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Kayak carrier lets you load and carry 1 kayak on your roof rack crossbars. Fabric covers on rear saddles allow easy loading from the back of the vehicle. High-grip saddles hold your kayak securely in place. Mounts to most crossbars with C-channels.
Features:
Specs:
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (60 Customer Reviews)
Kayak carrier lets you load and carry 1 kayak on your roof rack crossbars. Fabric covers on rear saddles allow easy loading from the back of the vehicle. High-grip saddles hold your kayak securely in place. Mounts to most crossbars with C-channels.This is a perfect fit for my needs I found this easy to load by myself. I wasn’t sure about the height of the racks but it turned out to be perfect. I had a full size pickup that was way to tall for this 79 yr old to load, but on the Maverick a with the elevated rack system and the Rhino kayak it works great.
My OldTown Sportsman PDL120 was shifting around to much in very windy conditions. I bought the large Yakima kayak saddles/supports from etrailer.
I recently purchased the Rhino rack below with these boat supports:
Rhino-Rack Nautic 581 Rear Loading Kayak Carrier - Saddle Style - Rear Loading - Channel Mount
Item # RR581
Also, I attached a Yakima Jaylow kayak carrier, all to a 2019 Toyota Highlander Hybrid.
On the 54 inch aero bars, I was able to carry a Hobie Compass Duo kayak (35" beam, carried flat on the Rhino pads) and West Marine Pompano 120 (28" beam, propped up as shown on the Jaylow racks). To have enough width, the Jaylows and the Rhino pads are mounted as far out as they can go, and the straps are looped back under the rack pillars on the car.
The bow and stern were secured with hood loops on each side (front diagonal straps on the Hobie), on the front placed under the hood where shown (this is the only place I could find a good metal-metal contact under the hood, and no electronics in the way), and in the back, tucked under the rear door.
We did a 500 mile round trip to the beach and back, with no problems at all with the mounts. Little noise, no movement. My only recommendation is to figure out some kind of load assist for the large tandem kayak, to make it easier if one of the folks loading is under 5'8" in height or so. We worked it out, but only after a few failed attempts (especially when the boat is wet, and loaders are tired).
Carol C at etrailer provided thoughtful, expert, and knowledgeable tech support for our purchase. Many thanks!
The only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars is the kayak carrier mounts had the wrong hardware but Phillip at etrailer went the extra mile to get the right hardware to us. That is why we appreciate this company so much-outstanding customer service!!
Works great on my Ram truck. I pull a 5th wheel RV so I can’t use the truck bed for my kayaks. I bought the Rhino Rack roof rack from etrailer, as well. It is very easy to slide the kayak onto the roof with this carrier. Then I slide my second kayak on top of the first one. It is easy to do by myself, which is what I was looking for. I’d also like to give a shout-out to etrailer for their great customer service! They had both of these items in stock, and actually beat the price on Amazon.
So Far So Good! Easy to load/offload, synch straps secure kayak well.
Chris
11/2/2023
Kayak Rack has been working very well, and has made two trips to South Dakota with no issues of keeping the boat well secured. I would recommend this product to anyone with a roof rack.
Mike L.
11/15/2023
Quality build and design. However had to grind the T-bolts to get them to fit in my Thule TracRac channels. Tight otherwise - have to use a small rubber mallet to move the saddles into position. Rear sliders only pivot side to side - not front to back. Cannot find a position where they make full contact on my OldTown Loon. Maybe strapping down tight in the hot sun will 'fire form' them. Tie down straps with rubber coated cam buckles are a nice touch.
William
2/27/2023
1 Year later and holding up well. The felt pads are still intact and permanently attached. I wrapped my crossbar with rope where the keel of the kayak first makes contact - the spread of the pads leaves a kayak on metal initial contact.
Great product, fits the rack well and I don’t expect to have any issues with it.
Placed them on a 2016 Colorado with a bak flip topper and the Truxedo Rlevation rack system.
Sturdy, hasn’t been removed from my car, I use it for a paddle board and a canoe, no issues. Looks very sleek. Easy install as well.
Buying from etrailer is the ONLY way to go. The customer service is excellent from start to finish and afterwards if you need. This rack is a simple install and adjusts to many types of kayaks. Much less expensive then the others and high quality. I just completed a trip through a bad storm with no issues. So easy for me to load and secure
Lynne
8/22/2021
I still love it!
Kayak racks were very easy to install, now I just need to load the kayak and see how they hold up.
Robert
9/6/2021
No issues yet.
I ended ip getting different holders. These are still in the box just incase but no reason to think they wouldnt work.
I load our two sea kayaks from the rear, sliding them up over the trunk onto the crossbars and the cradles. I hang a strip of carpet down from the roof to enable me to do this.
I've been using this product for the past year to carry my 10 foot pelican kayak, and is has done the job without any problems. The pads and provided tie-downs hold the kayak securely. Its easy to load the kayak by myself by sliding the kayak onto the holders from the rear. I also appreciate that it comes with a lockable plastic cover over the wing nut to deter would be thieves. This is a great product, and a great value compared to its competitors.
Brad F.
8/3/2018
Its been another year, and the carrier is still working great. When you get the holders in the right position, the kayak stays secure
After owning and using for a year, this is a great product. I use it for my large fishing kayak. Easily adjustable. Durable. I’ve kept it on my car all year. I park uncovered. The plastic, felt, and rubber have held up to the sun exposure without issue.
Kayak loading and unloading are a breeze. Perfect for my kayak.
John B.
4/10/2023
I’ve used the Rhino Rack 581 kayak saddles 25 times last year. I’m very happy with them.
My kayak does not have hard chines so it has a tendency to list during travel in this rack. After about 50-100 miles check the lines for tightness. With my boat this does not USUALLY reveal undue looseness but this tendency will probably vary depending on the configuration of the boat being tied down.
Easy to install and great quality. Definitely a must for kayaks.
Great item. Holds Kayaks excellently. Easy install. And trailer continues to impress with excellent customer service. Items arrived sooner then estimated!
Rick
5/14/2022
Have used it numerous times and works great. Easy to load and unload. We have a fifth wheel RV and this allows us to take our Kayaks where ever we go!
great price and VERY fast service-thank s.
The product seems to be great so far but it was VERY difficult to get the issue of an incomplete order shipped; there was no mounting hardware and I even sent great pictures of exactly what we got. The first request to that was asking me to tell them what i did not get! (Everything NOT in the PICTURE was not adequate english :)
The 3rd lady I spoke with (Mary) understood and was able to help me but in order to do so, I needed to place a new order on my credit card and then return the incorrect box with partial in it which I would not do until I recieved my replacement order a few weeks later.
The rack itself is just perfect for my sport kayak. My only problem is I put it on a lifted jeep and I am too short to get it on without a huge struggle from the rear. I got a suction cup roller bar to put on the back window which really helped. I might have been better getting a side loader with a pull out cheater bar like I had when I had a sea kayak. The product itself is just fine..... it’s me.
A year later and this kit is working fine. If you have a sit-on-top Kayak, these don't work very well, unless you really crank down the tension on the straps...not good for the kayak. We wound up flipping the kayak over and carrying it upside down. This seems to work well, but would be MUCH better with two of the rear felt holders instead of the front rubber holder. The felt holders go nice and snug up against the side of the kayak.
I'd buy a second set of the rear holders, but Rhino doesn't sell just the rear holders.
Bought a Rhino Rack cross bar and kayak carrier. Contacted etrailer by phone to confirm the fit to my vehicle. Very helpful individual who let me know what was in stock. Both items were delivered in one week. Easily installed with very clear directions. Videos instructions on the web site are available and helpful.
Insalled the items and used them the next day to haul my kayak on a 700 mile round trip with no issues.
I would certainly use etrailer again.
I use the RR581 to carry my 11.5', 75 lb., kayak. It's quite easy to slide the kayak into the carrier with the aid of a boatroller that attaches to the car with suction cups. The kayak is held on the carrier with four straps (included with the carrier). I'm quite happy with this purchase.
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Enrica
7/13/2021
Perfect. We RV full time and we’ve driven thousands of miles with 2 kayaks on the racks. We have had zero issues with the racks and they still look like new. I can install or remove the racks in less than 10 minutes.