[droidian]

I have two Kayaks about 13' long. Does anyone know of the best way to haul these on top the E? I only need to haul one kayak but two would be nice.

I have a Thule rack system already that I used on an Expedition but I don't know if the Thule can adapt to the E.

 

[boneheadz]

Thule make a rack for the CRV which is the same as the element. You will probably just need the foot pack. Your exsisting kayak rack should fit.

 

[droidian]

Thanks for info!

 

[NyArtist26]

Droidian, just curious what it's like driving with kyaks on the roof, I am about to buy 2, 14 and a half foot kyaks (orange and yellow to match my E of course). Does it affect your driving at all? And would you recommend the thule rack?

Thanks
NyArtist26

 

[banylo]

THULE RACKS ARE COOL BUT ALMOST AS EXPENSIVE AS THE HONDA ONES.AND BESIDES YOU HAVE TO BUY A FOOT PACK TO COVER THE OPENING ON THE PANEL, WHERE WITH THE HONDA ONES YOU JUST PAY ONE PRICE AND IT LOOKS PERFECT. KEEP IN MIND THAT NO MATTER WHAT RACK YOU PUT ON THE CAPACITY IS STILL THE SAME(ABOUT 65 LBS.)

 

[droidian]

I haven't driven the E with kayaks yet. With the Expedition I had, i didn't even notice them but thats a much different vehicle.

My plans are to haul only one kayak so I don't think the E will notice it much either. I suspect two kayaks may be bit demanding; you may want to consider a kayak trailer instead.

Often when I hauled two kayaks with my Expedition I thought a trailer would have been much easier to load/unload, considering the height of the vehicle.

As for the Thule, its a very nice system. Extremely easier to put on and take off. They also have "rollers" to make loading and unloading the kayak a lot easier. My only complaint is they are sooo expensive.

I don't know much about the Honda rack but I'm going to check into it. Especially if its less expensive than the Thule.

 

[StephenB]

[quote:783d3e6672="boneheadz"]Thule make a rack for the CRV which is the same as the element. You will probably just need the foot pack. Your exsisting kayak rack should fit.[/quote:783d3e6672]

The foot pack is the same for the CR-V and Element - I used mine from the '02 V for the '03 E although I did customize the base plate for a lower profile and neater fit.

Here are a couple of options: http://goeztop.com/index.html and http://www.ezload.biz/pages/1/index.htm to get a kayak on top of the fairly high E.

 

[ccvance]

My husband and I are looking to buy an E, but we already have a Durango outfitted with Thule and love it. And we have a kayak trailer that is perfect, made by SportsRig in Morro Bay California. Since we bought the kayak trailer we no longer carry the kayaks on the SUV unless we are having friends paddle with us.

The kayak trailer is much more convenient, and utilizes the Thule racks perfectl so we can move our entire Thule system from SUV to trailer for our bikes, kayaks, cargo boxes, etc. The kayak trailer is also light enough to be pulled from vehicle to vehicle by hand, and we even use it for portaging a distance from the vehicle to the water if we can't park alongside the river banks. With the trailer I can now go paddling with just the girls, and we don't have to stuggle loading the top of the SUV.

The kayak trailer even folds up flat so you can store it alongside your garage wall, and we then use the Harken Hoisters to store the kayaks in the rafters of the garage.

I can't wait to get my E so I can put my kayak trailer on it!

 

[StephenB]

[quote:487a9e4de2="ccvance"]My husband and I are looking to buy an E, but we already have a Durango outfitted with Thule and love it. And we have a kayak trailer that is perfect, made by SportsRig in Morro Bay California.[/quote:487a9e4de2]

Thanks for the reminder - its a great idea. Here is the URL in case anyone is interested: http://www.sportsrig.com/ For those north of the border there is a Canadian company near Brockville, Ontario (on the St. Lawrence River) doing something similar. I've heard trailers can be particularly liberating for paddlers who find roof racks a bit of a challenge. The only downside I've heard is the (possible) extra cost on ferries etc. and perhaps parking in some areas. I'd imagine any extra cost would soon be equalized by using less gas instead of traveling with something big like a kayak and box on top of the E.