I've been looking for a minivan that I can both transport and store my 12' Hobie Mirage into.  While I know most use roof racks, I don't want to do that for a number of reasons.

My plan is to take out all the seats except driver seat (duh!) and simply slide the Yak into the right side and under the passenger glove box. 

Went to the scrap yard today and measured all kinds of vehicles, and most minivans will only get me 11'... not 12'. 
I could go with the full size van, and any of those will work, but I want to stay as compact and sleek as possible.  My current El Camino gets about 6 mpg... so not good these days for trips out to the coast.  I want to be able to enclose my Yak, not have it in a truck bed or roofed.  Transport and storage.

The Chevy Suburban will give the 13 feet, but would like to find something a bit smaller.. in between the big monster Suburban and and common minivan that doesn't quite cut it.

Wondering if anyone is doing a full kayak slide in... into a van... or taking out the passenger seat?

What vehicle are you using?

I've been looking for a minivan that I can both transport and store my 12' Hobie Mirage into.  While I know most use roof racks, I don't want to do that for a number of reasons.

My plan is to take out all the seats except driver seat (duh!) and simply slide the Yak into the right side and under the passenger glove box. 

Went to the scrap yard today and measured all kinds of vehicles, and most minivans will only get me 11'... not 12'. 
I could go with the full size van, and any of those will work, but I want to stay as compact and sleek as possible.  My current El Camino gets about 6 mpg... so not good these days for trips out to the coast.  I want to be able to enclose my Yak, not have it in a truck bed or roofed.  Transport and storage.

The Chevy Suburban will give the 13 feet, but would like to find something a bit smaller.. in between the big monster Suburban and and common minivan that doesn't quite cut it.

Wondering if anyone is doing a full kayak slide in... into a van... or taking out the passenger seat?

What vehicle are you using?

Hope you find your way so we can get to da coast...

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=14071.0

Maybe helpful, but they are too expensive to me: http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=89334.0

Get a box van that’s long enough, and build a kayak camping rig, hell my 86 F350 gets 12 mpg with a 460 in it. Your Camino sucks fuel like there’s no tomorrow.

Yeah, the El Camino is gas thirsty monster... she is painted "green" though... so maybe that helps!

I'll just wait until all cars go Lithium, then the gas companies will be paying me to take their extra gas off their hands rather than have to pay for permits to have their tanks drained for environmental cleanup reasons..

But in the meantime.. a nice van to slide the Yak into easily and store... locked up is on the front burner.  Going to go look at one tomorrow in the East Bay.  Tape measure in hand...

Brah!  I hope it's perfect...

I'm thinking the Amazon vans are too big.  I am really looking for those rare minivans that are just a bit longer to accommodate the 12' Hobie Mirage.  Don't want to be roof racking... no straps... none of that stuff.  In - out in just seconds.. locked up and secure when needed.  Simple and on point.

I found one yesterday, but the guy refuses to smog the van... and said if it "didn't" pass, he would take care of it... While I don't question that so much, It will take another day out of my life to deal with such a situation... which I would rather not. Just want to take that situation off the table.  He wouldn't agree to go with me to get  it smogged saying "I ain't got time fo dat brah"

The vision I have is clear, and I know there are vehicles that will comply to my vision.... rare, but they are out there.

Ok... Mission accomplished!
Both the Chevy Venture and the Chevy Uplander are "minivans" that get pretty good gas mileage (23 mpg).  Taking out both back rows of seats and the front seat probably took 700 pounds out of the van.. so should be even better.

After a few trips to pick and pull, I measured countless vans but these two in the LT version give an extra foot over their standard offerings.  My Hobie at 12' plus an extra 4" including the rudder...
I finally found one in nice condition for a price I could live with... the Chevy Uplander LT.  While my calculation with a tape measure looked good on paper, I was a bit nervous when the moment came to put the Hobie in. 

This made it by 1/4 of an inch!  I had to put it in sideways but it fit... just barely.  Now I understand why I always passed math class, but just barely!  Never top of the class!

That all being said... let's go fishing!

Nice fit