Transporting my Hobie..

Ok Guys/Gals,

I got a new Hobie Outback a few months ago and now just got a new vehicle. I got a dodge Journey 2011 and it didn't have crossbars. (I'm purchasing new ones now)
I was looking to purchase Malone's SSComb113md with loader and was told by Malone that it wouldnt work. Has anyone ever used this with with their Hobie Outback and does it work?

I was told to purchase the MPG110 but it doesn't have the loader option that I was looking for. I had shoulder surgery and thought this would help with the loading.

Anyway - what does Hobie or their users recommend for their Outback as far as roof racks go? Yakima? Thule? Malone SS?
If you could provide a part number that would help as well.

Thanks for the help...

PhillyJoe

If your shoulder is really limiting, you might want to consider trailering. I took out a Yugo with a 650 Yamaha motorbike, had to put the Yugo on a flat bed, couldn't tow it, so I understand bad shoulder. (thank God it was a Yugo, or I would still be dead!)
I tried Yakima Hully rollers, but my rig was way too high.
I could not find any cartop loader that would lift anything heavier than around 40 pounds or so.
I bought a cheap little trailer from an outfit called Harbor Freight
http://www.harborfreight.com/870-lb-cap ... 42708.html
The trailer's assembly manual refers to an add on boat kit, which extends the tongue and has a set of v brackets, should hold your Outback nicely, altogether under $250.
MUCH easier to load. I started with an Adventure Island, now have a Tandem, might have to get a bigger trailer, but built an extension to support the Tandem out of scrap wood. It is not galvanized, so I do not submerge it, just back to the water edge and slide in or out. Use a small ratchet pulley to help haul it on. Have also just used the beach cart to roll the boat to the trailer. The whole thing fits into my toyhauler RV trailer.

When we purchased an Oasis last year a 19 year old at the dealer helped load it onto the top of my Jeep Wrangler. A neighbor helped unload it and I decided at that point that a trailer was going to be the best way to traansport it. My son had a couple of older jet skis (on a tandem trailer) that didn't run, so with his permission I gave them away and converted the trailer. We know can carry three kayaks and all the drives, seats, paddles, etc on the trailer. The Oasis goes in the middle and Malone J-pro carriers are mounted on each side to carry the other yaks. A truck box bolted to the frame carriers all the paddles and miscellaneous items and another box bolted to the axle and then to the front supports holds the mirage drives, seats and PFD's. Wish I knew how to up load photos!

Steve O - great idea. I never thought of a trailer option that would be that inexpensive and easy.

I did a little research and it's only $18 to register for the trailer for a year.

If I put a hitch on my vehicle I can use the hitch for other things like a deer cart, cargo box for suitcases for traveling.

I can now use the second vehicle for lots of other things.

The cost for the trailer and hitch will be around $500 and the cost for the SSCombo and crossbars is about $470.

So it's about the same cost with alot more applications.

Thanks again.

PhillyJoe

A sea-doo trailer (personal watercraft) is great for hauling kayaks. They're low and let you trailer the boat between the wheels. Nearly all can be backed into the water without damage to the hubs. And, you can find nearly new ones, aluminum even, for bargain prices. A lot of people only use them one time - to take their jet ski to their lake homes, and then sell the trailer.

PhillJoe :
If you can find a cheap trailer, that the way to go. I wish that was an option for me, we live in a restricted community (no trailers), and our other house in Key West has no place for parking a trailer, and any parking down there is around $2.50/hour pretty much everywhere even for just a trailer. Plus we travel alot with our camper so the hitch is occupied.
In 2007 we bought an Oasis and a revolution. I'm in my 60's and have a very bad back (broken several years ago) so have to be very careful when lifting. We selected the same Malone racks SSComb113md. I also really liked the ability to just pick up the front of the kayak (1/2 the weight) and guide it onto the roof. I always load everything alone. We have had no major difficulty with those racks. If I had to guess we have way over 60,000 miles on them. The racks are guaranteed for life, and a couple of ours cracked at the base of the V (I think from the Florida sun over 3 or 4 yrs), but we took them back to the dealer and they were promptly replaced. In early 2010 we traded in the Oasis for a Tandem Island which I haul every weekend and once a month down to Key West, with no issues. Since the TI is longer I put both the extensions on the same side of the car with one pointing forward and the other pointing backwards. I usually load the Revo first on the side with the combo loader then push it over to the other side, I then load the TI. I roped pool noodles covered in electrical tape under each combo extension, what these do is push the extension up against the bottom of the hull so when we lash the TI down it is supported by 4 points over a nine ft length (actually stronger and more stable than anything else out there for such a large boat IMO). Another mod that I did which seems to help is I tied a 1 ft long piece of 1 inch rubber hose between the V on the racks with rope. What this does is make it easier to slide the boat over the racks, and also helps support the boat better in the center so the wings don't dig into the sides of the boat so much in the Florida sun. Our vehicle is a Yukon Denali and the roof rack is good for 250 lbs. I also have one of those big T bars that goes into the hitch, but never use it, the combo's work just fine for us. On long trips I do tie the front of the boat to the front bumper but never bother on short trips and locally. So if your trailer thing doesn't work out, and the Hobie Dealer doesn't have a better recommendation (ours was recommended by the Hobie dealer). The Malone SSComb113md can be made to work well (at least in our circumstances with three different boats from yours), Don't know why they wouldn't not recommend it, unless the 33" width of the outback and it's flat-ish bottom is a factor. Hope this helps
Bob

Why not just get a hitch extender for under a hundred bucks and slide it inside your Journey ? Easiest way to load and transport. When you get where you're going just remove the extender and put inside the vehicle. There are a bunch of threads on this forum about this.

Johnny