I found removal and installation a pain. My car won’t fit through the garage door with the Hullavator installed.
I love my Hullavator. I have them on the Areo Bars and I would consider them if you don’t have any now. It’s not an inexpensive solution. I have a lifted jeep and I am not as strong as I once was 
, so this was well worth helping me get my boat stowed.
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I have never had any twisting problem with Hulivator mounted to yak round bars. But never load or unload on an incline like a boat ramp without parking sideways to the ramp.
Yes, my car won’t fit in my garage with any sort of rack on it. Not a deal-breaker, I just have to remember not to mindlessly try to drive into the parking garage at work!
I don’t plan to take it on an off often. Probably just during dead of winter when I wont be paddling much and when it will make snow removal a hassle.
The Hullavator Cradle Arm Assembly removes easily leaving the bar mount which just adds 2” over the top surface of the bar.
See you on the water,
Marshall Seddon
The River Connection, Inc.
9 W. Market St.
Hyde Park, NY. 12538
845-229-0595 main
845-242-4731 mobile
Main: [www.the-river-connection.com]
Store: [www.the-river-connection.us]
Email: marshall@the-river-connection.com
Facebook: [fb.me/theriverconnection]
Instagram: Instagram.com/marshall.seddon
I don’t find remounting the cradles to be quite as brainless as some, wouldn’t want to be doing it on a daily basis. But it also is easy enough that doing it every couple or few days to improve my gas mileage is no problem.
To answer my own question in the OP for the benefit of anyone else reading:
The Hullavator can be removed from the mounting bracket that is attached to the cross bars pretty easily. It takes a little finesse at first to get the locking pin in place.
Here’s the full kit, which Marshall very graciously assembled for me this morning:
And here’s what it looks like with the cradle removed. The bracket only adds a couple of inches above the crossbars.
It was snowing this morning and it was a long drive home, so I removed the cradles. No biggie. I put them back on when I got home to show my wife. Her response: “What else can they be used for, can they haul lumber?!”
Thank you Marshall for all of your assistance.
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If you put enough 2x4’s on them they’ll haul lumber quite nicely.
I’m envious of your non-white lawn. 
See you on the water,
Marshall Seddon
The River Connection, Inc.
9 W. Market St.
Hyde Park, NY. 12538
845-229-0595 main
845-242-4731 mobile
Main: [www.the-river-connection.com]
Store: [www.the-river-connection.us]
Email: marshall@the-river-connection.com
Facebook: [fb.me/theriverconnection]
Instagram: Instagram.com/marshall.seddon
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That’s could be a lotta greenlands up in that carrier
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One last car-specific question. Yesterday I crawled under the front end of the car to look for where I’ll attach the bow line. Much to my surprise, the entire front end is one uniform piece of plastic, no openings or places to hook stuff onto. The first metal part I encounter is beyond an arm’s length back.
I poked around and discovered that Thule and others make a loop and toggle that you close your hood on top of to create a point to secure the bow line.
Is that effective and safe for the hood? I can imagine upward force on the bow pulling on the line and, in turn, creasing the hood. But it looks like they sell a lot of these!
I have a Volkswagon Alltrack and have been using them, since 2017. Love them. So much easier than under the grill attachment points on my previous car. No sign of damage to the hood or the paint so far. As secure as any other attachment points I have used, and since they are trapped under the hood, better than hooks and other ways to attach that can potentially become undone if slack develops.
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I have used something under the hood for many years on multiple cars, three manufacturers. No impact to the hood, others here agree. I am not quite sure what someone is driving that seems to act differently.
I actually just tie a section of leftover deck like thru whatever metal part I can find towards the front of the hood. There is always something in there supporting the stuff towards the front of the engine compartment.
Plus lines to the hood are not long enough to come loose, catch in your wheel and rip the front off your boat going down the highway. Hardly a common incident, but there have been reports here of such happening.
I took nylon strap, made a loop and fastened the two end to one of the bolts on the front fender and the additional of a washer, one each side. When not in use they fold into the engine bay. I thought I had taken a picture but can’t seem to find it.
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Another option might be tow hooks. Look at the front of your bumper and see if there are pieces that can be pushed/popped out. My Toyota RAV4 had them (square in shape), and behind them is where I screwed in beefy tow hooks / eye bolts. I purchased the tow hooks from Toyota. You can also just google your car’s model and year to determine if this is an option on your vehicle.
This reminds me… I have a Hullavator on order with my new boat, but I have Yakima round bars. I’m thinking I might replace my rack to avoid any problems but dang they are pricey now.
Does anyone seeing this have a Malone rack, and what do you think of the quality? I’ve only ever had Yakima or Thule.
Pru, The Hullavator comes with mounting hardware to fit the Yakama’s round bar, I don’t think it will be an issue, but I don’t have personal experience. It also comes with the metal hardware to mount in the slot of more modern rack designs. Again, no personal experience.
I’ve been using a hood loop for the past six years with not a single issue.
https://www.rei.com/product/818227/seattle-sports-quick-loops-pair
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My driveway is on a slope and my street is on a hill, and that’s where I will load/unload so I’m wondering if that’s going to be a problem with the Hullavator. Round bars are a PITA with a couple of my accessories, to be honest. I’m not sure I want to keep bleeding money, though. The Malone racks are far more economical than the big two, but I have no experience with their quality.
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The boat goes into the cradle along the side of the car and comes out of it when you take it down. As long as you can stand up straight enough on the incline to carry the boat, that part will work fine.
You will find that the end which is more downhill place different stress on the hydraulics than the end which is more uphill. That is something you just have to finesse as you get used to it. If it is steep enough to be very noticeable, you can always load the boat a little more forward or back.
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No tow hooks, I’m afraid. I’m good at the back of the car because I have a trailer hitch that has eyelets for the stern line.
Looks like people have had good experiences with the loops
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