago and have had no problems. Have made many trips with 2 kayaks and 2 bikes. Gas mileage 25 to 26 city and
highway. Not sure what the mileage is with the kayaks. I have the 4wd model and it handles the snow just fine. Newer version looks even nicer.