MOS UpLift Roof Rack Lift Assist - Clamp On

Video Transcript for MOS UpLift Roof Rack Lift Assist Comprehensive Review

Hey, everyone, it's Evangeline right here at etrailer. Today, we have the MOS UpLift Roof Rack Adapter. This is gonna be a lift assist adapter that installs onto your roof rack, and then you can install other accessories and cargo onto the UpLift. We're gonna take a look at some of its features right here at etrailer. And if you wanna keep this with other accessories, I have some recommendations there too. With the turn of two levers, you are able to bring this whole system down.

So compared to having to load and unload things on top of your vehicle, you now bring your cargo and your accessories down two feet to make it a lot easier to manage. Now, some overall specs and measurements, this does have an 85 pound weight capacity, and in its current space, can fit cargo and accessories of up to 26 inches. So something unique to this compared to other lift assist carriers is you'll tend to see lift assist kayak carriers designed to carry kayaks. This can carry kayaks, but it can also carry other things. And another thing to this is you'll notice how tall our UpLift is.

That's because it's designed to take up less space on your vehicle. So if you wanted to carry two of these, you totally can. The UpLift accomplishes this by taking up less space on your roof rack. So all MOS Rack says is, as long as you have at least 43 inches of crossbar, you can carry up to two MOS UpLifts. Now, technically, if we're gonna go for dimensions, if you measure from the back of the UpLift all the way to the end, that sits at 31 inches of length.

And then if you go for the height, which is pretty important, that's gonna be 26 inches of height. Height is gonna be where you might be a little bit more concerned. I have a smaller car, so I'm not too concerned about leaving the garage or going through drive-throughs. But for taller vehicles, the over two feet of length added, or two feet of height added, might make for some clearance issues. This does utilize a universal T-channel or T-track that runs throughout the entire UpLift.

So if you have an accessory that's channel mounted, chances are very high that you'll be able to mount it to this system. Now, ignore the lack of the end cap, this is there so you can see how that track goes through the whole carrier. And that's gonna be the same all the way up. For comparing this with other lift assist carriers, and I've worked with a lot of them, I've been very invested in making sure I am able to load and unload heavy cargo all by myself. What I really like about this is the two tiers it goes down, and that's to engage different parts of the UpLift. So it first goes out and down, and then if you give it a good pull, it then goes all the way down. So the reason for that is when you do have this loaded up with a heavier cargo, you wanna make sure that it's able to support it. And that's why you feel a little bit of tension there bringing it down. But even with that, it's a very smooth movement, and it really supports you as you lift your cargo all the way back up. Now, if you do have questions about what type of cargo can you carry as well as what types of accessories you can carry, the answer to that is a little bit more complicated. So for that reason, we gave you a starter list right here at etrailer.com. Check out our website where we have some accessories that we know are gonna be a good fit with your UpLift. And to make things even easier, we just paired together some kits of our favorite accessories to match together for different situations. Now, I've actually had this on my vehicle for about five months now, especially since it was peak kayaking season. This was super helpful for whenever I wanted to paddle down the creek real quick. And the lift assist function on this made it super easy to get the kayaks up and down. Now, some maintenance or some tips that I've learned while using this and having this on my roof is that if you're only using one, MOS Racks does recommend installing it on the passenger's side. That does make it easier to access. The second tip is that it is pretty bulky on top of your vehicle. While I didn't notice excessive wind noise and wind drag, that's also because I was pretty constant about keeping the wind strips in the track and then having the end cap in place. But also, my roof rack in general is pretty noisy, so I didn't notice much more beyond that. However, depending on your vehicle or your situation, you may find that it is a bit of a hassle to keep this on your car. So if that's the case, it is easy to take off the rack by just loosening the bolts and then removing that bottom clamp. Then you can just lift the whole rack off of your car, takes about two minutes to do once you get the hang of it. So when comparing this with other lift assist carriers, since most of them are kayak carriers that take up a lot of space, I really like the MOS Rack UpLift. I really like how I'm able to fit it onto the vehicle, and it doesn't take up much space on the crossbar. Hopefully, this video just showed how this works, as well as its specs, its maximum weight capacity of 85 pounds. And from there, you can decide if it is a good fit for you and your vehicle. And from that point on, definitely check out our accessories to help you get started on carrying all kinds of different things. For mounting your UpLift, it all starts first with your vehicle and taking a look at your roof rack. If you don't yet have a roof rack, you can find one custom fit for your car here at etrailer.com. But right over here, the main thing we wanna know is the distance apart for the crossbars. So measure from one crossbar to the other center to center. And I have mine at 27 inches. So remember the number for your vehicle. Going over to your UpLift rack, and this is already pre-assembled, we just need to make the adjustments for the vehicle. And just follow your instructions for assembling it the first time, because after that, it's gonna be very easy to remove as well as attach the UpLift rack. To help you out on top of the attaching crossbar, which you can slide back and forth, you have numbers. So these numbers are gonna be a ruler to help you line everything up. So remember how we said 27 inches Well, we'll line up that 27 inch line with the line on the UpLift, and then we'll tighten that down with this knob. You'll have these shims included, and these will fit onto those bolts. And then your spacer block goes underneath that. So definitely take off the whole UpLift system if ever you need to make these adjustments. And up onto the bar. Where do you install your UpLift Well, for me, I always try to bring it as far out as I can. Utilizing overhang is always helpful. But not every vehicle is gonna have a roof rack with a crossbar that sits out with overhang. The big example of that are gonna be Subarus with factory bars, because those sit on the inside. And most lift assists don't work with that, because of that design. Fortunately, with the UpLift, you can adjust the UpLift, and then slide the clamp around to fit best on your roof rack. So if in doubt, just push the UpLift out, slide the clamp in to where it's still an opening, and that will give you some pretty good clearance. And then you're gonna attach the bottom bracket. So for the bracket, MOS does recommend following the symmetry of your roof rack, 'cause you'll see that that bracket is angled. So for aero bars like this, we're gonna fit it in, and then we're gonna slide the bracket around, so it fits into place. What I then like to do is pull the bracket, so I know this end piece is fully secure as I tighten it down with these wing knobs. This does have end caps included, but I did keep them off for this video, so you can better see how the track system works. Now, if you're planning on carrying a kayak with this, go ahead and put your rubber strips on. This is also what you would do if you're just leaving your MOS rack up without anything loaded. But if you are gonna be attaching something through the channels, then keep your rubber strips off, so that you'll be able to slide things through. And that's gonna be it for the installation and set up of your MOS UpLift. Now, this setup will look a little different, depending on your different vehicles, but the general idea is still going to be the same. And from this point on, you can either load a kayak up onto your UpLift or install your other accessories. Again, we have all those different kits and accessories available for your MOS lift here at etrailer.