need to carry a Hobie Outfitter kayak on 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser roof rack bars

[daveyluxe]

I need to carry one Hobie Outfitter kayak on my 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser roof rack bars and I would really like to use the Thule 897XT Hullavator kayak rack if it will work because I'll have a terrible time getting the kayak on the top otherwise. The Thule Hullavator looks like it's the only kayak carrier that's side-loading and I can load the kayak near the ground and then hoist the entire apparatus to the roof, correct?

[bonnieLASS]

Well you can certainly use the Thule 897XT Hullavator kayak rack on your 2007 Toyota FJ Cruiser. However, you'll first need to install the Thule 450 CrossRoad roof rack base system to the FJ Cruiser factory rack side rails. This system includes four Thule 450 Crossroad Feet that attach to your siderails, and 2 Thule load bars that connect to the 450 Feet. The 450 converts your factory rack into a sturdy base rack system that is compatible with the Thule 897XT Hullavator (the Hullavator will not mount to factory racks) and plenty strong enough to safely transporting your kayak. You can then connect the Thule 897XT Hullavator to the Thule 450 Crossroad base rack load bars. If you wanted to attach two Hullavators for carrying two kayaks you would need to choose the 58 inch load bars. If you only want to carry one kayak then the shorter 50 inch load bars will be fine.

The Thule 897XT Hullavator attaches directly to the Thule 450 base rack system front and rear load bars. This really is the coolest loading kayak rack out there currently. And yes it is the ONLY side loading design that allows you to load the kayak at waist level and then lift the kayak to the rooftop for you. Yakima Racks attempted to engineer a similar product called something like the Yakima SideLoader but they tabled it pretty much for good I think because they could not quite nail the engineering. They might reintroduce it in the future though. Thule Racks nailed it though with the 897XT Hullavator.