Hi, I’m a horribly out of shape 52 year-old woman, 5’3" who just bought a 2025 Subaru Outback Onyx XT. I have a 15 foot Easkey that’s about 50 pounds as well as two-person sea kayak that’s slightly larger/heavier.
YEARS AGO I had a MiniCooper and used to easily and happily load my Easkey on and off it using a Thule Hullavator. I want to recapture my days kayaking solo while I can but occassionally be able to go with others as well. I’m struggling with my best option–should I get a trailer hitch installed and buy some type of trailer (I have zero experience driving them) or should I go back for another Thule Hullavator or ???
Help I am absolutely paralyzed trying to decide this and need the simplest option possible that I’ll be able to do independently.
If you were happy with the Hullivator solution, and that was a good solution in the past, what makes you consider the trailer option now, was there something you were not happy with using the Hullivator?
Trailers are a good solution as well, no lifting above the waist, added storage for gear, if suitably outfitted, etc. But with a trailer, you will need to learn how to maneuver a car with a trailer, you may need to register the trailer, pay various recurring fees, and do maintenance. You may find some parking situations difficult to handle. Plus there is trailer storage to consider. Most do not want a trailer attached to their car all the time, so where to put it when not in use can be an issue.
A simple exercise that may help you sort through this decision is to make a list of all the advantages and disadvantages that you see with each alternative, then compare and see which makes the most sense to you. Keep in mind that some advantages and/or disadvantages may be more important to you than others, so consider that as well.
An even better way to help you through this decision would be to first think hard about what your objectives are. What do you care about in making this choice? Don’t forget to include the cost as one of your objectives. Take your time, really dive into what it is you are trying to achieve. Consider which objectives are the most important. Doing that will often make it clear what each alternative provides in terms of meeting your objectives, and you may find the decision easy to make. If not, there is a good book called Smart Choices that is not too long, that goes into more detail on how to make good decisions:
You have a couple of options. Learn to load from the back of your car with a roller or use a trailer. You could paddle with another stronger person. You can get in better shape or you can find a lighter boat.
This was posted by bud16415 as a cheap way to get a boat up on the rack. With a kayak if it is too heavy for you to slide it up you might want to use removable 12" stakes you alternately pull out and reposition under the kayak as you move it up one side at a time. Also, a rope tied between the two poles at the bottom to keep them from wanting to spread apart might be needed.
"With a canoe it is a bit different as there is a gunwale that makes a square corner to hook over the blocks attached over the poles. My poles and blocks I made from 2x2 wood.
The walking method I tip the canoe over upside down onto the poles sitting at an angle. I then walk to one end and lift it over the first block. Then the other end. It is easier for me though to just shove it up a step at a time saves walking back and forth. The blocks I put a ramp on the lower side will attach a photo.
When we use it to load her 10’ rec-kayak we can flip the poles over to the smooth side and she can easily just slide it up the ramps right side up. Keeps it away from banging the car and makes it stable and also removes some of the weight because it is a ramp of roughly 45 degrees."
As to a sea kayak I really don’t know if just the ramp would work, as we have never tried that.
I’m a 5’ 5" 75 year old female paddler with an Easky 15LV among my fleet. I was always able to load it, as well as a 75 pound tandem Mad River plastic canoe, on a Thule rack on the 2006 Subaru Outback I used to have 10 years ago as well as the current Mazda CX5 that replaced it. I also have a two boat trailer so I can comment on both.
It might be easier to solo load the Easky if you get Thule J-racks. Being able to angle the bow into the front J-rack, then lift and pivot the stern up onto the rear one once you get the hang of it. For loading the canoe I used to use a suction cup plastic bathroom grab bar to protect and provide a leverage point at the back of the car roof above the lift gate, then rest the stern of the canoe on the ground and lift the bow onto that grab bar, walk to the boat stern and lift and shove it forward onto the racks. In every case I draped the Thule cam straps around the Thule bars BEFORE loading the boats so I just had to reach up and pull them over to secure the boats. I carry one of those foldable little plastic “Swiss Cheese” stools in the car to give me a boost to reach for this. The short 2 step metal folding kitchen stools are also compact enough to carry in a car.
As for the trailer, I have a huge parking area at the end of my driveway plus an extra 2 car garage that is deep enough to house the trailer with two boats on it. I actually store 2 of my 11 kayaks on that trailer. But I rarely use it because of the hassle of finding places to park it at most of the places where I launch, though there are 4 that have accommodations for trailer parking. It can be a hassle to hook up the trailer – the Mazda rides fairly low which, even with an offset hitch extender, means I have to struggle to align and lock in the tongue of the trailer to the hitch ball. I have found that I can load a couple of boats on the Thule rack in less time than it takes to safely connect the trailer. Some trailers that are not kayak/canoe specific with as light a load as two kayaks can be noisy and bounce and jangle a lot, since the suspension is not compressed enough. Learning to back up a trailer can be difficult for many people as it is not intuitive. Having a hitch installed on most cars runs $300 to $500 – close to the cost of the Hullavator.
Most of my friend cohort of older women do use a Hullavator and I have often helped them load. While it is easier than direct roof rack loading, it still requires some strength and coordination, as you are already aware. I might consider one myself (not getting any younger)but now I mostly travel with a converted 16’ box truck that I can slide any of my boats in at waist level through the rear overhead door. – easy peezy.
I would say that unless you have a secure private area to store and easily maneuver a trailer, it sounds like returning to the Hullavator is the best bet. One deciding factor would be considering how often you only used one boat compared to how often you are hauling both. When hauling both – do you usually have another person helping you load? If you most often use both and have the trailer space, it could make your trips easier to keep the boats stored on it during the season. Not a good idea if they are plastic and you have no shade as that could cause heat related hull deformation, leaving them on the trailer in the sun. Take that into consideration.
I have a trailer, but I also have a roof rack because there are launches that have either no trailer parking or very poor trailer parking. The trailer is wonderful for an appropriate launching spot. My “home” launch has paved parking with designated spots for vehicles with trailers. My kayak sits hull down on the trailer, not angled into J-cradles. So, I can attach my wheels to the overhanging stern of the kayak while it’s still on the trailer, stow all of my gear and paddle in the kayak, and then slide the kayak off the trailer right onto the wheels. At this launch, there’s a coarse sand beach that slopes down to the water at any tide. So, i can roll the kayak right down to the water. It’s super easy and convenient. And, I have a barn to park the trailer in, and even a driveway that’s wide enough that I can turn a full circle with the trailer in tow (no need to back into the driveway, etc.).
But…, I’m lucky to launch frequently at this great site. Unless you always plan to launch at an equally suitable site, I think you’ll find that a roof rack with loading system will be preferable as you can go anywhere with that setup. I have a homemade loading device for my roof rack, but I have several friends with Hullavators and they all say the Hullavators are worth the cost since it keeps them kayaking.
If you do consider a trailer, try to find a way to try out a car with trailer. Backing up can be challenging, and a kayak trailer with or without kayak can be hard to see out the back window of the car since it’s so low.
Owned outbacks for many years. Pad the rear hatch area with a good thick foam sleeping pad. Invest in a small step ladder, lift the bow onto the back of the car resting on the foam pad, then move it to the rack, slide it forward. Don’t fight gravity and support just a portion of the kayak’s weight at one time.
