Seeking Car Trailer Recs (to haul bikes and kayaks)

Since we traded the Element (after being told no more carrying yaks on the roof by the dealer), we find ourselves without a solution to carry 2 bikes and 2 kayaks 14 foot sea kayaks on vacation (the bikes can go on the roof, but I want to put them on the trailer too to save fuel mileage - since we'll be towing it anyway). I've been looking at the Yakima Rack and Roll and someone here recommended Sportsrig.

Anyone have any good/bad experiences? Things to watch out for? Other trailer options? We'll be pulling it with a Jetta Sportwagen.

Neither of those look road-worthy to me, with those thin, small wheels. I've never owned a trailer, but those just don't look very hardy on a highway. Will a trailer really result in better mileage than a roof rack??

How about getting a Thule Hullavator for the roof (kayaks) and just fold up your Bike Fridays and put them in the back of the wagon?

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Originally Posted by tulip

Neither of those look road-worthy to me, with those thin, small wheels. I've never owned a trailer, but those just don't look very hardy on a highway. Will a trailer really result in better mileage than a roof rack??

How about getting a Thule Hullavator for the roof (kayaks) and just fold up your Bike Fridays and put them in the back of the wagon?

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au contraire - yes they (Sportsrig) are! I love my Sportsrig, I use it nearly every week. I've driven it with 1 velomobile and 2 bikes to the coast - a 6 hr drive on highways - more than once. i've driven it both empty and fully loaded on gnarly dirt roads... it's wonderful.
...and the fact that they are light with small wheels means better gas mileage. A friend with a MINI does the roof rack thing, me and my Sportsrig, and on the highway I see about a 1-1.5 mpg deficit, his is more like 3 mph.
The sportsrig also is excellent for random things, like kayaks. I built a pvc liner for mine so I can use it to take stuff to the dump.
It folds up nicely to get out of the way. It's light enough I can drag it around fully loaded or not.
My BF says he's driven with his at over 100 mph for quite a stretch. I don't have any desire to do that. I'm not sure what speed it's rated to, but I go the speed limit, including 70 mph without a hitch (no pun intended).

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Originally Posted by Blueberry

I've been looking at the Yakima Rack and Roll and someone here recommended Sportsrig.

Anyone have any good/bad experiences? Things to watch out for? Other trailer options? We'll be pulling it with a Jetta Sportwagen.

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When I was looking at them, the rack and roll was not yet owned by Yakima and some minor issues were noted in reviews. Mostly rusting if I remember right. They also had some trouble with parts fitting quite right. I would assume Yakima has fixed those issues.
the Sportsrig won out for me mostly because of it's rust protection. Sportsrig are a small home-owned company, so it does take a month or two to get, but I like that, too.
As I said, the BF and I both own them. I tow mine behind my MINI, he behind his Audi.
I have 3 other friends who have Sportsrigs to haul their velomobiles. We all have smallish cars and the small form factor works well.
One advantage to a trailer is lifting. I can lift my bikes and set them up on the trailer easily, I couldn't do so on a roof, even a short roof like mine.
The only issue that 3 of the 4 people I know about had was getting the lights to work - they weren't grounded against the powder coated metal. Took 5 seconds to scrape a little and get them to work and 3 hr to figure that out!

Thanks for the feedback! I was a little worried about the shipping on the SportsRig. Did you ship, or are you local?

Tulip - When we go on vacation, we end up with the dog and sometimes the cats + stuff for a week. There wouldn't be room for the bikes inside (especially not with 100 lbs of golden retriever).

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Originally Posted by Blueberry

Thanks for the feedback! I was a little worried about the shipping on the SportsRig. Did you ship, or are you local?

Tulip - When we go on vacation, we end up with the dog and sometimes the cats + stuff for a week. There wouldn't be room for the bikes inside (especially not with 100 lbs of golden retriever).

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We shipped. We got a little bit of a break by ordering 2 at once.
Even though they are "light" trailers, they are still heavy to ship. So, expensive shipping is as expected.
They did take a few hours to put together, but they weren't difficult, just time consuming. We both got the upgraded shocks, etc. I'm glad I did, but it would have been OK without probably.