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04-09-2013, 10:09 AM
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#1
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Senior Member
Name: KAYAK
Trailer: 2007 casita freedom deluxe-2013 tacoma
New Hampshire
Posts: 297
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how will carrying a 50lb kayak on my rav4 roof affect towing?
another newbie-ish question. i'm not really a newbie to towing but it is so different with a small car. thx.
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04-09-2013, 10:20 AM
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#2
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Senior Member
Name: Dave W
Trailer: Trillium 4500 - 1976, 1978, 1979, 1300 - 1977, and a 1973
Alberta
Posts: 6,926
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No effect. Might even increase your fuel economy a bit.
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04-09-2013, 10:22 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Trailer: Trails West Campster 1970
Posts: 3,366
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I often have a Thule box on the top of my Forester. I do think it may help mileage a bit. However in cross winds be careful as adding that height plus the trailer height could make the effect of the wind pretty bad.
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04-09-2013, 10:28 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Name: KAYAK
Trailer: 2007 casita freedom deluxe-2013 tacoma
New Hampshire
Posts: 297
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really????? it will help? why? cuz it holds the car down? so good to know!!!
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04-09-2013, 10:33 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Trailer: Trails West Campster 1970
Posts: 3,366
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Not sure the kayak will do the same, but the box seems to help lift the air up and over the trailer in a more streamlined way. I don't really see better mileage but it isn't any worse as long as the box is lightly loaded. (Could be better but I've never compared on two similar stretches of road- the box only goes up and down I5 over the mountains.)
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04-09-2013, 10:39 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Name: Dave W
Trailer: Trillium 4500 - 1976, 1978, 1979, 1300 - 1977, and a 1973
Alberta
Posts: 6,926
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Think of it like the bulbous front of a tanker, except upside down. It breaks the wind, so to speak. But the effect would probably be too small to notice.
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04-09-2013, 10:42 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Name: KAYAK
Trailer: 2007 casita freedom deluxe-2013 tacoma
New Hampshire
Posts: 297
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oh. neat. my boat goes really fast with out much paddling too...i bet it will really help me. thx.
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04-09-2013, 11:11 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Name: jen
Trailer: 1980 13 ft. burro
Pennsylvania
Posts: 852
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I carry my 45-pound, 10-foot recreational kayak on a J-cradle carrier, with the trailer in tow, and haven't found that it decreases fuel efficiency as long as I'm staying under 60 mph. Between 60-65 I get a very minor, almost negligible decrease.
I did end up having to drive across PA last fall on a super windy day and REALLY felt the cross winds. I've been wanting to get my kayak into the Susquehanna River, but not while it's still attached to the car....ended up bagging the turnpike and taking it nice and slow on route 30 to get over to Pittsburgh.
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04-09-2013, 12:29 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Name: Eric
Trailer: Scamp 13
Michigan
Posts: 256
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I tow with a Honda minivan and a 13' scamp and the two 10' kayaks on top of the minivan decrease gas mileage 1-2 mpg.
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04-09-2013, 12:31 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Name: Dave W
Trailer: Trillium 4500 - 1976, 1978, 1979, 1300 - 1977, and a 1973
Alberta
Posts: 6,926
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Eric, Just to be clear, are you saying that with the kayaks you burn more gas?
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04-09-2013, 12:42 PM
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#11
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Senior Member
Name: Eric
Trailer: Scamp 13
Michigan
Posts: 256
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Quote:
Originally Posted by David Tilston
Eric, Just to be clear, are you saying that with the kayaks you burn more gas?
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Correct, I burn more gas with the kayaks on top. I agree you can feel the cross winds more, but it has not been a significant issue for me.
I don't mean to discount anyone's experiences. I am just sharing my own. The top of the kayaks are above the top of the scamp in my setup. I had wondered if my minivan was taller and the 13' scamp shorter and with having two kayaks my setup did not not experience the gain described above.
However, my intuition says adding a couple kayaks on top of minivan should hurt the gas mileage.
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04-09-2013, 01:29 PM
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#12
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Senior Member
Trailer: Casita Spirit Deluxe 2003 16 ft
Posts: 1,899
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No problem-o. Done all the time...
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04-09-2013, 02:06 PM
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#13
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Senior Member
Name: Jon
Trailer: Escape 21C
New York
Posts: 2,387
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ericw
Correct, I burn more gas with the kayaks on top. I agree you can feel the cross winds more, but it has not been a significant issue for me.
I don't mean to discount anyone's experiences. I am just sharing my own. The top of the kayaks are above the top of the scamp in my setup. I had wondered if my minivan was taller and the 13' scamp shorter and with having two kayaks my setup did not not experience the gain described above.
However, my intuition says adding a couple kayaks on top of minivan should hurt the gas mileage.
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Same here. When I add a small kayak to the top of the RAV 4 with a Thule mount, it doesn't make all that much a difference, but the slight loss is measurable. When I added a spare tire for the RAV4 on the car top carrier I was hoping it would act like a air dam for the Escape. Unfortunately, it didn't. With the addition of the tire & a pair of the large Aero mirrors, I lost about a half MPG. I haven't tried both the tire & the kayak yet...
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04-09-2013, 04:33 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Name: jen
Trailer: 1980 13 ft. burro
Pennsylvania
Posts: 852
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve L.
No problem-o. Done all the time...
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HAHAHA! One of the reasons I got the 10-footer instead of something longer is to avoid any unscheduled bonus ventilation of the front of my trailer!
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04-09-2013, 04:48 PM
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#15
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Senior Member
Trailer: No Trailer Yet
Posts: 5,112
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jen b
HAHAHA! One of the reasons I got the 10-footer instead of something longer is to avoid any unscheduled bonus ventilation of the front of my trailer!
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I almost put my 18 foot Wenonah canoe thru the front window of the UHaul, my first time out.
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04-09-2013, 04:52 PM
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#16
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Senior Member
Name: KAYAK
Trailer: 2007 casita freedom deluxe-2013 tacoma
New Hampshire
Posts: 297
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jon are you still here? i'd like to talk a little about your rig. kayak
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04-09-2013, 05:04 PM
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#17
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Senior Member
Trailer: 2020 Escape 19 (was 2005 16 ft Scamp Side Dinette and 2005 Fleetwood (Coleman) Taos pop-up)
Posts: 1,227
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I routinely carry a kayak or two on my vehicles when towing and the mileage with or without the kayaks seems to be the same. I think in my case the kayaks split the air a little before it hits the camper, so the impact isn't as great as if the air hit the camper directly.
When not towing, the kayaks drop my mileage a little compared to no kayaks, but I learned that even the crossbars by themselves hurt the mileage almost as much as the kayaks, so I remove them if not carrying anything.
__________________
Dave (and Marilyn who is now watching from above)
Sharpsburg, GA
04 Dodge Dakota V-8, 17 Dodge Durango V-6, 19 Ford Ranger 2.3 Ecoboost
radar1-scamping.blogspot.com
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04-09-2013, 05:29 PM
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#18
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Senior Member
Name: Mike
Trailer: 2012 Escape 19
Oklahoma
Posts: 6,021
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Last spring I bought a Hobie Mirage Sport and carried it atop my Highlander. Went from OK to MN and MI, then returned. Also did another trip without trailer, to MI and back, with kayak on top. Both times my fuel economy suffered. With trailer, about 1 mpg. Without, about 2 mpg. I have the 3.5L engine. Of course YMMV (literally).
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04-09-2013, 06:43 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
Trailer: Boler (B1700RGH) 1979
Posts: 5,002
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The effect certainly is dependent on the specific tow vehicle, trailer, and boat. I found that a 17-foot aluminum canoe on top of our Sienna van (without trailer) added some drag and noise, but adding the canoe to the Sienna plus Boler 1700 made no detectable difference. I also found that the angle of the canoe versus level really mattered: due to the slope in the van's roof rack, I had to use thick blocks holding the canoe up at the rear and thin ones at the front to get the canoe's angle of attack to the airflow right.
__________________
1979 Boler B1700RGH, pulled by 2004 Toyota Sienna LE 2WD
Information is good. Lack of information is not so good, but misinformation is much worse. Check facts, and apply common sense liberally.
STATUS: No longer active in forum.
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