Newbie seeking advice

Hello all!

We are considering the TI or the Oasis. We have a Jeep Grand Cherokee, and I have seen the great thread and pictures by Bluehen. Our problem is that we will be towing an Airstream trailer, so we must car-top, but we have minimal rear clearance. We are considering adding a front receiver and a Thule goalpost on the front of the vehicle. That way, the TI will be shifted forward away from the Airstream.

Although a truck would be great, we do not intend to change vehicles for five years. Are we being crazy to do these modifications to our Jeep for the TI when we could easily put the Oasis up there? What do you all think? Should we buy an Oasis now and in 5 years time, when we get a truck, sell it and buy a TI? Or, is that just wasting money? Decisions, decisions.

Thanks for any help!
Lisa and Paul

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Paul and Lisa
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Airstream International trailer

Wow. That's a really good question. Anyone put a hitch on the front end?

I just read that the TI has a minimum overhang of around 6' past the Hobie cradles, when they are separated 67".

I don't know what options exist for mounting the front hitchpost directly but I think you have the right approach. There are any number of bullbars/winch combos that could have a thule receiver inconspicuously welded on - if you research it and find a good shop to do it.



It still may be tricky to load the TI from the front, due to the gap, but transferring the hull forward and unloading from the front should be easier.

However, if the Airstream is going to sit for days at a time, I was thinking that you could still load/unload using a goalpost in the rear and then move the Thule to the front bar for longer transport w/ the trailer. Short of having a powered lift, that would be the perfect combination. You would need a way to attach the rear post, such as a suitable dual hitch adapter. It all depends on how your Airstream is setup, but it's something to consider.



Sounds like fun. If I really wanted the adventure of a lifetime, I would get the TI and find a way.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

More info would be helpful - you make it sound as if the only time you would use the TI or Oasis is when you're geared up for a trip and towing the AirStream ...

... are their local places for you to enjoy sailing / kayaking or will it always involve a serious effort ?

... what percentage of the time that you'll use the kayak will you have the airstream in tow ?

As far as TI vs Oasis, the real question there comes down to $$$. If you can swing it, life is too short not to have the swiss army knife of kayak's vs. just a single blade pocket knife.

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Alan W.

Papaya AI2 to replace my well worn V1
TheTwins - His/Hers 2007 Papaya Hobie Adventure Island's (v1.00.01)
.. and a Hobie Outback SUV

Definitely go with the TI if you can figure some way to haul it. Can you side mount it on your trailer?

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

Thanks for all the quick info. It really helps.

Some people have stated that the TI is difficult to put on the roof by oneself. The kayak will be loaded from the rear of the vehicle and then the trailer will be hitched.

The Jeep is 15.5 feet long, and the TI is 18.5 feet long, so we will have overhang on both ends. We found a few pictures of trucks that have put on front receivers and WARN makes one to fit our Jeep. I haven't figured out how to paste in a picture, but this link shows what some people have done: http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fusea ... 300515.cfm

We plan to use the TI and Airstream on weekends and on summer holidays. Does this seem like too much trouble for such short trips? It sure would make summer a blast! We have so many lakes and campgrounds in our area, and we like to make the most of our brief summers.

Thanks for the advice! The TI really is the Swiss-army kayak!

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Paul and Lisa
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Airstream International trailer

Oh heck ya! These front end receivers are cheap. That's the way to go.


http://www.quadratec.com/products/92011_800_07.htm



And having a TI to explore a world full of lakes is the way to go too!

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Hi Paul & Lisa,

Thanks for the kind words about my post regarding Jeep-topping our TI. Our system continues to work well, and I would think that installing the goal post in a front-mounted hitch receiver would be equally effective, so long as you line up for a stop in a way that lets you see an overhead traffic signal. It really isn't difficult to get the TI on the roof if you put the hull up & down by itself.

Our personal travel plans have changed a bit. We have a MacGregor 26M sailboat that we keep on the Chesapeake Bay, but being a monohull -- and a water-ballasted one at that -- it isn't my wife's favorite ride on a windy day because it "tips" a bit. She so enjoys zipping along on the TI while staying flat, however, that we resolved to replace the Mac with a multihull, and so we have just purchased a Gemini 3400 catamaran.





So in a way, our acquisition of the TI a little over a year ago has turned out to be REALLY expensive! [but we're worth it ].

Our MacGregor is for sale, so if you know anyone who may be looking for something trailerable that's a lot bigger than a Hobie, please direct them to http://www.yachts.com/listings/1385.html

Doug

Oh no, Doug! We hope this purchase won't become as expensive as yours!

The Hobie rep will be here on Sunday May 6th, so we'll be able to try out the Oasis and TI. We're starting to count down the days and making plans for modifying the Jeep.

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Paul and Lisa
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Airstream International trailer

We got to test drive the TI today. It was fantastic! The weather was miserable 48F (9C) and raining the entire time, but the Hobie rep, Craig, was great. We all were frozen, but he answered all our questions. We first tried the TI out as a kayak. It was surprisingly stable even given the wind and chop. Then, he brought out the amas. That really stabilized it. Then he brought out the sail. Boy does it go! We're sold! We're going to make that baby fit on our Jeep's roof no matter what!

We don't have a front receiver yet, but that is what we will be doing. We are going to order the cradles and a Thule goalpost. Craig said that we'll probably use the TI more often if we have a trailer, so we may consider that for when we're not camping.

Ours will be Ivory Dune. That's what is in stock, and it's pretty nice.

Thanks Eb's Source for Adventure for organizing the demo day!

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Paul and Lisa
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Airstream International trailer

Yay! We brought our new Hobie TI in Ivory Dune home yesterday. We followed all of Bluehen's advice about Jeep-topping, and it was so stable. We are still waiting for our front-receiver so that we can tow our Airstream, while car-topping. Once I figure out how to post photos (it seems like I have to link them to another site?), I'll post some with our full rig . . . Jeep, TI, trailer.

Lisa

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Paul and Lisa
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Airstream International trailer

I can't figure out how to insert a picture, but here are the pictures we posted on Airforums. Go to post #405.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f161/kayaks-and-airstreams-41426-29.html#post1166242

Paul added a front receiver to our Jeep and inserted the Thule Goalpost into it. He finds it much easier to load from the front than the back because the Goalpost can be lowered for loading and raised for transport. We are also using the Hobie TI cradles. There is more than enough clearance for the Airstream.

Lisa

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Paul and Lisa
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Airstream International trailer

See Lisa's post above:

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Hello Paul and Lisa,
I visit Regina and Saskatoon regularly. What parts do you come from?
I have same boat here in Tampa area.

What a life! If you ever roll by Kailua, give me a tweet.

chrisj, thanks so much for posting the pictures!

Lake Diefenbaker is usually a much rougher lake, but we caught it on an unusually calm weekend. However, just 2 days later, we had 3 days of major storms roll through (60-year old trees ripped out from their roots, roofs ripped off building -- and most of the damage was just from high winds; however, a few tornadoes touched down). Glad we weren't camping this week. The storms finally cleared out and we had sunshine today.

bosab, we are in Saskatoon. Paul's parents used to have a place in Sarasota which we would visit regularly. We love Florida, but haven't been there for quite a few years. I wish we lived somewhere warm so that we could camp and kayak all year long. What brings you to Saskatchewan? Most people don't even know where it is!

Lisa

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Paul and Lisa
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Airstream International trailer