# Loading a Kayak?



## fisherkid (Jun 30, 2005)

Whats the difficulty of loading a #60 (approx) kayak onto the roof of a minivan/suv
I'm considering getting a 2 person but my mother is concerned that we won't be able to get it up.


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## uncdub13 (Aug 9, 2003)

how tall are you and your mom? the main thing is just being able to reach up high enough.

i can load my tarpon 120, which weighs about the same, by myself onto my 4runner no problem.


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## Rockstar (Jun 23, 2004)

You and your mother should have no issues lifting the yak. I have no issues lifting and moving my P13 (54lbs I think?) by myself... it's just an awkward load to balance over your head... especially when the wind is blowin. Your best bet is to go to your nearest paddle shop... get an idea of the weight, etc before you buy.


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## fisherkid (Jun 30, 2005)

*5"4*

and my mother is 5"7


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## fisherman (Feb 20, 2002)

There are several options for kayak loaders made by Yakima and Thule. I have the load bar by Yakima and it is great. Check it out at your local paddle shop.


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## fisherkid (Jun 30, 2005)

*do you think*

I could make one of these myself?








on a side note BPS is having a big event/sale so while buying stuff I went to the kayak pool tried out the Malibu 2 with the seat in the middle for one person (i've done it with two before so I tried one) I liked alot. And one of the staff members is a guy who writes articles for diffrent fishing mags down here. so I was able to talk to him about some of his articles that Iv'e read


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## Fish Bait (Feb 10, 2003)

The best solution for me, tho not cheap, is the Thule hullavator. You only need to get the kayak waist high to get it onto the rack then push the rack and boat onto the roof. The gas pistons give an assist.


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## fisherkid (Jun 30, 2005)

*being that we don't have a roof rack*

and I think it would be best to use one. do you think this would
a. work
b. be adaptable (i.e. adding the hullivater or a load bar
and 
c. be safe even with the kayak just tied to it the and strapped in the front and back.
I wanted to e-mail Thule and ask if it would work
but they make it impossible to find there e-mail for anything but feedback. whats the difficulty of assembling the hullivater and while I'm back on that it stated on thules site that it works with round or square bars but in the directions I specificly saw square.
sorry for being so long winded, but I just want to make sure I know everthing before getting into something like this.


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## Fish Bait (Feb 10, 2003)

Before i got my hullavator i talked on the phone to Thule and REI. I like dealing with REI they have people who seem to know what they are talking about and i bought the unit from them. I would make some phone calls before you buy.
The rack that you posted probably would not work unless it can be fitted with longer bars than the ones shown. The hullavator requires about 5" overhang.
I carried my boats strapped to the Honda factory rack for 3 years and never had a problem with stability.


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## fisherkid (Jun 30, 2005)

*Rei?*

whats REI?


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## Fish Bait (Feb 10, 2003)

> whats REI?


My favorite store: http://www.rei.com/


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## hsstie (Sep 8, 2005)

fisherkid said:


> and I think it would be best to use one. do you think this would
> a. work
> b. be adaptable (i.e. adding the hullivater or a load bar
> and
> ...


Well i wouldnt reccomend getting those racks. I quote from the ad "Fits any car or truck roof. Can be installed and removed in seconds, bar length is adjustable.
1 single, 1" round bar. Straps on by attaching in door well area. You will need to order (two) for cars, some people with trucks can use one bar on their cab and then use a hitch mount or another rack in back. ". that means you need 2 for 80 bucks plus shipping. For a few dollars more you can get a NICE rack from thule or yakima that is expandable and STURDY. The last thing you want is one of those wimpy straps that holds your ECONOMY rack on your car to give way, not only would your yak suffer some damage but even worse it could cause a serious problem for the people behind you...costing you big money if a accident happens.

Both thule and yakima are good racks, and which is best is about as good a topic as ford or chevy, or spinner/baitcaster. When you invest in one of those racks you can add SKS ( same key systems ). That means all your components can have the same locks on them...1 key for eveything to lock/unlock. Your economy racks have no locks, just like the ad says, removes in seconds...by you or someone else when your tooling around in your yak and not at your car, which also means EVERY time you use it you have to take it off put it in the car and remount it again or someone else just might remove it in a few seconds and take off with your new racks.
The thule and yakima racks have much better mounts, and they are popular items which means yes you can find them used in good condition at a cheaper price ( just like i did recently with my yakima rack and all the systems with it on ebay if no place else).
I bought the mounts for my car, and then got 2 sets of bars different lenghts. For most situations i use the shorter of the bars and can mount my canoe on it or i quickly ( less than 5 min ) add ski racks to it. The ski racks are not only sweet for skiing ( who woulda thought ? ) since i got the ones that hold 6 skis each...so i can carry a dozen skis if i wanted too....but they make a real danady rack for all your fishing rods when you are not using your rack for a canoe or yak. And they switch back and forth quickly whenever you want. The longer bars i switch out whenever i want to mount 2 canoes on my car at once. This is just a few of the possibilites you have available to you when you get a thule or yakima system. Check em out at their homepages....

http://yakima.com

http://thule.com

Thule sells the hullavator that some have mentioned here, and that is a lift accessory for lifting up your yak ....its around 450.00.
Yakima sells a retractable bar that extends in and out of the yakima mount and thats 60.00.
So if you really think you might need one of these assists to help you with your loading you might consider what assists you want/can afford first before you buy thule or yakima. The assists are made for yakima and thule diamater bars and might not fit those economy racks also. And dont worry about being long winded ( who me ? lol )and asking questions about them, i read alot about the racks too before i bought...now im happy with what i have.
I bought a yakima and i like it


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## fisherkid (Jun 30, 2005)

*this*

is the rack system from Thule that would fit on my car looking on ebay I could get it for around $170 http://www.thuleracks.com/thule/fg_...ack=-1&roof_id=6497&option_number=1&x=54&y=16
does anybody have suggestions where to look for used ones. I think I'll look at yakima now and see what the have I know KFS has the loading bars for both yakima and thule


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