Fit for kayaks

[dea-dog]

HI All,
I am thinking of buying a 2009 Sport Fit. The only concern that I have is carrying my two kayaks and going down bumpy dirt roads to get to the water, I am worried about ground clearance. I also do a lot of camping and what not. Has anyone out there carried kayaks, I would love to hear how it works out. I am torn between the Fit and the SX4 Crossover.
Thanks for your help.

[manxman]

Originally Posted by dea-dog

HI All,
I am thinking of buying a 2009 Sport Fit. The only concern that I have is carrying my two kayaks and going down bumpy dirt roads to get to the water, I am worried about ground clearance. I also do a lot of camping and what not. Has anyone out there carried kayaks, I would love to hear how it works out. I am torn between the Fit and the SX4 Crossover.
Thanks for your help.

At the top of the page, click the "search" button, type in "kayaks", and you will find about two-three dozen posts on the subject of Fits carrying kayaks. Buy the Fit.

[BlackUp]

It'll carry some yaks but............
Bumpy, rutted out, back-roads will eat your Fit alive. I drive into crazy areas all the time for my job and I often have to leave my car and walk in.
I think the base model is supposed to ride higher than the sport, but it doesn't say how much on the Honda site. That may be something to look into, but I doubt it would be enough to matter.

[nmfit2008]

Hi Dea-Dog,

I have posted this before, but our 08 Sport MT carries a hard-body on top, and a two-man inflatable inside...most weekends in the summer.

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s...oofracks04.jpg

We drive down to the Rio Grande and always drive our Fit on some rough terrain right to the river's edge. Last summer it handled everything very well, and people would gawk at the amount of equipment that we would pull out of our Fit.

I say buy the Fit, but get a good roof rack.

[75r90rider]

Originally Posted by dea-dog

HI All,
I am thinking of buying a 2009 Sport Fit. The only concern that I have is carrying my two kayaks and going down bumpy dirt roads to get to the water, I am worried about ground clearance. I also do a lot of camping and what not. Has anyone out there carried kayaks, I would love to hear how it works out. I am torn between the Fit and the SX4 Crossover.
Thanks for your help.

The Fit beats the SX4 in just about every category I can think of except dirt road and kayak capability. Dealer network, resale, demand when you go to sell it someday, likely reliability, parts/service availability, interior cargo volume, MPG, handling, Fit wins. Barreling down a dirt road, hands down Zook. If you tow, Zook wins. Looking at the front bumper and such on my Fit Sport, I would be real leery taking it down too much of a fire road. Base Fit, maybe more so. I paddle myself, have a Valley Aquanaut HV, and guess what...the '98 VW Golf has a lot better roof rack system and I don't worry about taking it off the beaten path as much. At some point, I'll probably spring for a Fit rack and haul the boat on there.

[sevenaprils]

I'm dropped on Skunk2 springs and my 07 fit sport handles 2 yaks on top with a Thule system and all our camping/kayaking gear inside. I've been on some bumpy but hardpacked roads. As long as we go slow and keep an eye out for big bumps/rocks and avoid it carefully I've no problems. Softer terrain is something I wouldn't chance because getting stuck with the fit would probably be less than idea.
And according to scangaugeII I still average 31mpgs on the highway at 65mph with the two kayaks :-) see if the SX4 can do that...

[F0NIX]

I have no problem going offroad or on bad roads with this car;



The car is not lowered (yet). Even if it is a base model, I have the sport styling.

I have not tried with my kayak yet. But I dont see any problem there if you have a good roof rack system. Thule make good ones. I have a old Thule system and it works fine. I have no pictures of it on the car yet.