# 1
Thule Compass Kayak and SUP Carrier w/ Tie-Downs - J-Style, Post Style, or Saddle - 2 Kayaks or SUPs
Very adequate but a bit awkward to attach and load kayaks. Using with a low profile Rhino Rack, I was able to attach, load and carry 1-10’ and 1-12’ Eddyline kayak and travel over 1000 miles this past spring without incident.
This is a really well-made, quality product. The top surface feels somewhat squishy like it will provide cushioning to the board(s) held onto it or to the kayaks. It shipped very quickly from e-trailer and arrived in pristine condition. The layout and packaging is gorgeous as well. I do wish there was an option for over-packaging to conceal the contents but to their credit the delivery person did put it out of the line of sight on my porch. I would definitely buy from here again.
# 2
Rhino-Rack 2 Kayak Carrier w/ Tie-Downs - J-Style - Folding - Side Loading
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!!!
I searched a lot of websites before finding what I needed on etrailer.com for my 2012 Suzuki GV. I was looking for the proper mounts to install a Kayak rack system. Because my vehicle has a built in rail system it was very confusing what was needed. Thank you etrailer for hooking me up with the appropriate parts for the Rhino system, it worked great!
# 3
Thule The Stacker - Rooftop Multi-Kayak Carrier
We needed a better way to haul around 3 kayaks and after looking at a number of options, we settled on the Thule Stacker setup. Installation is simple and the stackers provide a sturdy option for hauling multiple kayaks. One of the best features is that they fold down when you don't need to use them. My shopping experience with etrailer was smooth and shipping was prompt.
My wife uses these to carry two small kayaks in the roof of her Subaru. They work great and we very happy with the purchase. She also likes finding her car easier in the parking lots, even with the carriers folded down.
No issues after a year would definitely purchase again.
# 4
etrailer J-Style Kayak Carrier - Folding - Universal Mount
Fits great on my 2019 Subaru Crosstrek. Great quality product and the straps are a bonus! This is the third car we’ve outfitted from this company and I can’t say enough good things. The car looks awesome with my 2 vapor 10 kayaks on top!
Awesome! Buy from these guys, class act. And they know their products and stand by their stuff! I have outfitted many cars over the years and I will never go anywhere else! Fantastic customer service and knowledgeable staff. Face it all the money you spend you should get it right the first time. That’s where this company rocks!
I've had 2 sets of these carriers for a year now. I've carried my 2 kayaks on several occasions with them. They are secure, steady and well made. They come with all the straps and hardware needed to carry your boat. A nice feature is that they have these little pockets made on to the straps to secure the extra length when you are using them which eliminates the loose ends from being blown around while driving. The folding feature is also great. I mount the carriers on my roof rack and make all the adjustments needed just one time. I can keep them up there for the entire season without having to fuss with them every time I want to take a boat out. I can use one or both of the carriers at any time. The price looks like its more than other sets but it really isn't because, as I said, they come with everything you need AND they fold down when not in use. I realy do like these carriers.
Excellent
# 5
Malone FoldAway-5 Kayak, SUP, and Canoe Carrier with Tie Downs - J-Style - Folding - Side Loading
I've had these kayak racks on my 2017 dodge journey for 1 year now and they work great. They're super easy to adjust and stable. When I'm not using the rack I just lay them flat. They don't whistle at all when driving at high speeds. The furthest trip I've done with two kayaks was about 10 hours and the racks had no issue, and a good portion of the trip had a lot of sharp turns. I would recommend these to anyone looking for a 2 kayak system.
I really like the Malone Foldaway Kayak and Canoe carrier. It looks to be a real good product and can’t wait to try it this weekend. Super fast shipping was a plus !
# 6
Lockrack Adjustable XL Watersport Carrier - Canoe, Kayak, or 2 SUPs - Side Loading - Universal Mount
I use the Lockrack system to transport an inflatable stand up paddleboard. I know, seem counterintuitive, but while we transport our two boards in their deflated state for long distances (beach trips), they get more use locally if you can leave it inflated and toss it on the car and go. The Lockrack system is genius, and avoids all the fuss with ratcheting straps down, and hoping they are secure. Since these racks are not widely used from what I gather, it is somewhat difficult to determine the specs, and there are not a large number of reviews with specific examples of what can be carried. So for what it's worth, it CANNOT carry two inflatable paddleboards- specifically the Tower Adventurer 2 models. It might be able to fit a second board if it was the racing model (skinnier in width), and the composite SUPs are likely not as tall, so it really just depends on what you have. I already had a classic Lockrack double SUP rack (that only fit one of my inflatable boards), and was hoping the XL expandable rack would allow for both boards, but at max expansion it is actually the same width as the classic, non-expandable Lockrack. I think the XL adds a few inches extra height, but nothing in terms of width. So while I'm returning the XL model, it is not for lack of appreciation of what it can do. One day we'll upgrade to boards that can both fit, but for now, even cutting the time in half and inflating one board instead of two is reward enough. I don't own a kayak or canoe, but after watching friends struggle with transport, I would highly recommend the Lockrack system for that as well.
Great substitution for the original lock rack. The only major difference is the arms. They are straight, and not bent like the OG lock racks are. They work great! I ordered the adjustable base (21" minimum) to match the other rack. These are great!
# 7
Thule Hull-A-Port Aero Kayak Carrier w/ Tie-Downs - J-Style - Folding - 1 Kayak
Thanks etrailer, your YouTube videos are very helpful. I have a 2013 Ford F-150 and was looking for kayak transportation solutions. I already had that Thule Evo Wing Bars and needed to find something to go with that. I first tried the Thule Hullavator but that proved to not work. 1: The combined weight of the bars, kayaks and 2 Hullavators exceeded my roof weight limit. 2: The 60” bars are not long enough to allow the Hullavator to swing down over the side of the cab. So, I switched to the Hullaport Aero which I ordered from etrailer. The website ordering was simple and shipping was super fast! The package was well boxed and the installation of the Hullaport Aero was super simple on the Thule Wing Bar Evo. Thanks! I would highly recommend you and would do business with you again in the future.
I bought two sets of these, and got them put on in less than an hour. Used them for the first time this morning and they were very secure. Also let me keep parking in my garage when folded down. Totally pleased with this purchase.
# 8
Rhino-Rack J-Style Kayak Carrier - Fixed - Universal Mount
Kayak carrier has performed exactly as expected. Has been a solid mount point for my kayaks.
Love the quality of the rack and the kayak mounts that I ordered. Five stars! Removed a star for the instructions and for the key for the security locks that broke the second use. The instructions ...work... but take a fair bit of patience to understand. Once deciphered, the mounting goes pretty quickly. Major room for improvement. The key - simple broke in half on the second use. No major stress put on it, just broke lol. Good thing kit comes with two keys so kudo's for that. Have a 2011 RDX. Car handles great with a 14.5 foot 55 lb kayak mounted. Driven up to 50 mph with the kayaks. No noise on the turnpike with just the roof crossbars at 80/90 mph. Overall, I love the rack system and the above two issues aren't show stoppers for me and I'd recommend them to a friend (tho I would help them with installation :).
# 9
Inno Board Locker Surfboard Carrier - Locking - Clamp On - 3 Shortboards or 2 Longboards
Great racks. Easy install. Videos posted on e-trailer were helpful and realistic.
I owned one 5 years ago. I sold the car and ordered another. The quality of the first one was better. This one took over 7 months to arrive. The winding tie down is very cheap and I already have trouble with it. they are not easy and at times get stuck. They are not as well made as the prior tie downs inno had.
# 10
Malone MegaWing Fishing Kayak Carrier with Tie-Downs - V-Style - Clamp On - 150 lbs
Best solution i could find for a 95# 12’ fishing kayak for a F150 with a roof rack (i have a thule removable). It performs really well. Only complaint would be rubber coating on brackets that go under the truck rack rail cracked so i worry ot may come off with age. I still recommend this. I pull a travel trailer so I couldn’t use a bed extender & the roof was my best solution.
True story- I purchased this product 2x from [online] and both times it came with mismatched/different size T-nuts and Bolts so I tried contacting seller who sent me to [online] where there is no live human being to communicate with. So I had to return and wait for refund but after the same experience with this item 2x I looked elsewhere. I am sure glad I did! Same price! Superhero fast shipping, ordered and received in 3 days!!!!! Live human beings to communicate with if there is a need. All of the parts are correct so now I just have to wait until the temps warm up a little to get this installed and my new fishing kayak home. My new kayak is currently on a table in my office waiting for this roof rack carrier because I made the mistake of ordering from [online] and going 2 weeks trying to get a defective product straightened out and now it is cold again. I wish I had found etrailer.com sooner but definitely have them in my bookmarks now!!
# 11
Malone SeaWing Kayak Carrier with Tie-Downs - Rear Loading - Clamp On
Easy to install and low profile allows me to leave it on and still park car in garage. Wilderness Pungo 12' kayak loads easily from rear of Subaru Crosstrek. No wind noise.
Our kayak club has many members that use this carrier. Since I have back issues, I will use mine on a Malone Eco Light trailer toted from to/from the water using a kayak carrier. Note: Being on a low trailer and so 'accessible', instead of the wingnuts, I bought metric hex nuts to double-nut the bolts to add some security.
# 12
Malone SeaWing Kayak Carrier and Load Assist w/ Tie-Downs - Rear Loading - Clamp On
I bought these because I wanted to carry two kayaks flat on top of my car that has factory racks. Other solutions for two kayaks either required a wider bar on top, or J-style carriers. These worked great for my purposes and I was able to carry two sea kayaks easily. It was very easy to put together, and putting it on and off the car takes very little time. One thing that pleasantly surprised me is how stable the kayaks were. I thought that they would be wobbly because of the single connection point, but that wasn't the case at all. The rear loading clamp-on is very handy if you are by yourself and/or you have a tall vehicle. I used these on both a Subaru Impreza and a Toyota 4Runner. I was able to load the kayaks on top of a 4runner with the rear loading attachment by myself. When you have two people though, it is simpler to just lift the kayak on top of the car instead. If I was to do this again, I probably won't bother with the rear loading attachment since I never go kayaking just on my own. The one complaint I have is when I put the piece down on the floor of the garage, the screws pop out the rubber screw hole covers. This isn't a really big deal, and some glue can probably fix it. Still annoying though. I highly recommend these.
These carriers are still working really well. I found that Im not using the load assist as much any more. With two people, its just not necessary. Still nice to have for those solo trips though.
Review already sent on 8/19/2021. The "Wings" only just fit my Hobie Revolution 13. If the pressure points are not exactly right the wings distort the hull. I like the design of the carrier but I have yet to put it to the test. I do not like the hooks at the end of the ropes, they come off too easily. I replaced them with a Carabiner, much safer. My kayak weighs 70 lbs so my hope is that I can slide it off/on the roof more easily at the ramp. I like that the wings can be installed on one side of the roof, it makes it easier to thread the tie-downs and attach to the car without the rope being diagonal to the hood. I needed my bowline and my truckers hitch and my taught line hitch as well as my round turn and two half hitches to set up the bow and rear tie downs. I made a double tie down for the front with carabiners to go onto the metal loops underneath the car on each side. Of course you can use a flat tie-down with a cam buckle as well. Before this product I had the Hobie pads on my roof. They worked quite well and could be adjusted to support the kayak in the right place. They are not as easy as the sea wings I suspect when it comes to loading/unloading. I am hoping that the kayak will not shift on the sea wings during transport. That would result in the kayak hull getting distorted.
# 13
Curt J-Style Kayak Carrier - Folding - Universal Mount
Good quality materials and easy to install - and uninstall. Two changes would give this product 5 stars: Some type of strap holder at the top of the back rack would make it easier to strap down the kayaks and some type of security lock so someone doesn't borrow your new racks while you are out kayaking. One unique thing to remember for the 2017 Toyota RAV4: the back OEM cross bar is about 3" shorter than the front cross bar - this takes some adjustments for the placement of the racks to fit 2 kayaks and still open the rear hatch.
Quick service! Box was not damaged at all. Just what I wanted.
Still works wonderfully
# 14
Thule Hullavator Pro Kayak Carrier and Lift Assist with Tie-Downs - Side Loading
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).
The hullavator makes it possible for us to continue kayaking. We only need to be able to lift the kayaks halfway and the hullavator does most of the work from halfway to roof by lightening the load. An awesome product!
# 15
Yakima JayLow Kayak Carrier w/ Tie-Downs - J-Style or Post Style - Folding - 1 or 2 Kayaks
The Yakima JayLows are ready to go out the box and very easy to set up. They attached to our vehicle’s factory crossbars with ease and seemed secure on the road with little to no movement with kayaks attached. We haven’t tested them on the highway yet, but I’m confident that they’ll be fine as long as you strap the kayaks correctly and use tie downs. I’m extremely happy with the JayLows and I’m considering purchasing another set if we get a third kayak. I HIGHLY recommend that you watch the videos on setting up and securing kayaks on the racks prior to first use.
The Yakima products are doing great. Just got home yesterday from a 18 day trip using them in Michigan's upper peninsula. Love them. Great products. Thanks again.
# 16
Thule Portage Canoe Carrier w/ Tie-Downs - Gunwale Brackets - Side Loading
I ordered the Thule Portage from etrailer after some availability issues with another seller. Great service, I even asked to have my 2 item free shipping in 2 shipments to avoid a wait and it was at my door within a week. etrailer is my goto supplier, they always seem to have items not in stock elsewhere. The Portage works great on the Rhino Rack I bought from etrailer also.
My Thule Portage has worked great with my Rhino Roof Rack for my Old Town 133 Canoe on top of my Pickup Truck Camper Shell. I have taken it on some rough mountain roads and windy stretches of freeway doing 70 mph with no problems. Very Quiet and stable. I always check the torque of the attachment Bolts as suggested by Thule, but since the second outing they have been a rock. I like the way the Thule Portage can be mounted slightly skewed to match the contour of the Canoe Gunnels. Makes it lock in even better to keep it from sliding back and forth. Very clean attachment with the adapter kit for Rhino Racks.
Very versatile and easy to install. We fit the brackets so that they seat the inside of the gunnels. Works well! Ordered these from Etrailer at the same time we placed an order for crossbars from Thule. This arrived and we are still waiting on the new crossbars.
Great! We have Thule blade-style crossbars and canoe carrier parts installed on both of our Jeep Cherokees. That way we can put one vehicle at the end of the river and one brings the canoe to the beginning. Lovely that the parts fit well and make an easy unloading and loading of our canoe.
Rola J-Rac Kayak Carrier Installation - 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek
Speaker 1: Today on our 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek, we're going to be test fitting the Rola J-Rac Kayak Carrier with Tie-Downs, part number 59912.The Rola J-Rac is great for carrying up to one kayak on the roof of your vehicle and having enough space on the other side to install other accessories, such as a bike rack or another kayak carrier. The kayak simply sets on the J-Rac and it has padding in areas where it's going to make contact with your kayak, to help protect it against those scratches that you might incur when you're trying to install it.This does come with both the tie-down straps, as well as the bow and stern tie-downs to secure this to your roof as well. With the straps, it does have this cover that goes around the buckle, again to help protect the hull of your kayak.Unfortunately, when everything's attached, you can not open your rear hatch. Mainly because of the bow/stern tie-down, but even if this wasn't there, if you we're to open this up, it would make contact with the kayak.This is made from a black powder coated steel construction, so it's very durable and it's also corrosion resistant.Now that we've gone over some of the features of the kayak carrier, let's go ahead and show you how it installs. Loosen one of them up completely and remove it, take off the clamp and push it off to the side like so and then set it onto our bar. When we set it down, we want to try to keep it a little even with our rear hook, bring that clamp around, and reattach our turn mount.
Lockrack Watersport Carriers Review - 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek
Speaker 1: Today on our 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek, we're going to be test fitting the Lockrack Stand Up Paddle Board Carrier for wide stand up paddle boards, part number 339LR65SASETA. This can carry up to one stand up paddle board, and this is a universal mounting system. Right now we have it around square bars, this will also work with round, elliptical and most factory roof racks, but it also has an option to switch this to a channel mount, so it can work with those roof racks with t-slots in them as well. This is a very unique stand up paddle board carrier in that once it's installed it doesn't require any straps, or bow and stern tie-downs, or anything like that once it's installed.It'll grip your stand up paddle board at four points. We're going to have two arms at each side, and they are going to have this nice thick rubber padding to help protect the hull of your stand up paddle board where it makes contact with it. Also, at the base here, we have this rubber padding as well as this extra gripping material so once you initially install this it's not going to shift around or move around while you're pushing these into place.
Lockrack Watersport Carriers Review - 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek
Speaker 1: Today on our 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek, we're going to be test fitting the Lockrack stand up paddleboard carrier for one stand up paddleboard. This is going to be part number 339LRSSUPSETA. We already have a stand up paddleboard installed on it, so let's go ahead and take a closer look here. This is a pretty unique carrier, in that once everything is installed and pushed in place, you don't need any straps to hold down the stand up paddleboard while you're traveling. Instead, it uses these ratcheting arms with these thick rubber pads to help protect the hull, to hold it in place, and keep it in place while you travel.There is also padding on the underneath here, which is treaded to make sure this won't move around while you're initially installing it. With everything installed as it is, unfortunately we're not able to open up our rear hatch, as it will make contact with our paddleboard, although you're able to open enough to get some space in there.
Malone Watersport Carriers Review - 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek
Speaker 1: Today on our 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek, we're going to test fitting the Malone Standard cross bar pad, 30 inches long, part number MPG315. We already have our paddle board attached to our vehicle. Let's go ahead and take a closer look and show off some of the features. Now, while we do have two straps to hold our stand-up paddle board down, these do not come with the kit. We used the 10 foot long Malone straps, which you can find on etrailer.com.Looking at the pads, these are going to be foam pads with a nylon covering on them to help protect your stand-up paddle board or surf board while in transport, to make sure there's no scratches or abrasions on it. It wraps around your cross bars, as you can see here.
Malone Watersport Carriers Review - 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek
Today on our 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek, we're going to be test fitting the Malone J-Pro Kayak Carrier with Tie-Downs, part number MPG116MD. We already have our kayak installed on the rack. Let's go ahead and take a closer look and showoff some of the features. Along with it, you do get all the tie-down straps necessary to secure it to your roof, including the 12 foot long straps, as well as this protective coating around the buckle of the straps to make sure you don't scratch up the hull of your kayak or your canoe. It also comes with the bow and stern tie-downs and the hooks to attach them to either your hitch or your front tow hook point. The carrier itself is padded to make sure you don't damage your boat as well when it's being loaded and unloaded. Let's go ahead and take the kayak off and set it aside.
Rhino Rack Watersport Carriers Review - 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek
Today in our 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek we're going to be test fitting the Rhino Rack stand up paddle board and surf board pads with tie downs, part number RRRWP03. Now we already have one of our pads installed, we'll go ahead and show you how to install the other one. These are very easy, they come in a quantity of two, and they have these hook and loop straps that will wrap around our Rhino Rack crossbars here, however this will also work with square, round, aero, elliptical and some factory crossbars. I'm going to pull it down nice and tight on both sides and then make your connections. We'll do this all around, go to the other side to finish that up, again pulling down, make sure it's nice and tight. Alright, then with both of these installed, we're ready to install our surf board. These pads can only carry one of either, that's the surf board or the stand up paddle board, or other accessories depending on what they are, and then it comes with two tie downs as I said earlier, and these do have rubber pads on them as well, and these are cam buckle straps, and they're rubber padded to ensure that your actual surfboard does not get scratched up once this is being installed. And how you install these straps, you come underneath one side, and then underneath on the other side as well.
Rhino Rack Watersport Carriers Review - 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek
Today on our 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek, we're doing a test fit of the Rhino Rack J Style Kayak Carrier. That's part number S510. You see we already have it on our Rhino rack and roof system. Let's show you a few features here. What we have here, we have the strap to the front and back. That's our bow and our stern straps. We have our straps around the kayak itself that's hooked to your J-hook carriers. First we're going to take off the straps from the bow and the stern.
Its been a year and were still enjoying the Stacker setup. We have been hauling around our kayaks to local lakes every other weekend or so, and have had no issues. I have been double checking the hardware and occasionally do have to tighten a mounting knob or two. Im happy that we made this purchase and hope to continue using them for years to come.