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Name: paddler231462
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I used the Hullavator to replace my 30 year old Thule kayak saddles on my old Land Cruiser. Never had an issue loading my single sea kayak with the old set up but my recent purchase of a tandem Loon made me consider different options. Glad I did.
The Hullavator works exactly as advertised. It is easy to load and lifts the kayak onto the rack with little effort. I leave it on my vehicle through the paddling season and have had zero problems with it. It is very robust and if I ever wear out the gas struts they are easily replaced with ones from my local auto parts store.
They are made to universally fit all bar shapes, which means they do not firmly lock on to the regular square Thule bar profile. When you try to reposition a heavy boat they tend to rotate on the bars. In addition, they are super tall so even my little Audi wagon has trouble fitting in an average parking garage. Gas mileage also takes a big hit. I ended up taking them off and threw them in the corner of my garage and went back to my 20 year old saddles. This is the first piece of Thule gear that I have been disappointed in.
The new version that folds should be better. I may give those a try...
What don't I like? Battery life could be better, as could the quality of the color. The plastic on the rear screen is easily scratched. However, these are minor issues considering everything this camera can do and survive. Great camera.
The kayak is quite heavy but I expected Royalex to be. I drive a 4x4 Suburban but have no trouble getting the boat on the roof after 20 years of practice with other boats. However, if I needed to carry the boat long distances I would definitely get a cart. The boat is near indestructible and should serve me well basically forever.
I can’t wait to take my younger son, who will be 2 years old in June, out for his first paddle! His (now) 3 year old brother wants to show him what it’s all about.
Although I have paddled a lot of other kayaks which had more room, were more responsive, or easier to roll, I have never found one that had all of these characteristics rolled into one boat. Because of this, I am still paddling my Tesla after all of the years. And, I see no reason to change.
Last year I bought a Suburban (now I have two racked vehicles) and bought a set of Thule #450 Crossroads to mount to the factory rails. I was little concerned about the rack coming loose. Not that the rack would have a problem, but rather the factory rails would rip out of the Suburban’s roof. Happy to say, after several 1500 mile trips to Maine and Hilton Head my concerns have been but aside. This thing is as rock solid as I was used to.
If I have anything negative to say about Thule it would be that fewer dealers seem to be carrying them than when I bought mine. Sure, I can buy off the internet but I prefer to support my local dealers.
In my honest opinion, you can’t go wrong with a Thule rack.