Best 2012 Subaru Outback Wagon Watersport Carriers

Great kayak carriers! We use 2 sets on our 2012 Subaru Outback for 2, 10 ft kayaks. Super lightweight, easy to install. I like that it came with straps and step by step instructions. The kayaks definitely feel secure when they are on. We used these several times this last year and have never had an issues. If I had to pick out a couple of things to say on the downside, it's be that sometimes it does take some tweaking to get it on straight and you have to have a good eye to ensure they are aligned. But, it isn't hard at all, just took some practice, like anything else. The ropes that go from the front of the kayak to the front of the car are too short for my "long-nosed" Outback. Overall, awesome!!

These racks fit my 2012 Subaru Outback factory crossbars and securely carried two 12-foot kayaks on a long interstate road trip. I had struggled in the past with a different brand of J-style kayak carrier on these racks that didn't quite get as tight as you'd like and thus moved a little bit on the racks in strong crosswinds. Install is straightforward and involves good old fashioned knuckle-busting to turn screw-grips by hand to tighten them down enough, but they got the job done well for me.

Well-made high quality product. The kayak racks fit perfectly onto the roof rack of our 2018 Subaru Outback. The one downside was the difficulty in getting the hold-down straps around the top of the loop on each of the racks after the kayaks were loaded on, even when following the strapping instructions to the letter. It would be nice if there were some way of holding the strap in place on the top of the loop without it slipping down.

The rack installs very easily and is mostly intuitive to use. I feel more comfortable with a kayak in the jay low rack than I did with the kayak flat on my old car rack -- the kayak's weight and shape help to hold it into position. The straps are pretty easy to figure out, etc. My only complaint is less about the jay low than about the new Subaru Outback I own. There are no tie-downs locations on the front of the car! So, if the front tie-downs are needed, then perhaps this is not the best rack if you own a new Subaru. On the other hand, I've now used the rack three times without bothering with the front tie-down. Go figure.

Works great.

Bought a pair of these to go on 59" rhino rack bars on our Outback Wilderness and am really pleased. I left the bars full width - they are not a head banger on the car - and mounted the Hullavators as far outboard as possible which means the kayaks clear the side of the car and wing mirrors without folding them in. I did have to modify one Hullavator to make the Hobie Lynx fit (36" wide Lynx = 36" max Hullavator width)

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Good information on site. There are photos of the installation which help a lot. The product is working well to transport two 10’ kayaks on roof rack of 2015 Subaru Outback.

Installed on 2015 Subaru Outback...holds 2 kayaks safely and securely. Easy to use once you get the hang of positioning the kayaks where you want them and using the straps.

The product itself is great and you should feel confident that it will get the job done. However, it said it would fit my 2013 Subaru outback, and while it does fit, the roof racks are not wide enough for the width of the canoe. So that’s something to be aware of before purchasing this product.

As all Thule products the Thule universally mounted canoe carrier is great. It came with all required items for safe and easy canoe transportation. There are two straps with pull to fasten for the canoe down, two tie down ropes for each end with nice pull tight and release mechanisms for the cord as well, along with two straps to fasten to the canoe ends used with the pull to tighten cords. The Chevy traverse cross bar had to have the plastic end caps removed for use with Thule canoe carrier. This was because my canoe took up the entire cross bar width to allow for Thule mounts. It is not a big deal to remove the plastic end caps. They only provide a finished stream lined look. Happy and Safe Canoeing

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This kayak carrier works great with my factory Rav4 roof rack and 10' Tamarack Angler kayak. I did break one tightener knob but probably over-tightened it. And it was replaced for free. I can load and unload the kayak easily and it doesn't budge going down the freeway. I can even drive in and out of the garage with the kayak on the rack for easy storage hanging from the rafters.

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Installed this Thule Top Deck Rooftop Kayak Carrier System with tie onto our Thule Roof rack system. Easy to install and this will carry our handmade 17' Wooden Sea Kayak. Very well made.

Just got these in the mail. They fit the stock rack on my 02 Subaru outback great and feel extremely durable. I have a very wide and heavy Jackson kayak Big Rig and I feel these will hold it great. Prior to these I trailered it or struggled to get it on the roof. Just roll it up there and secure it. This was the best product for me as all the other racks are so dang light and flimsy. Furthermore this was the best price I could find and I'm lazy and don't want to order the products separate. One and done and you save $ Great buy!

This worked GREAT on my 2015 Outback with factory installed roof racks. Right out of the box I installed the SKS lock cores (purchased separately) clamped them on, locked them down, added my kayak and I was off for a day on the river. Just a matter of minutes to install everything. Highly recommend.

I acquired a second kayak and needed a system to fit the factory racks on my 2011 Toyota RAV4. Etrailer.com has always had information on what fits and has always had the item needed for the job. I attached the Yakima BigStack to the top with ease, and, with one other person to hold the kayaks while I secured, tied two of them down for a long road trip to Northern Minnesota. The system worked just fine. The only caveat was in the configuration of multiple boats in the instructions. The diagram has two boats on the same side of the posts, however, I found it more secure to put one on either side ( other reviews of this product on different Internet sites have found similar results.) The boats made it through the trip with no shifting.

Where do I start? I've been whitewater kayaking for 22 or so years now. I've always used used either Yakima or Thule products... Until I bought a 2015 Nissan Rogue with a naked roof. The curvature of the roof and large door jams mean that Yakima and Thule can't make racks for them. I went to a place that does custom installs and again because of the curvature of the roof, they couldn't give me a rack. This meant no kayaking which is really bad news. Enter the Rhino rack system. I purchased the feet, the fit kit, the cross bars and a Yakima "big stack" stacker. The first issue I had is the reccomended size for the Nissan Rogue is only 48 inches. Way too small too haul 4-5 (very light) whitewater kayaks. I called etrailer and they were SUPER helpful, told me I can buy the 65 in cross bars and they'll work fine. I held my breath and placed my order. I was nervous leaving my trusted name brands. The order arrived super fast (they told me it would arrive by Friday but it actually arrived on Thursday) and everything was packaged rock solid. I was impressed. I read the instructions and put the rack system on my car. It took about a hour (it was hot and I worked slowly) but the rack system is SUPER SOLID. I love it. Rhino might have a "forever" customer out of me. -The rack system is very stable. I can't move it with my hands by pushing or pulling. -The rubber stripping you put on the top and bottom of the bar is an awesome added feature AND it reduces wind noise. -Adding the fairing reduced wind noise even further. With four boats on the roof you couldn't hear any extra noise. The ONE thing I dislike is that you need to use the supplied Allen wrench to take the rack on and off the car. It's a small complaint, but other systems I've used in the past don't have them. I paid much less for this system than I would have if I purchased one of the aforementioned systems, but I'm really really satisfied with the product. We will see how well it holds up over long-term use, but it looks awesome!

Fantastic carrier. Very sturdy and easy to set up.

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purchased the e-trailer j-style kayak carrier after reviewing the large selection offered. shipping was fast and installation easy on 2017 Outback. the carrier and associated tie-downs all of excellent quality. I particularly liked the e-trailer unique method of attaching the forward and aft tie-downs to the car. Initial trip with kayak was about 50 miles, much on the expressway at high speed, with no transit problems. this item works great and is a very good deal.

I had the moulded downloader and needed the folding in order to fit in the garage. The top feed for the tie straps isn't as good as the moulded J-style rack, the strap came out of one, but the kayak stayed where it needed to be. It is easy to raise and lower the rack, but I am not always sure at what angle I am supposed to set them. With the moulded J-style, they are at the perfect angle for holding a kayak. I wish the clamp that goes under the bars were a better fit for the oval bars, but they do send two different size bolts and the longer ones work.

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The Malone DownLoader is very good value for the money. The J-style cradle is nice when you have to muscle a kayak on top of a tall crossover or SUV. You can hook the edge of the cockpit onto the base of the cradle and flip the kayak up onto the metal hoop support. Carrier installation and removal is easy and doesn't require any tools. Materials are good, but not great and that's what prevents this product from getting 5 stars IMO. The foam padding is nice enough and has been durable, but the metal plate that attaches the carrier to the roof rails is plastic coated steel and the plastic cracks over time, and leads to rust on the steel plate beneath. Not a big deal, but it might compromise the plate over time. I also wish that the provided nylon straps were longer, and that the ratchet buckles were covered in rubber to protect the roof of the vehicle and the windshield when you're trying to get them around the hull of the boat. We quickly replaced these with longer aftermarket straps that have rubber covers over the buckles. Those minor points aside, the Malone DownLoader kayak carrier gets the job done easily and safely, and does so at a very affordable price point.

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These pads worked well on our Yakima RailBar Crossbars- Item #Y00448-0449 that we also bought from etrailer around 2020/2021. Not sure if etrailer carries the exact Yakima Crossbars anymore, but think they have a similar model. Both the pads and crossbars work well to haul our kayak on our 2019 Subaru Forester. etrailer's customer service rocks! We had a lot of questions purchasing both items and they were great to talk to!

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The product came quickly and was so easy to install on my existing roof rails! It is absolutely perfect to fit many needs above and beyond my kayaks and paddle boards. They look so good on my new 2019 Jag F-Pace I might leave them on all the time.

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Excellent product, easy install, secure on the crossbars, a bit lower ride height and a simple rolling mechanism. A significant improvement over my older Yakima Handroll racks.

The Sweet Roll will not support my Old Town Topwater 10.6. The brackets spread out on the crossbar under the weight. This year I will try a Yakima Big Catch. The Sweet Roll works fine with our Old Town Loons.

The package arrived brand new. No complaint. Now I need to find out if I can install this on my Rhino-Rack universal platform on my 2020 Subaru Outback.

I have had about a year to use this and I have no regrets. I have a 2018 Subaru Outback and I have absolutely no trouble taking these on and off. The kayaks load very easy and the carrier’s fold up very nice. They are holding up very well.

Very solid and stable. Used for 2021 Hobie Outback mounted on a trailer via 1 x 2 steel stut construction.

I've used these racks for a few kayaking trips now and so far am pleased with the purchase. The assembly was fairly straight forward and I was extremely happy to see that the racks came with 4 ratchet straps, which I wasn't expecting. I gave the product 4 stars because after the first trip the padding on one of the racks tore during travel and is now duck taped on. The plastic knobs underneath the racks also loosen while driving, especially on windy days so make sure you double check that they're synched down before you travel!

I've owned this product for a year now,and originally bought it for an okt13,and just recently upgraded to a hobie outback. I've gotten a lot of uses out of this so far and have done a ton of kayaking.most of my trips I travel long distance from Pittsburgh to Virginia Beach.so far I must say I love these types of straddles! Very nice support and I like the fact that they allow you to mount your kayak upright,instead of upside down on the bar which results in scratching up the gunnels.definitley recommend this product!

Looks like is quality product, looking forward to using it soon. Prompt shipping, satisfied.

I can now load my 14' tandem kayak by myself. Excellent product.

I don't have an issue with the product per second but my kayak was too wide to effectively use it. I could never get the boat in the right spot on the cradles and just ended up removing the cradle and sliding it directly onto the cross rails. The only complaint I have is the installation method. You have to use an Allen key with a hole for a peg. Unless you plan on leaving the cradle in place all the time, this is a real pain to install. Some quick release cams, like you find on bicycles, would make installation much simpler.

Haven't installed yet but product looks very good and as advertised.

Wry disappointed in such an expensive rack and kayak carrier. It is extremely difficult to reach the carrier to place two kayaks. We are very uncomfortable transporting the kayaks for longer and highway travel. I would not recommend these to others. We likely will purchase something other in the future. I’d rather put the kayak in a car or pickup truck that they would fit in.

We bought this Kayak rack for my mom to put on her 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee so her and my dad could haul their kayaks easier. The mounting hardware was a little tricky at first but once we figured it out, it wasn't bad at all. It holds the kayaks in place nicely. Had no issues with them getting loose or moving around. Seems to be built well and they're very happy with it so far.

The Rhino-Rack 2 Kayak Carrier I ordered from etrailer was easily reviewed and ordered from their website and ALL communication relative to order confirmation and extreme detail included in their tracking was nothing short of phenomenal! The items were packaged with care and arrived intact. These fit our basic Lexus crossbars and is the perfect product for carrying our two (2) kayaks. My hat goes off to the great folks at etrailer -- It doesn't get any better than this!!!

These work great and I was able to install them on the OEM rack for my truck. The only downside is that the threads for the clamp hang down a little too close to the roof for comfort.

easy to install...very haPPY WITH YOUR SERvice

Have only taken it out once so far but it was easy to put on and use. Could be easy for someone to steal, I put bike locks on mine to prevent that.

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