How to transport a Canoe with a Model 3

[ecarfan]

I could not say exactly how strong winds were, but I'm guessing around 50-60 km/h winds (32-38 mph) probably more than that. Canoe held ok afterall. Just before mid-trip, I realized we just did 100 km (63 miles) and actually consumed 200 km (125 miles). My consumption was around 240 wh/km (384 wh/Mi).

Could you tell if during that part of your trip if you had a headwind or a tailwind?

Even without any wind, the canoe is going to add a large amount of extra drag which will significantly increase energy usage.

on our way back home, when I was on road, direction south, I had a consumption of 170 wh/km (272 wh/mi). So I though to myself, hey, this isn't bad after all. It was just a very windy day for both our way to camp site and to home. That was until I turned west. Consumption went back to 240-250 wh/km (384-400 wh/mi).

That low consumption figure was likely due to a large tailwind.

 

[TomLee]

If I remember correctly, I drove around 100 km/h, not much faster as canoe was greatly affected by wind. It moved/rotated a little bit left and right, but less than half an inch. Not much, but just enough to keep me on the "tip of my seat", stressed. It does that on my subaru too.

100km/h is pretty slow on high way. Wind indeed affect the efficiency very much! Did you try put some bikes on and test the efficiency? I only have a SR+ and still debating on roof or hitch mount bike rack.

 

[FrankH333]

Could you tell if during that part of your trip if you had a headwind or a tailwind?

Even without any wind, the canoe is going to add a large amount of extra drag which will significantly increase energy usage.

That low consumption figure was likely due to a large tailwind.

I didn't had a signal for my cell phone at camp site to check weather. We could assume you are right but I can't confirm.

100km/h is pretty slow on high way. Wind indeed affect the efficiency very much! Did you try put some bikes on and test the efficiency? I only have a SR+ and still debating on roof or hitch mount bike rack.

100km/h is Maximum speed in Quebec. I know it's tolerated up to 20 km/h over limit. With time and age, I started to drive closer to the limit and have less consuption, even with my Subaru. Especially when I haul a trailer or in this case, canoe on top of the car, I drive slower to avoid any incident.
As for the bike question, I do not have a roof rack for bikes. I will probably check to have a hitch receiver installed on our Tesla. We already have the hitch rack for the bikes. I personnally prefer having bikes behind the car rather than on top of it. It seems very high with bikes on top of a car. But that's just my preference.

 

[hmgolds]

I have rope tight against the finish of the 2005 Ford Ranger all the time. I would never do that with my Model 3. Not with rope or nor nylon webbing.

Some rope is softer than others but ask yourself - would you ball it up and use it to wash your car with?

I suggest taking an old washcloth or T-shirt, sewing 2 sides together to make a tube, and putting the rope or webbing through that where it touches the car.

No doubt some will say they do it all the time without issue. But all it takes is some oscillation of the canoe or kayak to cause a problem.

 

[outdoors]

I have rope tight against the finish of the 2005 Ford Ranger all the time. I would never do that with my Model 3. Not with rope or nor nylon webbing.

Some rope is softer than others but ask yourself - would you ball it up and use it to wash your car with?

I suggest taking an old washcloth or T-shirt, sewing 2 sides together to make a tube, and putting the rope or webbing through that where it touches the car.

No doubt some will say they do it all the time without issue. But all it takes is some oscillation of the canoe or kayak to cause a problem.

I have a roll of PPF for the hood where the above poster showed damage. I cut a new tiny piece to go over the existing PPF area that I am using for the season and remove at the end or iced in. Early on in the year I just removed as trips that time of the year are less often. About one inch on each side for minor movements.

My canoe does not really move from side to side. It is narrow and solo. My center strap tighten process is a little over the top, but heading to Northern Ontario or the Boundary Waters is a haul from SE Michigan. I have put my solo Royalex up with no problem. I am not sure I have the need to put the other two mans on it. Would do the S at that point.

Best way to haul three canoes??? Put three inside the airstream in my attached avatar. Through the front window. Getting the three guys inside to sleep was a circus.

 

[hmgolds]

I have a roll of PPF for the hood where the above poster showed damage. I cut a new tiny piece to go over the existing PPF area that I am using for the season and remove at the end or iced in. Early on in the year I just removed as trips that time of the year are less often. About one inch on each side for minor movements.

My canoe does not really move from side to side. It is narrow and solo. My center strap tighten process is a little over the top, but heading to Northern Ontario or the Boundary Waters is a haul from SE Michigan. I have put my solo Royalex up with no problem. I am not sure I have the need to put the other two mans on it. Would do the S at that point.

Best way to haul three canoes??? Put three inside the airstream in my attached avatar. Through the front window. Getting the three guys inside to sleep was a circus.

The PPF sounds like a good idea. Not very expensive for a 6" by 25" roll.

When driving from SE Michigan to the Boundary Waters do you go around Chicago or through the UP? If via the UP, I'd like to discuss charging offline from the thread.

 

[bpjod]

Sea Sucker Monkey Bars here. Front tied down with the tie downs shown above closed in the frunk. I don't tie the rear down, the strapping over the canoe is so tight it doesn't budge.

I aim for 200 Wh/km average on my usual 350km trip by watching my energy usage on the trip meter and energy graph. Since I know it'll be touch and go (LR RWD), I drive 95 km/h until I'm fairly certain I'll make my destination, then speed up to 100, then 105 km/h as I get closer. I once followed a dump truck most of the way at 115 km/h, that was a good drive! Local trips it doesn't matter so I don't worry about the energy usage.

 

[gary3411]

View attachment 439521 View attachment 439520 Sea Sucker Monkey Bars here. Front tied down with the tie downs shown above closed in the frunk. I don't tie the rear down, the strapping over the canoe is so tight it doesn't budge.

I aim for 200 Wh/km average on my usual 350km trip by watching my energy usage on the trip meter and energy graph. Since I know it'll be touch and go (LR RWD), I drive 95 km/h until I'm fairly certain I'll make my destination, then speed up to 100, then 105 km/h as I get closer. I once followed a dump truck most of the way at 115 km/h, that was a good drive! Local trips it doesn't matter so I don't worry about the energy usage.

No fractured glass yet?

 

[bpjod]

No fractured glass yet?

None yet. I’ve got 34,700 km on my Model 3 and I’d estimate 1/4 of those have been with either the SeaSucker Monkey Bars or Bomber Bike Rack carting up to three fully suspended mountain bikes, a canoe, paddleboard or roof box filled with downhill skis, poles, helmets and boots for four. The roof box has logged the most miles and has done so in some pretty cold weather including a1,000 km day where the first half of the trip was -28 C.

 

[Jcmccain]

I know this is an old thread but it was very useful for me when planning a trip so I wanted to add my experience. I brought a ~100 year old birch bark canoe that was in my family back to its First Nation makers in KZA/Maniwaki, QC. Coming from outside Boston with a SR+, I was worried that my mileage would take enough of a hit that the trip would be impossible but I had no problems. The trip is about 540 miles and I used ABRP Pro to measure and plan my supercharging stops since I could set up different profiles and determine my average usage with and without the canoe. On both trips to/from QC, temps were nominal (65F) so HVAC and battery temp weren’t a factor. The trip to QC averaged about 320 Wh/mi with slightly more conservative driving than normal and the ride home was about 245 Wh/mi. The one thing that sucked was that Autopilot (not surprisingly) would beep a Front Collision Warning every few minutes due to the obstructed view so I had to drive like a Neanderthal for the trip up.

In terms of attaching the canoe to the roof, I have the Tesla roof rack and only used two ratcheting straps to attach it. I made sure the canoe was centered and checked that it was snug at every stop but never had any issues. The wood is in under the straps to spread the load on the canoe so the straps don’t land between the ribs and cut open the bark.

As an aside, for bikes, I installed a Stealth hitch and use a rack attached to that to carry bikes. It’s a great setup and doesn’t have a huge impact on mileage but it’s hard to tell since we usually have more people and gear in the car when the bikes are on. Given the aerodynamics, I assume it has less impact than if I put them on the roof.

Hope this helps someone, I know the thread was super useful for me.

 

[bpjod]

I know this is an old thread but it was very useful for me when planning a trip so I wanted to add my experience. I brought a ~100 year old birch bark canoe that was in my family back to its First Nation makers in KZA/Maniwaki, QC. Coming from outside Boston with a SR+, I was worried that my mileage would take enough of a hit that the trip would be impossible but I had no problems. The trip is about 540 miles and I used ABRP Pro to measure and plan my supercharging stops since I could set up different profiles and determine my average usage with and without the canoe. On both trips to/from QC, temps were nominal (65F) so HVAC and battery temp weren’t a factor. The trip to QC averaged about 320 Wh/mi with slightly more conservative driving than normal and the ride home was about 245 Wh/mi. The one thing that sucked was that Autopilot (not surprisingly) would beep a Front Collision Warning every few minutes due to the obstructed view so I had to drive like a Neanderthal for the trip up.

In terms of attaching the canoe to the roof, I have the Tesla roof rack and only used two ratcheting straps to attach it. I made sure the canoe was centered and checked that it was snug at every stop but never had any issues. The wood is in under the straps to spread the load on the canoe so the straps don’t land between the ribs and cut open the bark.

As an aside, for bikes, I installed a Stealth hitch and use a rack attached to that to carry bikes. It’s a great setup and doesn’t have a huge impact on mileage but it’s hard to tell since we usually have more people and gear in the car when the bikes are on. Given the aerodynamics, I assume it has less impact than if I put them on the roof.

Hope this helps someone, I know the thread was super useful for me.

Glad the thread was helpful. I love the picture and that’s a fascinating canoe.

I’m now up to 70,000 km and still love the car as much as ever and still hauling as much stuff as ever. Now that the Superchargers along Hwy 16 are opening I’ll have a lot less worries about range when travelling with a canoe or roof box.

 

[Jcmccain]

Glad the thread was helpful. I love the picture and that’s a fascinating canoe.

I’m now up to 70,000 km and still love the car as much as ever and still hauling as much stuff as ever. Now that the Superchargers along Hwy 16 are opening I’ll have a lot less worries about range when travelling with a canoe or roof box.

That great! Still love mine too: almost 2 years old with 40k mi/64000 km. Superchargers are such a huge selling point. On my way back through Montreal, I was charging at an Electric Circuit station for a few hours. What a pain! Took 10 min to activate.