Most Popular Saddle-Style for 2006 Subaru Forester

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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2018 Ram 2500, wanted a way to travel with 2 sit on top kayaks, With my wife and i in our late 60's it was taking a LONG tome to get the kayaks on the roof of the bed cover. With these i can do it with a short stool. Also carrying the kayaks upside down keeps the top cleaner and stops the water from getting trapped in the kayak (and raining down on me when I unload them).

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Very easy to install on roof rack. Just be careful not to lose one of the rubber pieces that help protect your board. They can easily fall off of the rope when tying your board to the rack.

With a little help from youtube, this was one of the easiest things I've ever assembled! LOVE my new SUP rack!!

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Looks good. Fits good. My truck is tall. I am small. The rear roller rack makes loading the kayaks easy enough. I have not traveled with them yet.

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The rollers with the saddles work perfectly for loading and unloading the kayaks. My only complaint is that the screw clamps either vibrate loose or do not grip the rack well. They have fallen off a couple of times, luckily, they fell into the bed of my truck.

I have not tried these out compleletly yet but am happy to say they fit the crossbars on my dodge caravan and subaru forester so i will update when i lash down our decked kayaks , and you can't beat the price for the complete setup.

After attempting to mount the individual rack pieces using the “burglar proof” button head screws with the pin in the recess and the short hex wrench with the hollowed out end I discovered that no real burglar would want the rack but would rather have the kayak so the first thing I did after spending 10 minutes trying to insert the hex into the button head screws with the pin inside the recess and attempting to turn the bolts and continually being obstructed by the support pieces and the paint interference on the bolt heads with trying to get the wrench into the recess I knew it was going to be a long frustrating process so I threw them away and purchased new button head stainless steel bolts and a 4mm extended handle hex wrench to turn them. Smartest thing I ever did. You not only have to mount the rack initially but then you have to put the kayak on the roof and remount all pieces again to fit your boat. All kayaks are different to one degree or another. Having to move the individual support and retighten them with the boat on the rack is even more difficult to do than the initial mounting with these “burglar proof” bolts and hex wrench and you will be happy you threw them away before you started the entire process. Try it for yourself at first and then go get the alternate ones. Worth the little investment and stainless steel will not rust away when you want to remove the rack system in the future. Once the rack is on your vehicle and kayak in rack the tie downs supplied are very good quality. Make sure you use the recommended tie down locations and directions, two kayak body ties and ties at front and rear. Due to numerous kayak hull designs it would be nice to have each support pod have a horizontal swivel built into it so it readily conforms to the hull shape. The overall quality of the system should be the last rack you will have to purchase. I only had issues with the supplied bolts and hex wrench. I gave this rack system a three star because of the bolts and hex tool and the individual pods not swiveling and I haven't at this point transported the kayak anywhere so I am waiting to see how it handles long trips with wind loads and constant loading and unloading performances.

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I have not tried these out compleletly yet but am happy to say they fit the crossbars on my dodge caravan and subaru forester so i will update when i lash down our decked kayaks , and you can't beat the price for the complete setup.

The Rhino Rack cradles, straps and hardware are all good quality and I have no complaints. The only issue I have, and the reason for only a 4 star rating, is the supplied M6 x 40mm Security Head screws are too long for the factory cross bars on my roof rack. When I first installed the cradles if I had tightened the screws all the way, the ends would have dug into the roof and paint, even before I added the weight of the kayak. In checking, I can purchase some M6 x 25mm Security Head screws from Amazon, but frankly part of me feels that for what I’ve already paid for this kit I shouldn’t have to spend another $15 for the correct length screws, plus the package has 20 screws and I only need 8. However, it appears that is exactly what I will have to do. At least they will be stainless steel, rather than the cheaper material the current screws are. Plus I will have extras for when/if the head strips out. I would suggest Rhino Rack consider included in their kit two sets of screws to meet this need. Keep the length they have, Judy add a set of 25mm. I’m still happy with the purchase but not 100%. I do like how the kayak slides easily on the rear felt lined cradles. Plus Rhino Rack includes every tie down strap that you will need, e.g. one each for the bow and stern in addition to two straps intended to secure the kayak directly to the roof rack cross bars. I would highly suggest you get in the habit of using all four straps, you really don’t need to have a gust of wind lifting the nose and tearing the roof rack off your vehicle. Can happen! My brother-in-law lost his roof rack exactly in this manner. So happy yakking and safe travels down the road. By the way I have paired these cradles with the Rhino Rack RTL002 T-Load Hitch Mounted Load Assist and Support Bar for 2” Hitches also purchased from eTrailer. I’ve attached some photos showing my first and second attempts to solve my dilemma. I need to order the replacement screws. First attempt after dark was a large flat washer, then the next day I added some nuts under the large washer. NOTE: Photos may post in reverse order.

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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.

I love my Rack it came when promised and etrailer was great believe me I will be going back to them for anything else I need I am giving them a well deserved 5 stars

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The only thing better than the quality of the product was the quality of etrailer’s customer care. I had to return the Thule SUP Taxi because it was too difficult for me to tighten the straps with my arthritic hands, these wonderful folks were completely obliging, helpful and courteous!

I have (2) Wilderness Systems Pungo 120 kayaks and was looking for something better that the cheap J-Shape kayak holders that I purchased elsewhere. Unless you are tall enough to lift the kayaks and install them from the side, the loading of a kayak on it's side is unwieldy and somewhat frustrating to keep the kayak from flipping to a horizontal position. I am using the factory racks with crossbars on my 2006 Toyota Highlander. I was looking for a solution that would allow me to load 2 kayaks with the keel down. Using a large bath mat to protect the paint I was able to load the kayak by myself and I am 5'6". The one thing that they could improve is that the rubber pads on the wings are very tacky. Once that you set the kayak onto the wings, the kayak will not move back and forth. You will find it very hard to move the kayak front to back once it is set in the cradle. This is a good thing since the kayak could slide off should a strap fail. The Pungo 120 has multiple angles so the contact with the wings are very minimal. The rubber does keep it in place before strapping them down. Once you load the kayak onto the wings, it will stay where it is.. it is a kind of a struggle to move the kayak.. a solution is to throw large beach towel on the wings before loading your kayak and you can position the kayak with ease. Once you have centered your kayak, lift the kayak one end at a time and remove the towel. Bow and stern tie downs are necessary to completely secure your kayak. The wings are 28" across and will rise 6" above your crossbars that you attache them to.

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Bought two sets for two boats. Installed on a 2020 Forester and will be able to carry two boats side by side. Sturdy racks and easy to assemble and install and will be easy to remove when not in use. They will also fit on truck racks so the ease of install/removal will be a real plus. Side by side mount on this vehicle required placing the racks a little more outboard than I like but should not cause any problems. I will strap the boats to the crossbars as suggested in the instructions for additional stability. PS. one set was returned merch. Got a better price and can't tell that it was ever out of the box. Yay me.

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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 lift assist would not work with a skin on frame kayak. Repeated use would damage the skin. You can see in the pic that the load assist pushes in on the skin, and would not slide all the way into the storage position without lots of pressure on the kayak. Etrailer would not take retuttome inern since I installed the rack, but there was no way to know without trying. So bottom line - don't try to use this on a skin on frame kayak. And don't count on etrailer for returns when they sell a product that doesn't work as advertised.

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I am happy with my purchase of the Malone SeaWing with the load assist feature. I use it a lot and it is holding up well. I have square crossbars, and the wing base can be flipped over during assembly to fit square bars perfectly. The load assist really does make it easy to get my 14 and 16 foot kayaks on the car by myself. Another reviewer stated that the load assist feature put black streaks on his thermoformed kayak, and I had the same experience. I fixed that by wrapping heavy duty, double sided Velcro around the areas of contact, and that has worked fine. They are still in place one year later. Four stars because Malone should have covered the load assist sliders in a non-marking material.

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Easy loading with a secure tie-down. This is the kayak carrier you should get the first time. I've used flat bars with foam pads - they deform the hull of plastic boats. I've used J-hook style carriers which work well and hold the boat securely without hull deformation, but they increased the windage and are too hard to load on the top of a 4WD pickup. The Malone SeaWings let me slide the kayak on from the rear of the cab while standing in the pickup bed. I use an old bath mat to protect the cab and I can have the boat loaded and tied down in about 5-10 minutes. I also think the load is much more secure than any of the other carriers I've used, especially if the tie-down strap is wrapped around the load bar. The design of the SeaWing puts the main load out on the curved portion of the hull rather than across the flatter area of the bottom and totally avoids deforming the hull. In 90-100 degree heat this is very important to me. Great product. I'll probably get a second pair so I can load two boats on the truck.

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We are very pleased with this product. My wife's 12.5" and my 17" kayaks are easy to load, tie down and, hold them both securely for highway speeds. Once we are at the launch site, kayaks are just as easily offloaded. Great design, simple and elegant.

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The keys are an issue (wish they were metal), but everything else is great! I go sunrise kayaking only and hate putting straps on with cold hands at 3:30 in the morning. I have a Nissan Pathfinder and was able to put this on with another set of Malone J-hooks so that I can have a second kayak when I go with someone. Once the fear subsides of it possibly falling off, you realize how quick and easy this thing is to use. It takes me 1 minute instead of 9-18 minutes to get my kayak up and secure. I have tested it at 75mph without any jiggling or issues. I sat on this in my shopping cart forever and finally pulled the trigger. If you kayak at least 10 times a year or are going at high speeds for extended periods of time in warm weather, totally worth it. If not, well, there are cheaper options out there.

Put these on a Subaru Forrester. Very easy. Love the excess cord storage. Snugged down my paddleboard so well I didn't need the front tie down.

I use these 2-3 time weekly for my SUP I fish off my SUP and this rack is a great investment for quickness and ease of strapping. Thing I like best about etrailer is how fast I get my stuff.

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My OldTown Sportsman PDL120 was shifting around to much in very windy conditions. I bought the large Yakima kayak saddles/supports from etrailer.

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I recently purchased the Rhino rack below with these boat supports: Rhino-Rack Nautic 581 Rear Loading Kayak Carrier - Saddle Style - Rear Loading - Channel Mount Item # RR581 Also, I attached a Yakima Jaylow kayak carrier, all to a 2019 Toyota Highlander Hybrid. On the 54 inch aero bars, I was able to carry a Hobie Compass Duo kayak (35" beam, carried flat on the Rhino pads) and West Marine Pompano 120 (28" beam, propped up as shown on the Jaylow racks). To have enough width, the Jaylows and the Rhino pads are mounted as far out as they can go, and the straps are looped back under the rack pillars on the car. The bow and stern were secured with hood loops on each side (front diagonal straps on the Hobie), on the front placed under the hood where shown (this is the only place I could find a good metal-metal contact under the hood, and no electronics in the way), and in the back, tucked under the rear door. We did a 500 mile round trip to the beach and back, with no problems at all with the mounts. Little noise, no movement. My only recommendation is to figure out some kind of load assist for the large tandem kayak, to make it easier if one of the folks loading is under 5'8" in height or so. We worked it out, but only after a few failed attempts (especially when the boat is wet, and loaders are tired). Carol C at etrailer provided thoughtful, expert, and knowledgeable tech support for our purchase. Many thanks!

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Excellent trailer.

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My kayak holder works exactly as it should. All parts were included and it was an extremely easy set up. etrailer’s customer service department was on top of everything and extremely helpful in placing my order.

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Heavy duty. Easy enough to install. Instructions aren't great, but you can figure it out. The crane is a good idea in theory, but could use some design refinement as it only lifts just enough to tuck a paddleboard underneath. The rachet system is great and the rubber coverings for the wires are super helpful for preventing scratches.

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This company couldn’t make these products any easier to setup! Had my roof rack built and installed in roughly an hour (double checking on measurements). I’ll gladly do business again if I need any trailer/roof rack needs. Quick to email notifications for updates as well.

I've used my locking Watersport Carrier numerous times over the past year to carry my two SUP boards. It's been wonderful! The fact that it synches down securly offers an additional level security on long trips, and it's very easy to load on/off. Would definitely recommend!

I can only comment on what my daughter has said, since it was a Christmas gift, and she lives out of state. It works perfectly and has been very durable.