Thule Hullavator Pro Rooftop Kayak Carrier

What an AMAZING product!! I bought this kayak rack for one main reason: I was sick and tired of wasting precious time and inconveniencing friends in order to go kayaking! I had to either borrow a friend’s truck or inconvenience my group of kayaking friends with trucks to pick me up whenever I wanted to paddle! As a 55 year old extremely independent female, this was really getting old! When I bought my new 2018 Subaru Crosstrek, I also wanted a kayak rack that I could operate myself without damaging my brand new car! This rack is amazing! I have a 50 lb Wilderness Pungo 120 12-foot kayak and it fits perfectly on the Hullavator 898 Pro! I have no problem loading or unloading the kayak myself! The lift-assist feature is phenomenal! Having this rack has afforded me the freedom and ability to just get up and go anytime I want! It literally takes me 12 minutes to attach the cradles to the roof rack, load the boat, and tie down the bow and stern!! It’s the talk of town wherever I launch!! All that being said, the only downfall, if you want to call it that, is the fact that it is on the expensive side! HOWEVER ..... for me, it has been worth every single penny! I would spend it again in a heartbeat!! THANK YOU, THULE!! This is the best invention EVER!! I can’t put into words how liberating this has been for me! I LOVE THIS PRODUCT!!!!

The instructions said that my crossbars needed at least 4" overhang from the footpacks, but I was already using the longest Aeroblades available (60") for my vehicle (2016 Ford F150). On my setup, the Aerobar extended maybe 1" from the foot pack, and I was afraid that this would not work for me, but I wanted to give it a shot anyway. Good thing that I took the chance... On my install, I discovered that with the Hullavator mounted at the end of the Aerobar (with endcap removed), I had about 8" clearance between the Hullavator arms and my vehicle. The instructions recommended at least 4". This meant that I could install on my setup with no issues! Because of the extra 4" clearance, I figured I'd try to set the Hullavator 4" further away from the end of the bar. This didn't work because the arms couldn't clear the end of the bar + end caps. The best that I could do is set the Hullavator 1" from the end of the bar. Now when I lower the arms, it clears the end caps, and I still about 7" clearance between the arms and my truck (see photos). A few things that I noticed but aren't deal-breakers are: * When loaded, my Kayak looks like it's too far towards the edge of my truck as opposed to being centered on the rooftop. I know that I can move the J hooks closer to the other end of the bar to remedy this, but this limits how wide of a kayak I can carry. I have 2 kayaks that are thin, buy my girlfriend's kayak is pretty wide. * When unloaded, I can hear the Hulavator jingle around up there while driving. A few recommendations for the install: * Don't cut the rubber strips on your Aeroblade until you've found the best placement your vehicle. * The square nuts are a little bowed on one side. I placed mine in the Aeroblade tracks bow-side up so that there is more surface contact with the inside tracks on the Aeroblade when I tightened the Hullavator down. The instructions didn't mention this, so I don't think it matters, but why not have more surface to hold it down tight. * Use blue locktight on everything screwed down so that bolts don't come loose from all the road vibrations. * Take your time --- it's actually a very simple install

We have been using Hullavators on all of our trucks since 2012. Currently in use on 4 service trucks. The Thule warranty is a true lifetime warranty. We have had very few issues over the past 13 years of using Hullavators but when we did, Thule replaced the part or the whole unit. They only required proof that we purchased it new (so save your receipt). I am 72 years old and loading a kayak on top of a cap on a pickup truck (with a Hullavator) is a piece of cake. You may think that Hullavators are pricey, but Worth Every Penny it costs.

Perfect if you want your $50,000 investment to sound like a rattle trap …If you’re seeking a system that’s not easy to remove or might even damage your paint by falling off due to its awkward mechanics of removal, or if you’re simply willing to take a chance of it getting ripped off in a parking garage, this is the system for you. There hasn’t been much improvement over the past decade. I’m in a Kiaya club and we all have the same complaint issue: they’re very difficult to remove. The directions are pathetic better off watching etrailer videos… unfortunately there’s no other competition so I continue to buy

Getting our Hullavator installed on a 2017 Outback was not a quick task but we found a place in town that had experience. At first, it took us maybe 30 minutes from start to finish to get the kayak mounted on top. The cradles have to be mounted first as they are too big and bulky to leave on permanently and also are too high to get under our garage door. Mounting the cradles and setting the locking pins takes practice and now we can do in just a couple minutes. Once those are in place, attaching the kayak and lifting it into top position is easy. I recommend getting the Thule Quick Loop Straps Thule 530 Quick Loop Strap,Black (Pack of 2) to secure the front and back of the kayak rather than fussing with placing tow bolts in front and back. We wound up getting a 12 foot kayak, which would be a challenge to carry in a van or pickup, but which fits perfectly into the Hullavator. Notice I said "we" instead of "I". Unless you are well over 6' tall and have strong arms and shoulders, attaching the cradle units is really a two-person task: one to hold the cradles in position and one to insert the locking pins (and even then practice makes perfect.) The gas struts allow a tiny person to lift and drop the kayak without help. Just installing the cradles requires 4 hands. Don't forget to follow the instructions to check the straps and ropes after the first 5 miles to be sure nothing has loosened up.

I'm getting up in age and can no longer lift even my 50lb kayak up on the roof of my Sienna without another person helping, and even then, it's a difficult job I don't look forward to after a days paddling. The Hullavator Pro seemed like the solution. But the price... YIKES! I looked at the Yakima Showdown, which is almost HALF the cost of the Thule Hullavator Pro, but you have to reach up and pull OUT before you can drop down the kayak. Many of us of at retirement age simply don't have the strength to reach up that high and pull the entire weight OUT several feet before you can drop it down to load/unload. So the Yakima was out of the question for me. The Hullivator solves this with it's unique design. You simply pull down with it's gas assist struts which easily drop it down to the side of the car. Great design that works well... once you get it installed! Why only four stars? I'm a retired electronics technician. I've re-built many a car engine over the years. I'm pretty mechanically savvy and I can follow directions as well as anybody. I don't mind the Euro style multi language instructions that come with products if I could understand exactly what they wanted me to do. The instructions were sparse one liners that left you with lots of guessing and head scratching. For a product that's $50 shy of a thousand bucks, I expected a more detailed instruction manual. I eventually got frustrated and jumped on YouTube where a few good souls stepped through the process and showed me what the Thule manual lacked. At the very least, include a link in the instructions to a Thule video explaining and SHOWING us how to install their expensive product. Also... for something this expensive, and so easily removed from the roof in a matter of seconds, you absolutely need a lock. Thule doesn't provide one!! C'mon guys... how little would it affect your bottom line if you threw in couple of locks? Oh sure they sell them... cheap ones for $50! For me, that's an insult. But... they are the only game in town that does this so well, and they probably know that. So, they can ding you as much as they want. Therefore, can't in my right mind give them 5 full stars. For lack of a readable manual and a couple locks that probably would cost THEM maybe $10-15 at most, they are getting some negative feedback that will probably cost them some sales. To bad... otherwise it's a great product.

Can't wait to try these out. Assembly is a bit of a hassle, but there are some reasonable youtube videos for how to do it. Note: a package has two arms (so one package takes care of one kayak).

The Hullavator's sole and only purpose is to provide "lift assist". This is advertised as 40 pounds. After installing, it was unable to lift my wife's 36 pound kayak. As a scientist / engineer I decided to measure the lift capability of the individual arms. At the beginning of the lift, the first 6 inches or so, it was no more than 25 pounds (adding the individual results of each arm). During the majority of the lift, the next 21 inches or so, it was about 30 pounds. At the end, the last 6 inches it was slightly more, about 32 pounds. I then checked the gas struts and noticed a manufacturing date of 2008 (I just purchased this in March 2022). Providing just over 50% of the advertised lift at the beginning, when it is most important, seems to suggest either that the gas struts are defective or that Thule's advertising is misleading. I have reached out to Thule and will provide their response. Update: We had numerous correspondences with the Seller (New England Dive). Their responses mostly consisted of that we had done something wrong (either in installation or operation); even though, our explanations to them were clear and concise in that it was installed and operated in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Ultimately, they said they could not assist in that it was a warranty issue between us and the manufacturer (Thule). The measure of a Seller is not only how well they deliver, it is how well they respond if there is a issue. Based on this, I cannot recommend purchasing from New England Dive. As to the manufacturer, Thule, after almost a week, they responded. They identified the process to initiate a warranty claim and how long it would take. The process raised concerns in that: they would ultimately determine if it was a valid claim; the time to obtain replacement parts was unknown; and, we were responsible for shipping the defective parts back to Thule. While understandable, as a warranty process, considering that the product was defective out of the box (maybe Thule should implement some quality control to assure that what's put in the box isn't defective), this put too much on us to resolve what is effectively and essentially the fault of the manufacturer. In the end, the least hassle process was to simply return the product to the Seller.