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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: 4.6 out of 5 stars (86 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.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.
Doesn't work with our J style kayak carrier on the roof rack. The hardware to hold the carrier in place interferes with the load assist.
This kayak loader works very well and is easy to assemble and disassemble.
Just what I needed to load my 55 pound kayak by myself onto my Rhino-Rack Aero cross bars. Of note I have some older Thule J bars that were given to me. Unfortunately the bolts securing the J bars don't allow me to attach the load assist bar. No harm done will just load kayak directly onto the cross bars.
Item has good build quality. A tight fit to use with Yakima Jaylow rack and Rhino Rack Aero bars. Etrailer shipping was fast. Two days using free shipping.
I think this would be great for loading a paddle board or kayak on a low height vehicle. Unfortunately my vehicle is tall and my kayak is heavy so the kayak keeps sliding off the loading bar when loading.
We have two 13.5 ft tandem kayaks for the family. They are 80lbs each. The rhino bar makes loading them up easy.
Sunshine - 07/25/2022Product 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.
Richard - 01/25/2022Bought this tool to help me load my Hobie Outback onto my Toyota RAV4 roof racks. It works!
Got my gorilla assist deliver quickly. Was really good quality and it allows me to easily load my kayak myself into roof. Very pleased with the service
We are thrilled with how easily we can now load and unload our kayaks! Wahooo!
Easy set up and easy to follow instructions. Etrailer shipped the product fast and was in hand in 3 days from ordering.
Be 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 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 - 06/24/2018I purchased this for a compact SUV I'm purchasing. It's arriving in a couple of weeks so I can't give a review on functionality, yet. Overall quality seems to be good. With the SUV being taller than my car, I'm hoping this will help make loading the kayaks easier.
Just what I needed to load our sit-on-top kayak onto our Prius. Even works well for the heavier sit-in kayak which has a keel if there's someone to steady it until I lever it over onto foam pads. Not as young as I used to be (now 70) so this makes life much easier.
Exactly what I was looking for to load my tandem kayak
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.
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.
Best device to get kayak on car
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.
As advertised this product makes loading and unloading my kayak much easier and safer
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.
This 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 - 05/17/2019Quality of this product is very good. I will have to do a little tweaking to get it to work because I have two sets of J racks on my Outback with factory bars. I believe that this will be a great help in loading my 13’ fishing yak by myself.
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