Answers the Ancient Mariner's Dream Recently arthritis lower back problems and general decrepitude lead this ancient mariner to seek an ultralight kayak I could load and unload myself. While I was pouring over the specs of $34k boats a kayaking buddy reminded me that someone had shown us his Hullavator on a trip to the Outer Banks last year. This was a much less expensive solution despite the rather high purchase price. Now I can use my existing boats and apply the money I have saved to nice hotels and good meals in paddling country.One caution Get to know this machine carefully. It is complex with many parts that move in ways one might not expect. If you are not careful it can pinch and bite. Just pay attention to what you are doing and you will be fine.
Great design. I put two of these on my Honda Odyssey van in about three hours. Very easy to install. Make sure you have cross bars that are long enough. The shorter 50 inch bars do not give enough length for the device to work. They basically use the end of the bar as a fulcrum to pivot onto the roof or over the side of the vehicle. They work as advertised. Very little effort to lift my two fourteen foot kayaks onto the roof. They hold the boats very well and have little shift or movement once in the travel position. The tie down straps and lines are all provided and are excellent.
I LOVE MY HULLAVATOR!!!!!! For a short female doing your own loading this system is AWESOME!!! Some call it pricey but heyyou get what you pay for. It makes loading a kayak soooo easy! The only thing I have problems with is getting the loading arms correctly positioned on the frame. It's difficult to line up the holes so one can insert the pins that hold the arms to the frame. I'm 5'4 and have a tall car Hyundai Santa Fe so holding the arms up each one weighs about 25#and trying to align all the holes can be a little difficult.
These are awesome! I have a Toyota '08 Forerunner Limited with two on top during the summer. They only work with a Thule Rack System not Yakama's Rack System! Yackama has round rack bars which is REALLY STUPID and annoying since nothing can really attach to it.
ok but When I first got my Hullavator I loved it. It worked smoothly and was reasonably easy to take on and off the car albeit heavy. However several years down the road the product is so rusted that I had to take a hammer to the pins to get them off the rack. The paint is peeling and chipped and there is serious rusting on the hinge area. I have also had problems with it popping up when the kayak comes off a problem they had with older models. Not sure about the new ones. But really for something that costs this much and spends all of it's working life in the elements it shouldn't rust up so easily. It shouldn't rust up at all.
Great Product But. Other reviews mention a DVD but there was none in my package and it sure would have been helpful well I'm assuming that it would be better than the directions. I just left a review for their 45050 load bars and how the Thule online fit guide was incorrect and caused me to purchase a size that wouldn't work at all. Went ahead and had to buy another set of the right length load bars and then went to the install of the Hullavator. There were several glaring errors in the install instructions and had I not been paying attention I could have had some serious negative consequences. And I found installing the arm mechanism to be especially tricky. If you also don't get the DVD with your package my advice would be to go ahead and second guess any step that seems confusing. You can figure things out but if you take their directions at face value you may have a problem. Other than that this works as promised and I had no problem loading and unloading my 16.5 foot 61 pound kayak.
Can't Live Without It I love this item. I have a very bad back and it allows me to load and unload my 17' sea kayak with ease. I can literally load it in as little as 5 minutes. It was easy to assemble as well as easy to remove the arms when not in use. I would recommend this product to anyone.
It Works I purchased my Hullavator from HumblePower for about $475 it was delivered free to my home.My wife has a 55lb Romany kayak and drives a Chevy Tahoe. What to do? The Hullavator fit the bill she can load her 'heavy' Brit in no time. The Hullavator is well made and works. Her Hullavator is the difference between her getting out for a few hours on her own.
Hullavator Works! Does what it says makes loading and unloading a kayak much quicker and safer. Once loaded the kayak also seems more secure than the cradle system that we used previously.Expensive but worth the investment.
Includes all straps to transport 1 kayak; up to 2 carriers per vehicle; limited lifetime warranty.Load and unload kayaks are waist level, at the side of the vehicle for greater convenience and safety.Double extending arms lower the kayak by up to 40 inches for faster loading and unloading.Fits Thule rack systems and round bars only.Gas-assist struts lift and lower 40 pounds of kayak's weight--making it easy for one person to load. The Thule 897XT Hullavator Kayak Roof Rack Mount Carrier is a lift assist carrier that allows for easy side loading and unloading of all sorts of kayaks, including tandems, by a single person. Designed around a combination of retractable double arms that extend down the side of your vehicle from your roof rack and a built-in gas-assisted lifting system, the Hullavator lowers the cradling platform of the carrier by 40-inches and lifts up to 40 lbs of a kayaks weight allowing for easy loading by virtually any single paddler. Additional features include: 8 touch points of padded support, aluminum double coated steel construction for corrosion resistance, accommodation of kayaks up to 34-inches wide and 75 lbs and compatibility with Thule rack systems and round bars. A revolutionary roof rack mount carrier that allows kayaks to be loaded and unloaded by only one person. View larger.
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