Hauling a fishing kayak on my model 3

[jesse95]

Hey everyone,
I'm new to the group and have owned my model 3 for just over a year now. I bought factory roof racks for it and I was hoping to haul my fishing kayak. I have a set of kayak saddles. My kayak weighs 84 pounds. I'm just wondering if anyone had any tips on how to properly haul the kayak. I'm also trying to figure out the best way to get it up on the car. Please feel free to share any recommendations. Thanks!

 

[PianoAl]

Here's mine:

But it only weighs about 40 pounds. I can lift it like a barbell and put it on the car.

When I had a truck, I could lower it from the ceiling and into the bed, but with the way the garage is laid out, that didn't work with the Tesla.. Perhaps you can do something like that for loading and unloading?

 

[NeverGoingBack]

I’ll let you know as soon as I figure out how to get my 65 pound tandem kayak up there. I’ve got the rack and saddles on the car and ready to go.

I used to put the kayak up on a Honda CRV by lifting one end of the kayak and resting it on the rear end of the roof (on a special protective pad designed for that). Then I would lift the other end off the ground and slide the kayak up onto the saddles. Worked great. The pad is specifically designed to protect the car, allow for easy sliding of the kayak, and stay put.

But resting the kayak on the back of the M3 on the glass roof sounds like a real bad idea.

So I’m thinking there might be a way to do it from the side …… by resting the kayak on the car roof frame over the doors (again, on the protective pad) and then raising up the other end and swinging the kayak around to engage the front saddles and then lifting it over onto the rear. Seems like that might work, but I have to experiment with it a bit. Thinking this will work because the roof of the M3 is so low …….. much lower than the CRV.

Also, typically a two person job. My wife helps by stabilizing/steadying the kayak while it is leaning and as I am raising the other end until it engages the saddles.

 

[TheJDJ]

For reference, here is my 12' Ocean Kayak Malibu Two on my Model 3. I just lift it up and set it in the saddles from the side. Much easier than they way I would basically throw it up on top of my Grand Cherokee.

 

[NeverGoingBack]

Hmm …. I’m impressed. But not sure I can single-handedly lift my 66lb 13.5ft Pelican Unison 136T up there. Tough to control and worry I might lose control and drop it on car. And my wife definitely doesn’t have the strength to assist with a lift like that.

 

[PianoAl]

So I’m thinking there might be a way to do it from the side …… by resting the kayak on the car roof frame over the doors

Someone makes something that extends out from the roof rack on the side. You lift one end up on to that, etc.

 

[3sr+buyer]

Someone makes something that extends out from the roof rack on the side. You lift one end up on to that, etc.

Probably this: Thule Hullavator Pro | Thule | United States

Or this: ShowDown

There is also something like this to load from the rear: ShowBoat 66 (this is just the extension to the rear, not the regular saddles that the boat eventually sits on)

 

[PianoAl]

This is the think I was thinking of.