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This J-style kayak carrier lets you transport 1 kayak on your roof rack. It leaves room on your crossbars for additional gear, and it folds down when not in use. Includes load straps, tie-downs, and mounting hardware.
Features:
Specs:
The Malone DownLoader is a J-style kayak carrier with built-in boarding ramps to make it easier to push your kayak onto your roof by yourself. It holds your kayak on its side to leave plenty of room on your crossbars for another kayak rack, a bike rack, or a cargo carrier. Padding on the arms and base protect your kayak from scratches and scuffs during transport. The arms also fold down when you're not using them to increase overhead clearance for parking.
The carrier includes 2 cam-buckle straps and integrated strap holders to secure your kayak to the rack. The strap holders attach to the top of the carrier to keep the straps in place while loading your kayak. A set of bow/stern tie-downs are also included to secure the kayak to the front and back of your vehicle. If your vehicle doesn't have any tie-down points, you can get an anchor kit (sold separately) which will let you create anchor points in the creases of your vehicle's hood and hatch.
The carrier clamps to most crossbars without the need for tools. Simply set the rack on your crossbars, slide the mounting brackets over the bolts, and secure them with the T-knobs. Foam covers mounting bolts to protect your kayak from scratches.
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Average Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (130 Customer Reviews)
This J-style kayak carrier lets you transport 1 kayak on your roof rack. It leaves room on your crossbars for additional gear, and it folds down when not in use. Includes load straps, tie-downs, and mounting hardware.I had the moulded downloader and needed the folding in order to fit in the garage. The top feed for the tie straps isn't as good as the moulded J-style rack, the strap came out of one, but the kayak stayed where it needed to be. It is easy to raise and lower the rack, but I am not always sure at what angle I am supposed to set them. With the moulded J-style, they are at the perfect angle for holding a kayak. I wish the clamp that goes under the bars were a better fit for the oval bars, but they do send two different size bolts and the longer ones work.
The Malone DownLoader is very good value for the money. The J-style cradle is nice when you have to muscle a kayak on top of a tall crossover or SUV. You can hook the edge of the cockpit onto the base of the cradle and flip the kayak up onto the metal hoop support. Carrier installation and removal is easy and doesn't require any tools. Materials are good, but not great and that's what prevents this product from getting 5 stars IMO. The foam padding is nice enough and has been durable, but the metal plate that attaches the carrier to the roof rails is plastic coated steel and the plastic cracks over time, and leads to rust on the steel plate beneath. Not a big deal, but it might compromise the plate over time. I also wish that the provided nylon straps were longer, and that the ratchet buckles were covered in rubber to protect the roof of the vehicle and the windshield when you're trying to get them around the hull of the boat. We quickly replaced these with longer aftermarket straps that have rubber covers over the buckles. Those minor points aside, the Malone DownLoader kayak carrier gets the job done easily and safely, and does so at a very affordable price point.
These kayak J-style racks worked great, AFTER I went to the hardware store and spent $20 on bolts that actually fit my truck rack. It comes with 2-5/8” mounting bolts that aren’t adequate for a heavy truck rack ( mines a Best.Wyle). I had to buy 4” bolts, lock washers, and nuts). I also wish the locking teeth were mitered instead of square. That would make them less prone to breaking and easier to align.
These Malone kayak carriers really do the job. Paired with the Malone Telos Load Assist, getting our sea kayaks onto the topper of our Toyota Tundra is easy for this 70 year old. No more major lifting causing aggravation for my back. Tying down each kayak is quick and easy.
I used these on Toyota Sienna with the Malone aero cross bars. Like others have said, you will need longer bolts than provided to mount on the aero bars. I also used ratchet tie straps since I didn’t feel confident with the tie downs provided. (I had a 100+ mile trip coming up.)
Overall great quality, price, and service from etrailer. The short bolts are the only thing stopping it from a 5 star rating.
Malone DownLoader Kayak Carriers are a perfect design. Fold down locking mechanism when not in use is a great feature as well as adjustable upright angles for transporting kayaks. Easy to follow instructions along with sturdy tie downs. Highly recommended!
Mounted two malone downloaders on am aftermarket rack on my ram 3500. The cross bars are 3.5 inches wide but the rack hardware accomidates this no problem. I had to purchase longer bolts as the cross bars are thick amd the bolts that came with the racks were not long enough. Used the rack this weekend and theey are amazing. Loadinf amd unloading our 17ft seawards was a breeze and they were very secure during transport. Great rack great price great service!!!!!
Used 2 sets of these for the first time today! I was nervous about getting 2 kayaks onto the car. The videos are incredibly helpful and made this easy for us to get onto our RAV4 with the Malone downloader. Great product and we had a fun time kayaking!
I'm very pleased with the Malone DownLoader Kayak Carrier. Installation was a breeze, much quicker than I anticipated. Our tandem kayak (13.5' long), easily slid into place, fit well and secure in the carrier, and the tie-downs made securing the bow & stern a cinch - and there was plenty of room for our paddleboard! The best feature is the ability to fold the carriers down when not in use - so much better than having to take the rack off after each use.
The only disappointment I have with the product is the "universal fit mounting blocks". They are designed to fit a Malone roof rack with the rectangular cut out for the roof rack but my factory roof rack has oval shaped bars. The carriers do mount but they lean to one side.
Overall, I'm very pleased and would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a kayak carrier!
The rack itself seems great, BUT neither 60mm or 70 mm mounting bolts work for the VA style 2500 series rack. I now have to go to lowes and buy AT LEAST 80mm if not longer so the T Knob can screw in tightly to Jaws adapter and that tightens to the cross bar. The T Knobs have about an inch before you get to the teeth and connect in order to tighten. The thick Jaws are almost too think and takes up room for screw length. The pictures I took you can tell it wont work on a series 2500 VA. I set the T Knob at the least I could before they fell off the screw. I'm surprised no one has complained until now. The other picture shows the parts with the 1 inch space inside the one T Knob
As impressive, if not more so, than its high end competitors Yakima and Thule for much less. If you already have a roof rack, be sure to order Malone's T-slot fit kit, too. Makes for a cleaner installation and you can still use the traditional mount kit for extra security. No modifications were required other than a few extra washers. I installed it on a Thule Probar Evo mounted on a Promaster 3500 Van. Always a pleasure purchasing from Etrailer. Always.
The yellow pads on the crossbars are pool noodles secured by zip ties. They provide padding for a third or even a fourth kayak.
An upgrade for my 10 year old kayak rack. I bought one pair two months ago to test them out and then this pair for my other kayak. I like the accomadation for the straps, the swing down of the arm and the plate in front for my wife and I to rest the kayaks on get in position and then shift them up and over onto the rack.
Sturdy build. Love the folding feature. These fit as advertised on my truck rack with the T slot adapter kit. I carried my kayaks on a 3000 mile trip and they always stayed securely in place.
The Malone AirFlow 2 Roof Rack is the most ridiculous bargain I've come across in a long while. I'd been preparing myself to spend $4-$500 on a Thule. A product I was familiar with and had used in the past with great success with Volkswagen's. After some simple research, Malone kept coming up as a affordable, comparable alternative . These days when you see something that is literally less than half of what your planning to spend, your first thought is "too good to be true" or "you get what you pay for". After calling and consulting with Stacey at etrailer.com I purchased the system and COULD NOT be HAPPIER !! It took me less than 20 minutes to have it completely installed on my 2013 Tucson. The construction of the racks and hardware is top quality. My main use of the system will be hauling kayaks and canoes which this will far exceed. Other than the fact that I saved about $300, etrailer prides itself on customer service and that I can, and will attest to their claim. I called and had a bunch of questions before ordering, Stacey was extremely helpful, knowledgeable, patient, and most of all courteous !! There is no doubt that etrailer.com has become my new source for any towing or recreational needs for my vehicle.
This roof rack system works beautifully for carrying two kayaks on our Telluride, when combined with the other products suggested by etrailer. My only reason for rating this four stars, rather than five, is that it is sometimes a bit difficult to get the tie down to stay in the slot, thus making it time consuming to tie everything down. All in all, though, it is worth the price!
We bought 2 of these Malone Downloader kayak racks and couldn't be happier with them. They're easy to put on and off of our 2020 Honda CRV roof rack and they hold our 2 11' kayaks firmly on the car.Even on long trip of a couple hours they work great and we've never had an issue. The straps that go through the top part and over the kayaks take a little practice to get them on correctly so you can make adjustments, but after a few tries it's pretty easy now. Can't wait for the weather to warm up here in MD so we can get the kayaks out for the season and put the Malone racks to use for year 2.
I can't tell you how these work because half the order I placed is still not here.
Was able to order the item when it was not in stock. Trailer was sent directly from Malone but without a proper bill of sale. Now I'm getting the run around and have a trailer that can't be registered.
These kayak carriers are excellent! We use these on our Malone roof rack which is on our Rav4. The carriers are easy to use and assemble to the roof rack very simply. We did order longer straps from a separate manufacturer just to be safe because we wanted to make sure they were long enough for our Pelican kayaks.
These racks are easy to install and loading our 40 and 50 pound kayaks is easy as well. We hauled over 1500 miles this year, many at max highway speeds, with no issues. All was snug, quiet, and safe. But, always a but, right away, the plastic strap guides popped right off (1 or 2 disappeared). Some black electrical tape fixed that. And the black plastic/vinyl coating on the mounting brackets cracked and peeled off right away too. More tape. However, both Etrailer and Malone were exceptionally responsive to my complaint and suggestions.
These attached easily to our roof rack and worked well with the downloader rails. The straps that are included are not as well made as our old Thule straps which have much more padded protection around the buckle, so we will continue to use the Thule straps. The attached strap guide on top of the carrier bar is split for some reason which allows the strap (either brand) to slip out. Again, the Thule kayak carrier has a top threading attachment that works better.
Not just is the product awesome the service and speed in which I got the item was amazing as well. This is now my goto spot for trailer and towing needs.
Great racks, Noah was so helpful with everything, he was very knowledgeable and answered all my questions. ordering was so easy. 2 sets of racks will fit Xsmall crossovers Like my 2019 Hyundai Kona. You will not be disappointed with these racks or company.
good product could use better assembly instructions. I did not use plastic insert but wrapped the frame in duct tape with the same effect. aaaaaaaat his will be our 2ndn year od use and they worked well
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