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Newbie: Short Guy with Tall Truck... PA 12
http://www.hobie.com/au/en/forums/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=48893		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  kinghong1970 [ Tue Aug 13, 2013 9:12 am ]
Post subject:  Newbie: Short Guy with Tall Truck... PA 12
yes, God did not give me the tall genes... :cry:
at 5'4" i found out that my PA on top of my Toyota FJ Cruiser was a bit tough to handle solo...

maybe it seemed tougher since it was my first outing...
but it got me thinking... i want to be able to take my PA out without thinking of it as being a huge ordeal.

current setup...

2012 FJ Cruiser (soon to have hitch installed)
Yakima Hully Roller @ back
Yakima Mako Aero @ front
Yakima bow and stern tie downs

i found that the width of the PA being a bit wide, it does not seat that well on the hully roller and had to use additional straps to keep it from shifting side to side.
i thought that maybe wider bars would help... but so happens that the hully rollers and the mako aero sits right where the factory bar are located... or close to it...

but anyways... bigger question... should i get a trailer or should i get those T-rack loading helpers such as the Rhino Rack?

thanks in advance.

Al
Author:  rafiki2cu [ Tue Aug 13, 2013 10:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie: Short Guy with Tall Truck... PA 12
I have a trailex trailer with the PA cradles and love it. A PA has too much weight for me to transport on the roof plus I can't get it up there by myself. If you can swing a trailer it will make loading and unloading a breeze. Just my 2 cents though.
Author:  kinghong1970 [ Tue Aug 13, 2013 11:05 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie: Short Guy with Tall Truck... PA 12
thanks for the reply...

been seriously considering a trailer...
but if those loaders such as the Yakima DryDock or the RhinoRack can work, it may be a cheaper alternative for me..

just want to hear if anyone owns one... their thoughts.
Author:  r11 [ Tue Aug 13, 2013 11:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie: Short Guy with Tall Truck... PA 12
Save your back, your car and your yak and get a trailer. Read my post on $150 trailer from Harbor Freight. Perfect match for PA. Love these trailers so much I bought 2 - one for PA 14 and another one for 16' Coleman canoe.
Author:  bruce19365 [ Tue Aug 13, 2013 11:24 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie: Short Guy with Tall Truck... PA 12
I have a PA-14 and from the start I had no intention of ever attempting to put that on my roof. It can be done, I know, but it is too heavy not to mention unwieldy to get it on a roof top alone. One slip and you will damage something, the kayak, knock of a side mirror, scratch paint whatever. To me it isn't worth the effort. The PA-12 is definitely smaller but similar in the issue associated with putting it on top of a vehicle. When you consider the price of the rooftop mounts, it really isn't -that much more expensive to put together a trailer but if you buy the Hobie trailer - it IS expensive. I also trailer a bass boat, so trailering is not a big deal for me.

For the PA-14 I went to Harbor Freight and bought one of their 4'x8' trailers (the one with 13" wheels), added two PVC rails and was done with it for around $300. I can back the trailer to the water and unload the kayak in a couple minutes, same with loading. No effort required and I don't incur any damage to the kayak or my SUV. The other great thing with trailering, you won't have to UNLOAD the kayak to lighten it up before attempting to get it on your vehicle's roof, that can wait until you get home.

I learned how much I appreciate the last fact during a trip to Florida last year with two Hobie Outbacks on the roof of my Jeep. I got very tired of having to unload gear from the yaks, to put them up on the J-bars after a day of fishing, and moving to different lakes during the day - well that was out of the question just because of the hassle of putting the yaks on and taking them off the roof and dealing with the gear. Over seven days of fishing it was time consuming as well as an effort, I'm not a young man and my fishing partner on that trip is older than I am. That trip also convinced me to get out of the Outback and into the PA-14 and buy a trailer.

I've tinkered with the original H.F. trailer and it's been through several modifications. Currently it is 4'x12' (I purchased a second H.F. trailer for parts) and is convertible to carry two PA's (or any 2nd kayak) side-by-side with a removable two kayak platform. The 2-yak platform breaks down into 5 sections that I can install or remove by myself in about 15 minutes. Having the second tier break down makes it much easier to store when I don't need the capability to carry two kayaks.

When transporting a PA, a trailer is the way to go - for me anyway.
Author:  islandspeed2001 [ Tue Aug 13, 2013 3:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie: Short Guy with Tall Truck... PA 12
Some things just aren't meant to be......... get a trailer :!:
Author:  robster [ Tue Aug 13, 2013 3:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie: Short Guy with Tall Truck... PA 12
hello kinghong1970
sorry to hijack your thread but...
I am planning to get me a pro angler 12 to use next summer, my only concern is my height. im 5´6" so if you dont have any problems i should be safe i hope. To demo one would be the best but i got 405 miles to the nearest hobiedealer :cry:

As you did i am planning to cartop it, but on a volvo v70. It isnt that tall, but reading your experience i might need to reconsider.

Edit: to clearify my concerns about my height. Will i at 5'6" be able to reach and use the mirage drive efficiently?
Author:  r11 [ Tue Aug 13, 2013 4:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie: Short Guy with Tall Truck... PA 12
Bruce

Care to share some pictures?

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2
Author:  bruce19365 [ Tue Aug 13, 2013 5:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie: Short Guy with Tall Truck... PA 12
I'll take some pictures tomorrow and start a new post, I don't want to highjack the thread.
Author:  Yak Finaddic [ Wed Aug 14, 2013 3:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie: Short Guy with Tall Truck... PA 12
r11 wrote:
Bruce

Care to share some pictures?

Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 2


+1
Author:  Yak Finaddic [ Wed Aug 14, 2013 3:52 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie: Short Guy with Tall Truck... PA 12
r11 wrote:
Save your back, your car and your yak and get a trailer. Read my post on $150 trailer from Harbor Freight. Perfect match for PA. Love these trailers so much I bought 2 - one for PA 14 and another one for 16' Coleman canoe.

+1
Author:  greenmerc77 [ Wed Aug 14, 2013 5:53 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie: Short Guy with Tall Truck... PA 12
Here's my trailer from harbor freight. With taxes it was $197. Bought the pvc pipe and a different hitch. Total cost was close to $260ImageImageImage I did it like that so I could slide the tongue in when storing it
Image
Author:  bruce19365 [ Wed Aug 14, 2013 9:11 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie: Short Guy with Tall Truck... PA 12
Ok, pictures and commentary about my single/dual convertible trailer are up.
viewtopic.php?f=78&t=48907
Author:  rmi63 [ Wed Aug 14, 2013 9:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie: Short Guy with Tall Truck... PA 12
robster wrote:
hello kinghong1970
sorry to hijack your thread but...
I am planning to get me a pro angler 12 to use next summer, my only concern is my height. im 5´6" so if you dont have any problems i should be safe i hope. To demo one would be the best but i got 405 miles to the nearest hobiedealer :cry:

As you did i am planning to cartop it, but on a volvo v70. It isnt that tall, but reading your experience i might need to reconsider.

Edit: to clearify my concerns about my height. Will i at 5'6" be able to reach and use the mirage drive efficiently?


You won't have any problems using the mirage drive. I'm about the same height as you and also have a PA12. I also cartop mine. I use a Thule slipstream but added longer bars to it because the PA is so wide. The slipstream is nice because the whole unit slides to the rear of the vehicle. There also is a roller on the rear that makes loading easier. Once the kayak is loaded, the whole unit slides forward. The wider bars help keep the PA centered while loading and unloading and also prevents it from falling to the side. Without the longer bars, the mount would be under the PA instead of to the side and the PA can slide to the side while loading or unloading. I also unload everything from the PA prior to loading on to the vehicle.
Here are a couple of pictures:
Image
Image

I also use bow and stern lines.

Ron
Author:  nvydvrdude [ Wed Aug 14, 2013 2:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Newbie: Short Guy with Tall Truck... PA 12
Greenmerc77,
Did you have any issues towing after adding so much length to the tongue. I want to do that to my lowes trailer but have read that it will throw off the "towing ratio" whatever that is, and make the trailer squirrelly to tow.
Thanks
Nvydvrdude
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