Thule Hullavator Pro Kayak Carrier
This premium lift-assist carrier reduces up to 40 lbs. of your kayak's weight, letting you load, unload and hit the water with ease—even if your paddling buddies are stuck at work.
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- Waist-level loading, unloading and strapping by lowering the kayak 40 in. to the side of your vehicle
- Gas struts absorb up to 40 lbs. of your kayak's weight, allowing easy, unassisted loading and unloading
- Wide cradles accommodate hulls up to 36 in. wide
- 8 touch points of padded support for maximum protection of your kayak
- Corrosion-resistant base and cradles enhance the life of the carrier
- Includes QuickDraw bow and stern tie-downs and 2 center straps with car-protective buckle bumpers
- The Hullavator Pro fits all Thule rack systems and round bars (excluding Thule Edge)
Made in USA.
| Best Use | Kayaking |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 36 x 16 x 6 inches |
| Weight | 39 lbs. 11.2 oz. |
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I'm not getting any younger.
I'm retired and sometimes just tired after a paddle. I bought a new truck. The old racks put the kayaks 7 ft above ground on the new truck. I'm not that tall. So we looked to the Thule Hullavator for a possible solution. The lift assist and reach down the side of the truck made it possible to easily load the kayaks on the truck. The truck rack is necessary when we tow the travel trailer. The Hullavator , purchased one set for test, did not work well with the existing bed racks with round bars. So I up graded the installation with the Thule Xsporter Pro Truck rack and another Hullavator. The installation gives me more options for rack carry and really makes hauling the kayaks easier. The distance between the racks is good for the 17' boats we carry, but it really makes this a two person job. My reach just isn't that long. Loading is much easier. I can also lower the cross bars when the kayaks are not installed which lowers wind noise and could improve gas mileage. I would recommend this product to a friend. However it seems like not too long ago it cost about half what it does now. Then too REI gave me free shipping but charged an additional handling charge. And they didn't allow free shipping to a store. If you install this on Thule racks installation is easy once you get past the metric measurements and multi lingual instructions. The pictures are helpful and detailed enough.
Couldn't do without it!
Best purchase that I've made all year! I drive a compact crossover and own a Malibu mini-x kayak. The kayak itself is one of the smallest out there, but even with its size I would be unable to lift it to my roof without assistance. I am a 5'7 female and couldn't kayak every other morning without my Hullavator! Assembly was very straightforward with detailed instructions. The arm mounts sits perfectly on my aero blades and I am able to leave the two bar mounts on at all time. When transporting my kayak, the Hullavator arm easily slides in with a u-shaped pin. When I'm at the beach I safely store the Hullavator arms in my trunk. The hydraulic arm folds down to waist height, making it very easy to lift the kayak into the secure j hooks. From there I can easily strap the kayak through the loops. After that, the assist lift makes lifting 50 pounds as easy as standing straight up....amazing!! It's additionally quite the conversation starter. I always get people asking me to show them how it works when I'm loading it on the beach! I would recommend this as an investment.
Makes my life easier
I purchased the Thule Hullavator in August 2021. I like that this product allows me to easily load and unload my kayak. It is at a good height that I don’t have to twist around or lift anything for extended period of time. My out of shape self can easily load a Perception tribe 11.5, and with some difficulty can lift a Perception tribe 13.5 tandem. The straps are super easy to tighten everything down. There are three issues I have had with my Hullavator over the last couple seasons. First, it has issues lining up the rack when trying to load causing me to have to open and close and adjust straps at times just to get it to lock down. Second, if you like to leave your rack on when it isn’t carrying a kayak the rack whistles if you go above 45 mph. It is annoying, but not enough to keep me from using it. Third I wish I knew to buy the locking mechanism separately. I didn’t realize the locks needed to be purchased separately since all the pictures showed locks as part of the set up and I wish I would have bought them for my own piece of mind.
Thule Hullavator and Eddy Line Kayaks
We bought the Hullavator because my wife is short and can't lift our Tandem Eddy Line kayak up on top of our car. After we assembled the Hullavator we put our tandem kayak on and found that it doesn't fit correctly. I went back to the REI's website Hullavator description and our kayak supposedly meets the requirements for the rack. I emailed Thule and they said "Unfortunately we do not have any "V" shaped foam pieces we provide to customers i would recommend checking into a local hardware store and seeing if they have any Foam padding you can attach to the Hullivator for a more firm fit". You would think a rack that costs almost $700 would come with the parts to make it work. I'm disappointed. Adding pictures so you can see the problem.
Sending returned parts out as new
The racks themselves are going to work great. No problem with them. The problem was the box they came in looked like it shipped through eastern Ukraine. It was really beat up and had tape all over it. There was a sticker on it that had another address in Arizona along with mine in California. This thing was obviously returned. All the major components were in perfect condition, but the parts bag had been torn open. Screws and nuts were scattered throughout the box. I found most of them. Rather than returning it and going through that hassle, I decided to just buy the missing hardware on Amazon and the local hardware store. Not up to the standards I am used to from REI
saved me from selling my kayak
This thing is pricey, but oh so worth it! I drive a Jeep Wrangler with an external rack frame meaning that I would have to lift my kayak OVER my head to load it. This is just not feasible or practice for me (a single female) to do alone. I was looking at having to give up my kayak (or buy a super pricey ultralight one but even then lashing it to the rack that high would be tough). Instead I bit the bullet and bought this lift and it has been a dream and a life saver. Loading my kayak is so easy! I do it alone all the time and could not recommend this product more. Yeah, it is super expensive, but it actually really is worth it!!
Nothing else even comes close ...
It took a while before I decided to buy this kayak rack because of the price, however, now that I have used it 5 or 6 times, I love it. I have watched others struggle with much smaller kayaks while I am able to load and unload a 20 foot kayak by myself. I lift the kayak onto the extended and lowered cradle and it sits pretty secure on its own while I strap it down. Once secured with the straps, I pull down on the two releases and lift the equivalent of about half the kayak's weight up and onto the roof. The lift assist brings up about 40 pounds of the kayak's full 82 pounds and I only have to lift the full weight of the kayak about 40 inches off the ground. You may have to buy the rack cross-members separately and I have experienced a little whistling when driving without the kayak. Keep in mind the the full rack is too high to go into my garage, but the cradle pieces are easily removed to get it in the garage. I have not found any other rack that works like this one does.
Buy it.
I've now used the hullavator 4 times and it's a live saver. I'm 5'4" and couldn't get my kayak on a Toyota hylander by myself and I can easily do it now! I have Yakima round bars and it does work with them. I paid $20 to have a local company install and happy I did. Directions were not very clear. Absolutely recommend. It's worth every penny.
If you can spare the expense, get it!
If you're short, have a tall vehicle, lack upper body strength, have injuries, etc... this is for you! I got a taller vehicle than my last and I'm short, but wanted to remain an independent kayaker, so I invested in this and hope it lasts. Check out YouTube videos for help with assembly and function. I didn't find it very complicated, just took a little time. First time out with it was great and my friends were very intrigued! The strap pockets are a convenient feature. Looking forward to lots of easy loading for years to come! Cons: - Expensive. If it lasts, it'll be worth it though. Would be nice if locking cores would come with this $800 purchase. - The knob that you adjust for your kayak width is hard to get at and seems like it might loosen up easily. Some sort of ratcheting or adjustable button lock would be easier and more secure. - When unlocked, there is a single pin that can be accessed and taken out to remove the bulk of the Hullavator arm. Great for lowering your vehicle profile when not in use and being able to park in the garage! Sight concern about the lack of security for the remaining part of the bracket that's left on the vehicle for convenience. Hopefully people don't know what they are and leave them alone.
It Works BUT ...
For this kind of money, and really I cannot understand how they can charge so much for so little except that there is no competition, the kayak rack should be able to fold down like my other Thule kayak rack (Hullaport Pro). It is SO high up I could not fit my Rav4 with Hullavator into my garage. All it needed was a hinge and a locking mechanism. It should also be easier to remove because as designed I really need to keep it on my car for the season. Thule should improve this product. That said, it does work, and it has saved my arms and my back. And REI does have the best price (and anyway, I support REI no matter what!).