I hear that Hulivators on Amazon have dropped in price.
Amagansett Roller Loader to get it up, glide pads in back and saddle in front. When just one boat it is in the Hullivator. But the other side has the setup as described above, works fine for our heaviest 17 ft 8 inch boat. I am over 60 and 5 ft 35 inches.
@MrTommy said:
Finally though, even THAT became a hassle so we bit the bullet and went for the Hulivators. Not cheap, but boy does it make the loading and unloading a piece of cake. We recently upgraded our truck to a 2016 F-350 crew cab and installed the hulivators. It’s so easy to say “Hey, let’s go kayaking today”, and just go kayaking. We used to have to discuss if we REALLY wanted to go through the struggle of loading the kayaks onto the truck - but NOT NOW!
Curious as I have a 95 F350. I have an 8 foot bed so actually can carry kayaks there if not too long and not pulling a trailer. Do the Hullavators interfere with the mirrors? My kayaks are longer so thinking it might.
I fold the mirrors on both sides of my SUV in before I drop the Hullavators and load the kayaks but that’s just me being cautious and not wanting the bows of the boats to bang against them.
I guess whether the boats interfere with the mirrors when loading really depends on the size of the mirrors, the length of the kayaks and the shape of the car or truck body.
I fold mirrors but it is not necessary. What people often forget is Hulivators ride on the “out board” end of the bars. Kinda over the side of the vehicle.
Thanks! I kind of figured it probably wouldn’t work with the kind of mirrors my truck has. Not a big deal though. Appreciate the response.
@MrTommy said:
Wifey and I have two Wilderness Systems Pungo 120’s, weighing about 50 pounds each. We used to battle trying to get them up on the roof of our 97 Ford F-350 crew cab. Between the two of us, we’d muscle them up with her standing on a small step stool. Not great in sandy conditions. So I came up with this ‘invention’, which is actually just a variation on a commercially available loading system - which costs much more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMHFHpaEYTQFinally though, even THAT became a hassle so we bit the bullet and went for the Hulivators. Not cheap, but boy does it make the loading and unloading a piece of cake. We recently upgraded our truck to a 2016 F-350 crew cab and installed the hulivators. It’s so easy to say “Hey, let’s go kayaking today”, and just go kayaking. We used to have to discuss if we REALLY wanted to go through the struggle of loading the kayaks onto the truck - but NOT NOW!
MrTommy:
Your PVC outrigger is ingenious. I have the Thule outrigger which works well, but had I known, I could have saved the $$ and made my own.
I am a 66 year old female, I’m 5’4", and have multiple boats that I load on my Jeep Cherokee (and previously my Ford Escape). I have the J rack on one side for when I have assistance loading. And I have the Glide and Set cradles on the other side for when I don’t. The cradles are easy for me to load my boat over the back of my car using a bath mat for protection. If you are really set on using the J rack, an outrigger will help, but is still not super easy for a female. When using the J, I loosely secure one of my straps around the boat until I get it securely on the rack in case it gets away from me. Keep trying. You will get it.
My favorite “rack system” is 8 pool noodles (or insulation foam tubes) strengthened with weather-resistant utility tape, then strapped tightly on car roof with carabiners.
It works perfectly for my 75 lb 17 ft Grumman aluminum canoe. We have never needed roof rack otherwise.
The same 8 pool noodles can be used to hang the same canoe onto fence (with more carabiner receivers coupled to screws on fence).
I add Home Depot rubber door mats to rear roof areas not accessible to straps. The same door mats, cut to right sizes, are used for padding my canoe’s inside.
As loading assistance, I used a 29" H 29" W 72" L Costco folding table. We need a good folding table anyway, so that $40 is worth it. The table is stable enough for my 135 lb weight and long/wide enough to support a canoe of 17’ L 36" W (75 lbs).
I simply lay the table length wise after my SUV’s back, lift up bow of canoe onto the 6’ table, tilt the canoe up on the table with my leg/back muscle, then slide the whole canoe onto car roof (which is in turn protected by door mats and pool noodles).
Being a 38 yo (5’9" 135 lbs) male, I could directly lift bow of my 75 lb 17’ L canoe onto roof of my SUV (Acura MDX), then slide on the stern. But the folding table makes it a bit easier to lift and tilt.
Hullavator looks nice, but I still have to lift up my 75 lb 36" W 17’ L canoe SIDEWAYS, to 40" above ground, where the Hullavator resides. Then I have to hold it there and ask someone to strap the canoe onto Hullavator for me. My canoe is also at the very upper limit of Hullavator’s weight capacity (75 lbs) and width capacity (36"), not a pound or inch less. So I don’t know if Hullavator makes that much sense for me.
I personally would rather add that $600 budget to my kayak/canoe fund and get a much lighter boat. Just my own scenario; your mileage may differ though.