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This side loader lets you easily load a kayak, ladder, or other gear on your roof rack without assistance. Padding protects your boat and vehicle. Accommodates vehicles of different heights. Easy, clamp-on installation to most crossbars.
Features:
Specs:
The Rhino-Rack universal side loader makes it easy for one person to load a kayak, canoe, surfboard, ladder, or other gear onto a vehicle's roof rack. A padded bar extends past the side of your vehicle and holds one end of your load up so you can pivot the other end onto your vehicle's roof. This eliminates the need for a second pair of hands while loading your gear. A telescoping pole helps accommodate for uneven terrain and adds support for heavier loads.
Quick and Easy Installation
This crossbar extension easily clamps onto most crossbars without the use of tools, and it can be installed on either side of your vehicle. Simply place the first clamp against the bottom of your crossbar and rotate the extension around so the second clamp can grab the top. Once it's secure, you're ready to load your gear.
Simple, 1-Person Loading
To load your boat from the back of your vehicle, simply lean your boat or ladder against the extension at a 45-degree angle. The padded bar protects your boat from scratches and scuffs during the entire loading process.
Next, lift the rear end of the boat up so that it's level with your roof rack and set it on your vehicle's rear crossbar.
Finally, use the back end of the boat to lift the front end and pivot it into place on your vehicle's front crossbar. Once it's in place, secure your load with tie-down straps (sold separately).
Convenient Storage
After you've loaded and secured your boat, disconnect the side loader from your crossbars. Once disconnected, store the Side Loader in the included storage and carry bag.
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (68 Customer Reviews)
This side loader lets you easily load a kayak, ladder, or other gear on your roof rack without assistance. Padding protects your boat and vehicle. Accommodates vehicles of different heights. Easy, clamp-on installation to most crossbars.We are thrilled with how easily we can now load and unload our kayaks! Wahooo!
A good idea and the steel bars are well made. No way that it fits my Thule wing bars with Yakima Jay Low cradles. Fortunately, someone invented duct tape, zip ties and other assorted stuff, which allows me to use this as a square pipe attachment as long as I bring along a small ladder to secure the inward end of the pipe.
I am 66 years old an knew I would have difficulty lifting my kayaks onto the roof of my vehicle. I knew that this loading accessory was not built for J style kayak holders, but thought that I could try to fit it anyway. The loader comes its several clamp types and I found that if I used clamps 1 and 2 instead to the 3 and 4 it called for in the directions for the Euro style roof rack that the system fit perfectly with the J Style carriers. How great is that! Loaded up my kayaks today with no problem. Great item.
Works with the Inno Aero bars I just purchased from ETrailer for My Lexus RX 350. I got the Longest bars that would fit 54 from 51 rear that provide several inches of overhang. Rhino Rack side Lifter works well, I protected the towers with a cloth as the bar lays against the plastic towers. I was able to lift a 90 pound 16 foot OT discovery canoe onto the roof effortlessly.
This works great. I had a 60 lbs canoe that was quite wide and a little cumbersome to work with but the Rhino loader made it easy. Be careful of the side of your car when you set it on the loader. But so easy to pick up end on the ground and lift it on to the car rack. Needed something to be able to load canoe by myself and this was great.
The Rhino Rack side loading assist "works" as an extra arm for leverage regarding cartop carrying. My experience was mixed. First, the extentending pole which supports the actual loading arm is poorly manufactured of thin aluminum and plastic for obvious cost savings (no fault of etrailer.com). The twist-lock mechanism in the pole has no "stop/lock" feature so you can keep turning the pole which causes the pole to collapse. This is only slightly annoying. Next, placing the kayak against the loading padded arm appeared secure. The issue I had was not placing more than a third of my Ocean Malibu Two XL (68 lbs) against the extended arm. As I was adjusting the kayak it proceeded to slip off the arm, downwards, and slid to the ground scraping the side of my car. Lastly, if you think a $150 item adds value to the experience by saving you some physical exertion reevaluating your needs is reasonable. However, the detailing bill I am to pay for the scratches on my car door will not justify this purchase.
This product attempts to be "one size fits all." Unfortunately, that means some cartop racks like my 2007 Toyota 4Runner doesn't allow for a snug fit for the horizontal bar of the RR-RUSL. It moves a bit and scratches the paint on my car's roof. I transport a Hobie fishing kayak that is a bit on the heavy side, so the side of my car got scratches on it as I put the kayak on and off the roof rack. I should've used some blankets to protect my car's finish as I do now, but the damage has already been done. If you want to protect your car's finish, I suggest using a couple of yoga rugs to protect your roof and side of your car.
Gary Z - 06/24/2018Thanks for the follow up. We do have several trailers that we do offer, and some that are specifically designed for kayaks. I have included a link and you would want to check out the offerings by Malone, specifically for your kayak. there are several options depending on your loading preferences.
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Rachael H - 6/25/2018Be informed before buying this. If you have kayak holders on your crossbars, they will interfere with this, especially with aero bars where the crossbar bracket will not work well on the driver side. Also, if you have two kayaks the holder for the second kayak will interfere with the loader. The only really viable solution is to use foam blocks for one or two kayaks. The review video tellingly shows only bare crossbars and makes no mention of holders. Mine are being returned. Another user did post a photo showing one set of J racks mounted backwards. A very awkward mounting that requires reaching all the way across the vehicle roof to tighten all th straps!
Heather A - 04/13/2018This product is made of good/solid raw materials, and is worth the money. I looked at other similar products, but they lacked the left, and length I needed to properly load my Perception Pilot kayak onto my flush mount roof rack. The upright support bar is necessary to prevent overloading the bar or the crossbar of your roof rack.
Jeffrey - 05/17/2019We'll take it this weekend for the 1st time this season and It lengthens being able to use our racks as 60 and 70 year olds.
We have two 13.5 ft tandem kayaks for the family. They are 80lbs each. The rhino bar makes loading them up easy.
The supporting/ telescoping pole is useless and cross threads easily. If you have any attachments on your roof rack, these will probably not work. They were designed to be used without attachments on the rack. Rhino rack will not stand by their products. I bought 2 of these and they are pretty useless. Check the reviews on these on other websites. I won’t buy from the manufacturer again.
Mike L - 04/11/2019Product works as advertised. Good price and construction with of extension pole. The pole does not stay extended, does not seem damaged just poor construction. etrailer has been and still is a great place to shop for my RV needs. Friendly and has always answered every question fast and to my satisfaction.
I have not used it yet but the overall quality is very good and the construction is heavy duty.
I use the rhino side loader, with my thule roof rack, to transport my fishing kayak. It makes it very easy to load an unload. The bag that comes with the loader keeps everything clean and together. Very convenient.
works like a charm, easy to load my sea kayak.
I give this load-assist crossbar Rhino-Rack a 5 star for it's sturdiness and good fit on my Thule Aerobar rack. I have not had a chance to load my 50 lbs. canoe with it on yet ( because of weather) but I'm sure this set-up will not change the rating of an 80 year old guy. Thank you for a fine product.
The Rhino-Rack Universal Load Assist - Crossbar Mount is a great help to load and unload my 59 pound kayak onto my Yakima J-low racks by myself safely. It is good quality and definitely a great addition to my equipment.
I am a 5 ft tall 55 year old woman. I drive a Nissan Versa....it's a small car, but it's still a reach. I tried making my own kayak loader (via the Internet), but I only wasted my own time and energy. I had just received my Rhino Rack from etrailers & loved it....so I took a peek to see if they could help me again. I found this Rhino-Rack Loader...I LOVE IT! It makes loading & unloading so quick & easy! I should have ordered it from the very beginning. But I suppose some of us have to learn our lessons the hard way. ?? By the way....Easy ordering & FAST shipping! Thank you so much! I am one happy kayaker! Sincerely, Sandy
While previous reviewers have noted that the Rhino-Rack Universal S-Loader is not really "universal" in application it did fit my Sports Rack Rack System (SR1009) using clamp 4 (A position) and clamp 5 (B position, outer holes). This loader will be used to transport a 52lb 16.5ft canoe. The fit seems snug enough though I would avoid pushing or jerking a heavier item like a longer canoe or kayak to quickly over the support bar. Doing so, could possibly decouple it from the supported cross-bar. While solidly constructed, the weak link in the system is the telescoping support pole. Like most telescoping poles it is made of lighter gauge aluminium and it is designed for stability only and not something to support you while you use the Rhino Rack cross bar to do pull ups.
This product (RR-RUSL) a RHINO RACK "universal side loader" was exactly as simple to install and setup as the video showed. It was installed on a SUV on to THULE standard square cross bars, mounted on THULE 450 foot pack on raised side rails on my vehicle. This product enabled me to load my WILDNESS 125 kayak by myself, without the fear of damaging my car or hurting myself, onto the kayak saddles, for transport to my favorite lake. The product was ordered and received in less than five days and shipping was FREE.
The Rhino Rack Universal Lift (RR-RUSL) works well. Easy to put on the crossbars and easy to take off. etrailer.com shipped the lift faster than I thought it would and got here exactly as shown on the website. I would buy from them again.
I purchased this roof rack for the purpose of transporting my kayaks on my 2012 Ford Edge. The roof rack installed easily and fits the vehicle perfectly. I loaded the kayaks and took them for a ride and they traveled nicely. I am very pleased with this purchase.
The rack is on the roof and the Rhino side bracket ready makes it easy to load my Hobie 14 foot Pro Angler Kayak (98lbs) on the high roof of my Suburban, (it has a 3" lift}. Next year will be my first winter in retirement and I'll be able to haul my kayak to Florida pulling a travel trailer.
I'm not getting any younger so lifting my canoe on top of my Suburban is a challenge. When I saw this, I thought it would be a big help. Assembly is fairly straight forward, but you better have a strong thumb to release the button to take it apart. Haven't loaded the canoe yet, but I think it will work just fine. One thing not addressed in the literature is that I have to remove one of the Yakima braces I have mounted on the cross bars to attach the Load Assist. A minor inconvenience.
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