Bought a 2012 sti hatch last month. I don't see anything under the rear of the car for a tie down point that is: Sturdy enough. Not going to ruin a body panel by routing a strap around it. Or a suspension component. I have a Wenonah MN2, 17'6" long, and super light. On the bugeye, even with straps across the top, and front and back tiedowns, it was pretty squirrely at highway speeds. I'd really like to find (or make) good tie down points. Any advice?
Hey, use the oem tow hook, at least the front. I have the Yakima clamps but long trips I tie up the front,
With my canoe, I don't even bother with the front or rear tie downs. I use 2 ratchet straps spaced out across the center, and around my rails. Works just fine. Even had a long road trip up north with no issues doing 75mph.
I might be willing to try that with a shorter plastic or aluminum canoe, but not an 18' kevlar canoe.
Do a front tie down. I use a piece of rope on each end of the front. Two tie downs on the roof as far apart as possible. The rear one is not needed. Done this with a Min2 without a problem.
Using the front tow hook is not recommended. Something about airbag sensors and how the front might crumple not as designed with the hook installed. For the front, I've read good things about using grommeted straps such as these... https://www.amazon.com/Yakima-80040...&qid=1526678910&sr=8-9&keywords=yakima+straps ...that bolt to the frame under the hood and come out the hood gap at the sides. Tuck them under the hood when not using them. I've been researching such things as I'm in the market for a canoe at the moment. If anybody wants to sell one, especially in Royalex, let me know!
Not sure the weight on those, but I have a 17ft Alumacraft which is about 80lbs. I cut some of those pool noodles down the length of them, and put it on any edge that touches the rail/crossbar, then ratchet it down pretty good.
They weigh next to nothing, and as a result, you need to be kinda careful about ratchet straps...too tight and you'll start to hear crunchy sounds.
You could always install a hitch and tie to that. Obviously hard to justify just for this purpose, but handy if you bike or whatnot.
I picked up some of these for our canoe/kayaks at REI for about $10 IIRC... That being said, we don't move the canoe far or often, so @Cotts612 's route is what I do as well.
