Woundup wrote:
jdmcmah wrote:
Hello!
My wife and I live in LA - but road trip most of the summer and we would like to bring the kayak with us. I am comfortable driving with a trailer - but my wife is not. I don't want to get saddle with 6k of driving - so I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts/tips/suggestions about car topping on a Ford Escape.
We don't have a roof rack, so we will have to purchase one from Thule or Yakima. While we are both reasonably fit, I am not opposed to buying the kayak lift assists to help load.
Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
Be prepared for your fuel mileage to get crushed. That will act like an air brake on the top of your car. And I would bring extra straps, rope, whatever to double and triple strap that thing down.
Also, why not try a practice run or two loading the kayak with your wife? That way you could see if you are good or if you need to buy the kayak lift assist.
Yes, there will be an impact on fuel consumption - not sure about crushed, though... with the hobie pointing fore/aft, it's going to be pretty aerodynamic. When it's strapped to the top of a Defender, the Defender become your weak point in terms of aerodynamics anyway...!
If towing a trailer, be prepared for the additional weight... although most trailers that Hobies are put onto are pretty light, I'd wager that if you have more than a handful of hills, or a few stop/starts, your fuel economy is going to be treated as badly as putting it on the roof.
Appropriate application of the right foot is always the most influencing factor anyway.
But I definitely agree with a practice run or two. Even just lifting it up and about will give you an idea of how manageable it will be for you.
I'm certainly no strongman or giant (180cm, 85kg of pure muscle/fat), and getting either end up to 2.3m isn't too difficult.