Learning, Sharing, and Teaching > Reader Recommendations

Moving a kayak on a Civic without damaging either?

(1/5) > >>

Samuel:

Any suggestions on finding the right balance of safety (for other motorists, the kayak, and my car) and thrift when it comes to transporting a kayak on top of a 2010 Honda Civic?

Ran across a great deal on a basic, 10 foot kayak. I plan to use it fairly regularly (weekly, in the summer). I only really need to be able to move it a couple miles at 35mph to get to most places I plan to use it, but can't rule out longer/faster trips in the future.

The aftermarket roof racks vary from expensive to absurdly expensive and are time consuming to take on and off, noisy, a target for theft (ah, big city life) and negatively impact fuel economy (around 5 mpg at highway speeds, I've read). I've had one on a previous car and it was nice in some ways, but also annoying as it wasn't used very much. I've kept an eye on Craigslist but haven't seen much that would work that wasn't rusted all to hell or needed an expensive fit kit to match my car.

There is also the foam block and tie down method but I worry about scratching or denting the roof or window frames. Any firsthand experience with this? Is damage likely? Is it safe for freeway speeds?


I'm leaning towards the foam block method for now and sticking to the very short city trips while keeping an eye out for a deal on a decent roof rack.

Thanks.

Oliver:
I would think some simple cross bars on the roof and ratchet straps would work well. I assume the 5 MPG number comes from some kind of kayak attachment for cross bars? My cross bars on their own seem to have affected the MPGs on my 2006 Civic coupe by about 1 MPG.

Samuel:

--- Quote from: Oliver on August 01, 2017, 11:41:43 AM ---I would think some simple cross bars on the roof and ratchet straps would work well. I assume the 5 MPG number comes from some kind of kayak attachment for cross bars? My cross bars on their own seem to have affected the MPGs on my 2006 Civic coupe by about 1 MPG.

--- End quote ---

Consumer reports tested on a Honda Accord (I assume with the round/square bars, not the flatter ones): https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2013/07/tests-show-bike-racks-can-ruin-your-mileage/index.htm
 
I had a Yakima rack on my old car that worked well, but didn't get enough use to really justify it. I'm wary of recreating that now, given how expensive they are and the added noise and MPG hit the 98% of the time they're not being used.

GuitarStv:
What about installing a hitch and then pulling a light trailer?

bognish:
I only did this for a one time borrowing situation, but it worked fine: 2 pool noodles (cheap foam tubes) on the roof, kayak on top of these. Open the doors and run 2 rachet straps over the top and through the interior of the car. tighten the straps and close the doors. No damage to the car and the kayak was not going anywhere.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page