Can 40 Inch Wide Kayak Fit on Thule Hullavator Pro Kayak Carrier

Question:

I have an ARE shell that is the taller model and it is on top of a Ram 2500 Power wagon. I purchased the shell with the Thule camper attachments factory installed. With that being said my problem is my kayak is 40 inch wide at the widest point and do not think that i can the Hullavator wide enough to make it secure the kayak on the truck top. I prefer the Hullavator but need something that will accomodte my wider boat. Plus i need direction as to all of the accesories need to complete the installation process.

asked by: Jon J

Expert Reply:

The max width kayak the Thule Hullavator Pro # TH898 can handle is 36". Since your kayak is 40" wide it will be too large for the Hullavator Pro. This is the case for the Yakima ShowDown # Y04081 as well (which is the Yakima equivalent to the Hullavator Pro).

For your application you'll want more of a standard system like what we find with the Thule DockGlide # TH896. This comes with clamps or T-Slot hardware so you have a few different options for installation. The only down-side to this when compared to the Hullavator Pro and the ShowDown is there is no load assist so you'll be lifting the full weight of the kayak on your roof.

We do have some load assist options like the Rhino-Rack Universal Load Assist # RR-RUSL but you'll need standard-sized crossbars for this to work. If you don't already have crossbars let me know and I can help you choose some that will work best or this type of load assist.

expert reply by: Jon G