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Recommendations, please: kayaks, trailers, hitches, advice for Model 3

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Saying i want a kayak is like saying i want a motorized vehicle. Do you want a semi-truck or a dirt bike? Kayaks are no different. Do you value bringing stuff along in the kayak? Rivers? Large lakes? Ponds? Possible whitewater?

I have an inflatable kayak, bought specifically because i own a model 3. It has its pros and cons.

Pros:
1. Incredibly stable. Can hit unexpected whitewater or large lake waves above your skill level and have a good chance of getting through them. These are safe boats.
2. Light, many under 40lbs
3. Can get a 2-man, that can still be used fairly well as a 1-man. (This is what ive done)
4. Rolls up for compact storage and transport.
5. If dont feel like inflating and deflating often, they can strap to roof of 3 no problem while inflated. The weight is distributed evenly across the glass so chances of cracking is extremely low imo. I do this often.
6. Most room for cargo of any kayak.
7. You can stand up in them!
8. Its easy to climb in and out of water, very unlike many hardshell kayaks.

Cons:
1. Needs to be inflated. This is more of a system problem. Once you go through the process a few times you figure out the routine and improve efficiency. Takes 10-15 mins. (Again this can mostly be skipped if you leave inflated and strap to roof).
2. Inflatables are not going to be as 'fast' or efficient while paddling. Obviously some models better than others. I find my Aire tributary strike 2 moves pretty well on flatwater even against the wind, while also being capable of handling class 4 whitewater. However, it will never hold a candle to a true sea kayak in terms of speed or efficiency.
 
I can lift my 42# Pygmy Coho kayak to the top of my VW Passat wagon, and the Model 3 is MUCH lower than the VW. Still, I would hesitate to put roof racks on the Tesla, because the crossbars apparently take a bit of time to put on and off, with the risk of cracking the glass each time, and I don't want them up there permanently.

FWIW, I built my Coho 20 years ago, and it's still in great shape!
Show us a pic of how it looks after 20yrs!
 
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OK...
John Coho Sammamish200527-7.jpg
 
Dear TMC,

My boss, The Wife, wants two kayaks. She plans to awaken, check the weather, then impulsively zoom off in her Model 3 to go kayaking. Along with our 15-year old... a car full of sass & moxie.

Please tell me your thoughts on:

(1) Trailer -- what trailer would you recommend? I'm assuming a trailer would be a better choice than a roof rack, because a kayak would be hard for my wife to heave up on to the roof, even with help from sass-child. I'll be asleep. Or hiding. Or drunk. Or some combination.

(2) Hitch -- Torklift Eco hitch? Something else?

(3) Can Model 3 handle this job?

(4) Kayaks -- my ignorance is boundless and certainly includes kayaks (animal, vegetable or mineral?). Please, if anyone has recommendations for kayaks, speak up.

Thanks in advance!

Alan

P.S. Don't know if it matters, but I think she's also thinking "camper mode" with a mattress in the back.

P.P.S. If I could convince her to wait, I'd try to solve this problem with a Cybertruck. But no waiting allowed.

P.P.S. Moxie & Sass with their loyal partner in crime, who often shows up in kayaks or carried in a special backpack when he finally exhausts himself.
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Wife just came over, wanted to know what I was doing. Showed her the thread; she's blown away. :)

Great, useful, actionable responses -- thanks! She really does have to think about what *kind* of kayak she wants. Most summers, she and the kid kayak across/around a pretty calm lake. In inflatable kayaks that fit in the rental car we have at that time. If she were to go back down the inflatable kayak route for here at home, maybe we can avoid the expense and pro/con conveniences of roof racks and trailers. But I'm not so sure that's what she wants to do.

I think this thread is teaching me that there will be no perfect solution but may be quite a few good ones. Beware cracked glass; beware turning and reversing with a trailer; wooden, plastic, inflatable, foldable kayaks.

Not that it's critical, but one thing I don't think I'm seeing in these responses is anyone transporting THREE kayaks at a time. (Say, if I am somehow convinced to accompany both wife & kid.) Maybe that's possible with an inflatable, which then gets us into the tradeoffs of the performance and handling of inflatable kayaks versus other types. But it sure looks like a roof rack won't handle three kayaks and even a trailer might be hard-pressed to accommodate.

One thing I feel good about: lots of examples of people successfully doing this with Model 3, even without an Officially Approved Tesla Tow Package.

One thing I'm now more worried about are the references to capsizing kayaks. The Wife loves to take one or both of our chihuahuas along for the ride... which they seemingly love to do as well. Life jackets for humans but no life jackets for chihuahuas. Huh!

Thanks,
Alan

P.S. I appreciate all these postings! With an extra dose of gratitude for the lengthy responses that took people a lot of extra time to compose in their efforts to educate; also the photographs. Thank you!
 
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Not that it's critical, but one thing I don't think I'm seeing in these responses is anyone transporting THREE kayaks at a time. (Say, if I am somehow convinced to accompany both wife & kid.) Maybe that's possible with an inflatable, which then gets us into the tradeoffs of the performance and handling of inflatable kayaks versus other types. But it sure looks like a roof rack won't handle three kayaks and even a trailer might be hard-pressed to accommodate.
. . .

One thing I'm now more worried about are the references to capsizing kayaks. The Wife loves to take one or both of our chihuahuas along for the ride... which they seemingly love to do as well. Life jackets for humans but no life jackets for chihuahuas. Huh!
Trailex makes a couple trailers for multiple kayaks: SUT-500-2BC and SUT-450-M6 - Small Boat Trailers (SUT) - Trailex, Inc.. Note that the big number (450 or 500 here) is the total capacity of the trailer in pounds.

You just haven't looked hard enough for life jackets for the dogs!
LadyOfTheLake.jpg
 
If you look closely you'll see that there is a piece of black rubber or foam in place to prevent rubbing in that picture.
Yep, lots of outdoor stores sell a sleeve that goes over the line to protect against rubbing, but I was still interested in the length of kayak that would avoid having to use a sleeve to begin with.
 
Yep, lots of outdoor stores sell a sleeve that goes over the line to protect against rubbing, but I was still interested in the length of kayak that would avoid having to use a sleeve to begin with.

Another alternative is to get an anchor that goes in the frunk with a thin strap that comes out of the frunk and provides a loop through which you can secure a hold down strap. Here is a link to an example to help with my poor description - Hood Anchor. There are multiple brands available and any REI or rack supply shop carries them.

I use this with my car and it works very well. This avoids having any straps rubbing any paint.
 
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That front tie line, rubs? How long is the kayak that you tied down? Just wondering what the minimum kayak length would be to avoid rubbing.
This is a 14’ kayak and the front line does touch the car. The line came with some rubber protectors that “stick without glue” to the car and don’t let it move.
the lines are from a kayak carrying kit from my 2009 Mini Cooper
 
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Still, I would hesitate to put roof racks on the Tesla, because the crossbars apparently take a bit of time to put on and off, with the risk of cracking the glass each time, and I don't want them up there permanently.

FWIW, I built my Coho 20 years ago, and it's still in great shape!

My pan is to leave the crossbars on. Someone here did some tests and estimated that they only reduce range by 2%. I will remove the kayak mounting hardware for most driving but leave the crossbars on.

By using the rack, I can sell our truck and save money and bother.
 
I used to haul two kayaks on the roof of my Mazda 6, and this picture from a google search confirms that it's also possible on the 3. The roof rack is supposed to be good for 150lb and two standard kayaks with mounting hardware would be well within that limit. I'm not sure I would risk it personally because of the horror stories I've heard about glass cracking with the roof rack, but in theory it should work. I would be super leery about using a trailer to tow kayaks; it can be dangerous to tow something long and lightweight like that, especially on the highway. Would also be pretty tough to turn corners.
Question...what j-bars were you using for this setup? Trying to locate some and want to make sure they're compatible. Thanks.
 
I got the proper Tesla aero roof bars and then tried a sportrack kayak mount on it that was supposed to be good for two kayaks or if you folded the upright support down you could mount SUP’s or surf boards on it. It was a totally horrible solution as it didn’t properly fit the roof bars aero shape and it had to be mounted central on the car so you could put each kayak on. It made it incredibly hard even for me (I’m 6’2”) to reach up and place the kayaks on without being really scared of dropping it on the glass roof. So I returned it to the shop.
I've since spent almost twice as much on two sets of Thule Hull-A-Port kayak holders which fit the Tesla bars perfectly and mount them right next to either side of the car. Even my wife can lift the kayak on quite easily and we don’t have to worry about it dropping on the glass roof. You can take them on or off very quickly and we have just left the bars permanently attached for the summer. This is a much better solution for us and it really does pay to pay for better quality equipment that works very well indeed. We have two Pelican 10’ kayaks and I’d be willing to bet you could mount a bike rack between the two boats too.