I was at the Toyota Dealer today looking at cars and the salesman pointed me to the XD. I was wondering if this is a good car for hauling a canoe on the roof and are there any good tie down spots in the front and back. I looked at the dealership but didn't see any without doing a good exam of the car. The salesman wasn't sure one way or the other.

Thanks,

 

Buy a roof rack. I guess it would all depend on the size of the canoe too.

 

Tie downs in the back would be easy -- there are two tow loops on either side. You'd have to have something to keep the lines from rubbing the bumper, but that's easy. At the front there is not a dedicated tow eye, but rather a threaded port that a tow eye screws into towards the passenger side of the bumper. There's probably somewhere else to tie it down in the front... but you'd have to get a little creative.

 

Also, towing a trailer is another option... especially if you haul more gear than just the canoe. You could bring a lot of stuff along with a $280 Harbor Freight trailer.

 

The best way I've found to haul a canoe is with a roof rack. The best places to use for tie downs in the front are if you open the hood and attach two rope loops to the already provided holes just under the edges of the hood, then lay them outside on the fenders, shut the hood and use them to secure the front tie downs. The back is easy and requires no added ropes due to the securing points being readily available. I've hauled two different canoes several times this way and it makes it easy and doesn't require $ and doesn't damage the car at all.

 

I'm thinking a canoe might be a bit large for the xD. I mean, it could probably haul it OK, just would be quite a bit awkward.

 

It looks like this...

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

 

Here's a pic I took of our two kayaks on the trailer earlier today:



I used to use a roof rack on my VW Golf, but I have been much happier with the trailer so far. I don't have to worry about mud and salt water dripping on my car, plus the seat on my kayak came loose one time and rubbed a dime size scratch in the paint on my roof. It's also much easier to load them onto the trailer than onto the roof... and there's a lot more space for camping gear, coolers, etc. There seems to be less of a hit to my MPG with the trailer than with the kayaks on the roof... and that trailer (believe it or not) costs less than a roof rack!

 

What roof rack do you have and where did you get it?

I'm getting a new xD for my wife

 

My roof rack is a Thule 400XT Aero Foot | LB50 Load Bars | 2186 Fit Kit . I got it at ORS direct. http://www.orsracksdirect.com

 

xd can haul a canoe I saw a prius haul one the other day, the guy had a thule or yakime rack with the canoe crossmember things. try and check it ou on there websites I know one of them for a fact has the thing to hold a canoe

 

I fit my snowboard in by laying the seats down.

A guy from Minneapolis has a little trailer like mcbrew. He has a Yakima rack for his bikes but he said even with padding, he still gets little scratches on the roof.

 

canoe + 4 bikes http://picasaweb.google.com/skipperm...80270790119954

 

*jaw-drop*

Day-um!

 

columbiaroger, you can show a picture in your post using IMG and /IMG tags (in brackets) around the image location.



I entered (IMG)http://lh4.ggpht.com/_TMJXx9Cyj7w/SlONx7d9khI/AAAAAAAAAbY/7T_lW4oUHQs/s576/2008%20Scion%20xD%20021.jpg(/IMG) -- but use brackets instead of parentheses.

That's great, by the way. I love seeing people get the most out of a subcompact car.

 

Thanks mcbrew. 700 mile round trip with this configuration and no problems. These little cars are more versatile than some may think. Very impressed with the hitch mounted Allen 4 bike rack. $97 from wally world. Held 4 bikes securely and the no wiggle bolt design is pretty smart. It's strong and quiet and does the job at least as good as racks costing 3 times as much. I appreciate the tip about brackets. And I am eventually going to follow your lead and get a trailer.

 

This is an 18.5' canoe. It's light for it's size since it's kevlar, but drove it at 75mph for 300miles no problems.

 

Nice! Just one dumb question: I can't tell which rack you have, but mine (Thule Aero) is very specific about where to mount the feet, and it looks like yours is a little further back than mine. Did you eyeball it, or was that where your rack told you to install? Just wondering if they are following some Toyota guidelines or just making them up themselves.

I just bought and installed my rack, and have yet to put anything on it. I do have a Sears/Thule xCargo 20 cubic foot box that I plan to use when traveling any distance with the baby on board. Good place to keep the stroller, pack-n-play, etc.

 

It is indeed the Thule rack. To be specific 400xtr feet with the 2186 fit kit, and the aero bars. Unlike my previous car where you could more or less eyeball it, the placement the XD is very fore and aft specific. The pads on the feet simply will not line up correctly unless you put them in the exact spot recommended by Thule. Once you get everything in the right place the racks fit perfectly. It was a royal PITA to install them and i would recommend an assistant so you can tighten both sides at the same time. I really wanted the front bar further forward but it simply would not work.

On a different note I want to thank you McBrew for the excellent write up on hitches and towing with your XD. That Hitch is next on the project list for me. I'm planning to tow a 16 foot Carolina skiff with it. I know it will work great on the roads, my only concern will be at the boat ramp. Any Idea on how well XD's swim?

 

Interesting... my rack is a Thule as well... but it uses the 480 feet. I also followed the installation instructions exactly... and here's how it mounts:



I know, it's hard to see with the snow, but it's the only pic I have since I put the rack on. You can see, however, that both bars are mounted closer to the front of the car than the rack you are using. Interesting...

My last car (VW Golf) had mounting points for the rack already on the car... so there was no way to install them anywhere else. It sure made it easy to remove and install the rack in the right place every time! The rack was also a lot cheaper... the Thule rack for the VW was about $160 with the aero bars. The aero rack for the xD is about $330. Oh, and the bars for the VW automatically come with locks. That would be an additional $40 or so for the xD.

As far as towing goes... how much does your boat/trailer combo weigh?