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This carrier with built-in lift assist takes the strain out of loading a kayak onto your roof rack. Arms with gas struts let you load and tie down kayak at waist level, then easily lift it onto your roof. Tie-downs included. Mounts to most crossbars.
Features:
Specs:
Note: Your vehicle's roof must have a load capacity of at least 130 lbs to use the Hullavator.
The Hullavator Pro gives your back and shoulders some relief as it helps you lift your boat onto your vehicle's roof rack. And you won't need to stand on your running boards or a step stool to position and tie down your boat. This carrier with lift assist comes down along the side of your vehicle so that you can load your boat and strap it to the carrier at waist height. The arms of the cradle adjust to accommodate your boat's hull, and padding helps protect your boat from getting scratched. Folding arms with gas struts deliver your boat in the cradles up onto your roof for transport.
Installation onto Existing Crossbars
The Hullavator Pro installs on top of your existing crossbars. This system mounts onto square and round roof rack crossbars with included hardware, and it slides into the channels of AeroBlade crossbars. To ensure there is sufficient clearance between your vehicle and the Hullavator when it is lowered, your crossbars must extend between 4" and 8" beyond the feet.
A pivot pin secures the arms of the carrier to the bar mount assembly and allows the rotation necessary to reel your kayak onto your roof rack.
Lift Assist with Gas Struts
Gas struts eliminate the majority of lifting required to mount your kayak onto your roof rack. Cradles roll out and down to a vertical position along the side of your vehicle so that you can load your kayak - cockpit out - into the carrier at waist height.
To lower the cradles, remove the release pins and squeeze the handles. The arms will unfold to lower the cradles down to the side of your vehicle.
To adjust the cradles, loosen the knobs and slide the upper arms of the cradle along the built-in track.
Squeeze the handles on both arms and lift your boat in the cradles straight up to roof height. The gas struts will assist you. Rotate your kayak onto the roof and gently lower the cradles onto the roof assembly. Pull the handles so that the arms snap into place for transport. Secure the Hullavator on the roof with the pin and clip.
You can add 2 One-Key System locks (sold separately) to secure the basket to your roof rack.
Padding and Tie-Downs
Tie-down straps with buckles are included for securing your kayak in the cradles. You can tie your boat down when it's at the side of your vehicle, so you don't have to reach up or throw the straps over the roof. Loop these straps through the arms of the cradles and around the hull of your boat. The straps have padded buckles that let you tighten the straps and secure your boat.
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Today, we're going to be taking a look at the Thule Hullavator Pro Kayak Carrier and Lift Assist with Tie-Downs, part number TH898. The Thule Hullavator is a great product for helping you lift your kayak up on your vehicle without putting any additional strain on your back. It uses gas struts to help you lift it up, enabling you to actually put this onto your rack, and it helps you lift this or take it back down. Since it loads to the side, it gives you the advantage of tying this down at waist level as opposed to trying to reach up over the roof. The two kayak cradles up at the top are adjustable to fit different-sized kayaks but can only fit a kayak up to 36 inches max. All tie-downs needed for the kayak are included with the kit. The cradles also have this closed cell foam padding, and this is going to make sure that your kayak doesn't get scratched up once it's installed.
This will be on both cradles. To adjust the cradles, you simply loosen up the wing nut here in the center, and that will enable you to move it to where you need it to be. Also at the ends here on both cradles, we have these spots here where you actually can put in the Thule lock core system, part number TH512, so once this installed, you can actually secure it to your roof as well. This is made from a solid-steel construction and coated with an aluminum-colored powder coat which will resist corrosion. This will fit round, square, aero, elliptical, and most factory crossbars. This fits around your crossbars by two ways; it either will clamp onto your crossbars, or like in this situation, it'll fit into the channels as well. Now that we've gone over some of the features of this, let's go ahead and show you how you load up a kayak. Now, before I lower the arms, I'm going to go ahead and fold in the side mirror if possible just to make sure that the kayak doesn't hit it while I'm trying to load it.
Next, I'll go ahead and fold out our arms. You come to the front here. It has this very convenient handle that you pull towards you, and you push the front end up and then pull it out, doing this slowly to make sure as you pull this out you don't hit the side of your car, till you hear the click. We'll do this with the other side as well. With our arms folded down, then we can go ahead and put our kayak in place, setting it down onto the arms. Now, when you place the kayak onto the arms, you want to make sure it's put on evenly as possible to distribute the weight.
Once we're satisfied with the placement of the kayak, we'll come to the inside here, loosen up these knobs, and push this pad up against this side of the hull. Then we'll go ahead and tighten it back up. We'll do the same for the other side. Next, we can start tightening the kayak to the actual rack. To do that, we have these straps here with the rubber ends. We'll take our one end and put it through the bottom loop, bring it around to the top, put that through as well.
Now, you want to make sure you go around the edge here; you don't want it over the actual cockpit. Go ahead and feed it through our cam buckle and tighten it down. Then we'll put our rubber protector over that so it doesn't scratch up the actual kayak. We'll repeat this for the other side as well and put our protector over it. Now we can tie up our excess. Now we're ready to go ahead and lift our kayak back up into the position on top of the vehicle. We'll come down, grab it by both handles, squeeze towards you, lift it up, and you're going to feel it helping you lift it back into position. Now once you get it up here, you want to make sure that you're holding onto it because you don't want it to slam back down into place. All right, now we'll go ahead and attach our bow and stern tie-downs. Our black strap here we'll wrap through our point at the top. Then we'll attach our carabiner to the other end. Then we'll attach this hook underneath the car to a tow hook or some other point. Then we'll pull this in till it's tight. We'll repeat this for the other side as well. Once you're satisfied with how tight it is, we'll go ahead and tie up the excess on both sides as well. There you have it for the Thule Hullavator Pro Kayak Carrier and Lift Assist, part number TH898.
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (7 Customer Reviews)
This carrier with built-in lift assist takes the strain out of loading a kayak onto your roof rack. Arms with gas struts let you load and tie down kayak at waist level, then easily lift it onto your roof. Tie-downs included. Mounts to most crossbars.I installed the Hullavater on my 2002 Toyota Tacoma's canopy that has 2" tubular rails. I couldn't find any cross bars to fit so I custom made the cross bar from scrap square tubes. It also lowers the high by about 4" compared to stock cross bars. Assembly is simple. I went online to download the English version instruction instead of the one in the box. Installing the loaders on the base bars is just a simple one pivot pin each. It depends on your vehicle's high, I have to climb a little to line up the holes to pin them. Maybe after frequent use, I will perfect my method. I first installed the cross bars too close together. When I strapped the kayak down, it put tension on one of the carriers made it difficult to snap lock in place. Realigned the cross bars, now it works as design. One down side is they sit very tall on top of my truck so I have to install them outside and remember to remove them before I back into my garage. I wish they can be folded down. I would give them a five stars. I read some complains about the bases get rusted easy. I sprayed them with rubber paint before I installed them. So far they look ok under Seattle sky. Although they are a little pricey, I really like that I don't have to climb up to strap my kayak not to mention it is easy on my back when load and unloading. 588481
Anthony - 12/07/2019The carrier requires a lot of assembly. The written instructions were not the best. It would have been nice to see an installation video. It installed without any problems. It is a little tricky installing and removing it to the fixed mount and installing the pin. Once I realized there was a bar to hook the carrier onto while installing the pin I was fine. As with most Thule products the quality is good. It would have been nice to have the locks included considering the price. 321832
BobG - 12/03/2017Thanks for the follow up Bob G. I would like to caution you to make sure that the roof of your vehicle and the crossbar system that you are using will adequately support the weight an additional Hullavator and your boat.
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Rachael H - 12/4/2017
I absolutely love this carrier. I have an 80 lb sit on top kayak, and it was sometimes a struggle to get up on roof of vehicle. With this hullavator, it is a snap. Can’t recommend it enough. 601768
The Hullavator Pro works like a charm! It allows us to put our 15' touring boats on top of the Jeep easily, and has turned a two-person job into a one-person job. The staff at e-trailer were wonderful too! They answered all our questions, did a price match, and got our Hullavator out to us in a timely manner. I highly recommend this company. We have made multiple purchases from them within the last two years, and all of our experiences have been great. 545331
I Luv it. I used to think twice about going with my kayaks because of the pain of putting 2 kayaks on my jeep roof. I have a very heavy tandom kayak. Now with hullavator, its easy. And it holds them really secure on The Jeep. Well worth the investment. 389131
I recently upgraded from a 2017 Ford F-150 to a 2019 Ford F-350 and the height difference between the two over the bed with a Leer cap was substantial. The Hullavator kayak carrier system seemed like a good way to save my back while towing our travel trailer and having the kayaks go with us. This is not an inexpensive why to get the kayaks on top of my F-350's cap but it is the safest way. The carrier arrived on time and most importantly not damaged or missing parts. The carrier appears to be built to last and the fit and finish is well thought out. The instructions made the assembly and installation fairly simple to accomplish. I have not as yet traveled with it but I have loaded a fishing kayak on it. I loaded a 32 inch wide fishing kayak on it in both the upright position and upside down. I do not anticipate any problems while traveling in either configuration. I have given it 4 stars because of the high price which is Thule's problem and not Etrailers. Etrailer's representatives were very informative and helpful in my decision to purchase this item. 738613
I recently ordered 2 heavy Hobie kayaks and need to be able to carry them on top of my truck so that I can tow a Fifth Wheel. The Hullavator Pro carriers seem much sturdier than competing brands, and the lift assist will make loading on top of my F350 much easier. They were easy for me to assemble and install. (I purchased 2 sets). They are expensive, but it’s not worth losing a kayak in traffic in order to save a few bucks. I have had other Thule carriers, and have been very happy with the strength and longevity. 728868
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