Hull-a-Port Aero 838

I'll skip the background on the assumption that you've looked up Thule's description. The fold-down process is indeed pretty slick, although I wonder about long-term durability. Integrating these with the Aero bars using the T-track is even slicker, and provides the lowest profile I have ever seen when folded. (and with the black bars, the coolest setup I have seen) They're pretty easy to put on / take off with the T-track install also, which is nice. The padding material is a bit "sticky", so don't plan to do much sliding around when loading - which is kind of the point, since they are supposed to hold the boat in place. But you're basically going to have to set the boat in approximately the right place from the get-go.

Other than the price, no real complaints. They do the job well and look really good.

The Thule Hullaport is a great rack. This rack and included tie downs give you every thing you need to secure your kayak. The J-rack provides secure support for the boat. Racheting bow and stern tie downs are included. These racks fit factory installed racks on SUVs. The learning curve to get the boat on the racks on a Ford Expedition was a little steeper than expected. Just remember to feed the tie downs trough the top of the rack before loading the boat. If you are not tall, you may need a step stool to get the boat on a large SUV. No problems on the first road trip of over 300 miles. I highly recommend this rack.

The Thule Hullaports are a great product! We mounted them on our Yakima roof-rack and have carried two Bic Sport kayaks around Southern California kayaking locations (lakes and the ocean). They are solid, stable, and support the kayaks quite well. I like the fact that they included the bow and stern tie-downs. Nice touch! Here’s a loading tip we discovered. We have a tall vehicle (a Honda Element) and, since we’re 5-8 and 5-7 respectively, we had a bit of trouble getting the kayaks up into the mounts at first. Until we tried turning the kayaks upside-down and kind-of rolling them into the mounts. Worked great! Now we can attach the mounts and load both kayaks in under fifteen minutes. You can see pictures of our set-up at: http://www.annandave.com/long_beach/.

I highly recommend these mounts.

We just purchased a set of Thule Hull A Ports to carry my Necky Chelan or Gannet and my husband's Napali by Perception, 15' sit on top, on my Ford Taurus or his wagon. I purchased last years display model, however he had to wait for his to be ordered, so he got the newer version that comes with the tie down. I added my own touch to the system because I was a little frustrated at watching the little plastic tubing, that acts as a spacer between the metal plates, roll down the driveway. So, I added a rubber plumbing washer to hold the spacer in place. Mind you it does take a little work getting the washers on, nothing a little awl and haul can't do. Great system, great stability and very little friction felt inside the vehicle during travel time. It is definitely an improvement over using the foam pads we had before to stabilize our rigs. My husband's larger boat was getting warped in the hull during the haul. We can use it on whatever car model we want as long as it has a rack on it.