Fit for kayaks

dea-dog · #1 (**permalink**) 11-09-2008, 05:42 PM

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 · #2 (**permalink**) 11-09-2008, 05:57 PM

Quote:

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 · #3 (**permalink**) 11-09-2008, 07:25 PM

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 · #4 (**permalink**) 11-10-2008, 12:33 AM

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 · #5 (**permalink**) 11-10-2008, 05:41 AM

Quote:

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 · #6 (**permalink**) 11-10-2008, 08:06 AM

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 · #7 (**permalink**) 11-10-2008, 11:59 AM

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.

oregonian · #8 (**permalink**) 09-24-2009, 02:08 AM

That is exactly what I need. May I know what brand of roof rack, what model and how did you install that? Thank you

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

azncarbos · #9 (**permalink**) 09-24-2009, 03:07 AM

I would looking into the Thule system it cheaper and better then ...I have carry a kayaks and my mountain bike.....

Thule Car Racks - 2009 Thule 400XT Aero Complete Car Roof Racks

Thule Kayak Racks & Canoe Racks - Car Roof Carriers

as for ground clearance it can't go through any area made for 4X4 or need of high ground clearance like 36" but I usually take my fit out to the back country of the Sierra Nevada In California a lot....

Ultrawolf · #10 (**permalink**) 09-24-2009, 09:21 PM

I have an Inno rack from ORS Racks for my Fit. I just posted a review of the rack on paddling.net. I have no problems with the Fit as a kayak hauler, including hauling two big, heavy 16 foot poly boats that I keep in Maine. No experience yet with really rough roads, but with the bar spacing only around 30 inches, those heavy 16 foot boats tend to pitch up and down (i.e., "hobby horse") when I hit big bumps. So bow and stern tie downs are pretty critical to help hold the kayaks securely. But I don't have kayak cradles, just the boats sitting on the bars with some foam in between, which contributes to the boats moving around on the rack.

Here's a smaller 13.5 footer on my Fit.

oregonian · #11 (**permalink**) 09-25-2009, 12:36 AM

Thank you guys for the information. I just got my kayak today. I'm glad I can go in this website and get information about anything for may car.

lgindoff · #12 (**permalink**) 09-28-2009, 05:00 PM

Ultrawolf, I have an 09 Sport and am wondering where you connect the tie down to the FIT, in both the front and rear without damaging any of the plastic.

nmfit2008 · #13 (**permalink**) 09-28-2009, 05:06 PM

Hi Igindoff,

No problem for the tie down. There is a hook underneath the back bumper, and the Fit comes with a portable hook which screws into the front bumper (otherwise we keep it in the glove box).

Both hooks are designed for towing the car, but they are better suited as tie downs.

Ultrawolf · #14 (**permalink**) 09-28-2009, 06:52 PM

Igindoff,

I chose not to use the tow hook mounts in the bumper because I wanted my tie downs centered. In the front, I have a webbing strap that is attached to an inner frame piece directly behind the bumper. The strap feeds out through the grill below the license plate, and the license plate keeps the strap/rope from rubbing on the bumper. When not in use, I remove the tie down rope from the strap, and tuck the strap back in through the lower grill for storage. If you search for threads on A/C condenser protection, you'll find instructions on how to access the space behind the bumper, or if you have small hands you can reach in through the lower grill. Note that I also have a condenser protector mesh installed, but it's attached about 3 inches behind the lower grill, leaving space for my strap. Iif you decide to do something like this, let me know and I can be more specific on exactly what/how I attached the strap to.

In the back, crawl under the car and you can see a steel rail behind the rear bumper. I tied a 5/16" nylon line around that steel rail on both left and right side of the car (middle is blocked by part of bumper cover), forming a loop hanging down just below the bumper. The nylon line is covered with some plastic tubing to keep it stiff. I happened to have red tubing which looks pretty slick. This all sounds complicated, but it took me about 10 minutes to do both the front and rear, and I now have convenient, semi-permanent tie down points.

(photo is pinkish due to light reflecting off my shirt)

Roland · #15 (**permalink**) 09-28-2009, 07:23 PM

FYI, here's another option for front end tie downs. I've seen them in action, they work nicely, and securely especially if you're carrying your boats often. We carry our canoe/kayak on our Odyssey so I haven't done anything with the Fit.

Rutabaga - PAJE Products - TopTies

Ultrawolf · #16 (**permalink**) 09-29-2009, 11:19 AM

Thought I would mention I'm using 58 inch load bars, which is longer than the default of 50 inches or so that will come up using the rack manufacturers recommendation for the Fit. To me, the wider bars look fine, they're still narrower than the car, and they give me more loading options. I was afraid I might bump my head on the end of the bar, but that hasn't been an issue either.