INNO INA453 Rooftop Cargo Rack Kayak Lifter

I own a Rav4 with a plastic rear spoiler so loading my Hobie Outback from the rear of the vehicle is out. The Inno Kayak lifter attaches to square or round roof rack bars and assists with loading of the vehicle from the side. The Outback hull weighs 75 pounds. Extend the top bar of the lifter to form a 90 degree angle and lift one end of the kayak and place in angle. Then lift the other end of kayak and slide kayak across bottom bar of lifter onto roof rack bars while rotating kayak to front and back position. Return top angle bar to original position and re-secure with included strap mechanism. Reverse process to unload.Pros:1. Allows one person to load 75 pound kayak with minimal effort. One end of kayak always supported by ground or lift bar,2. Top bar angle prevents kayaks from sliding/falling during loading. No scratches on side of vehicle or guillotined side mirrors3. Protects side of vehicle while loading/unloading.4. Easy to attach/remove from roof rack bars. Easy to adjust for spacing between bars (27 to 39 inches)5. Excellent quality materials and solidly built.6. Inexpensive when compared to other options such as Thule Hullavator ($500 plus)Cons:1. Ease of attachment means easy removal by thieves. I store in back of vehicle when not in use.Overall:Highly recommended. I have neck and low back issues and the Inno Rooftop Kayak Lifter allows me to load/unload the kayak without assistance.

I've only used the lift assist one time, but it handled more weight than I thought it would. The kayak is 17-feet long and 85 pounds. I was able to slide it up and onto my car by myself without too much effort. The lift made it much easier.I was concerned that it would not handle the weight, and the extended arm did flex, but by keeping the kayak as close to the joint as possible, it was no problem and no damage to the lift assist.I plan to use this more for my 13-foot sea kayak which is a hard body and should slide a bit easier. I did use a towel to protect the car, but the kayak was never close enough to the paint to worry about it.The lift fit on to my existing rack with no problem. Easy to install and use. No added sound from wind and no noticeable drop in fuel while driving with it, so I decided to leave it on for the summer.

I have bought this twice now. The first time was to try it with my ford f150 pick up truck. It was just too short. I purchased it again a few years later for my Bronco sport. Works perfectly. My boat has too much on top to load upside down and because of its rudder system I have to load it backwards. I used a bathroom floor mat on the side of the car in case the kayak touched, but it didn’t. I had to keep a hold of the boat loading it because the kayak wanted to slide on the pavement, so be aware of that. Don’t let go of the kayak to walk around to the front.

It shows and says it will protect your car. Older cheaper models do not show the padding as thus did and it doesn't say you need to buy it separately. I could have got it cheaper but it did say no padding as your site shows. So we wanted the pad and we didn't get it.

Update: I just mounted the crossbars further apart than 27 inches on my Prius. Good looking rig with an Ocean Kayak Malibu Two on top! :-)This is more about the product description rather than the product itself which I'm sure works adequetly with most, but importantly, not all vehicles/rack configurations. I never got to even use it given it is not workable with the rack on my 2010 Prius. The product description says universal..then you get it and read the instructions and it only works for racks where the front and rear bars are at lease 27 inches apart. Mine are 24". This size requirement should be put in the description so people aren't buying and returning...like I must now do.

I used to always load my 70# kayak from the rear of my Crosstrek but now that I travel with a cabin trailer, I needed to side load. I researched many kayak side loaders and stumbled upon this one. For my need, this was perfect.Mounting this product onto my Rhino racks were simple. The assist bar is nice and sturdy and did not scratch my kayak. Most of the kayak weight is on the car and the assist bar helps with balance. I can now side load from my kayak comfortably without the fear of my kayak falling over.Issues I had: My crossbars are the exact width of my vehicle so there wasn't any excess bar to mount this product on, on the outside. I had to mount this product on the inside, which means I lost a few inches of the assist bar. If the assist bar was slightly longer, it would solve this issue. I also found alternative to puting my kayak on my vehicle's surface via mat so it doesn't scratch my vehicle since I can't use this product's longer bar for the initial assist.Aside from this, glad I made the purchase. Affordable and able to do what a $500 side assist bar could do.

This was well made, but didn't extend out past the side of my car more than a few inches and didn't have a good edge on the bad to keep the kayak from slipping off. Didn't work for me so I sent it back.

I’m almost 50 and I load my canoe alone. I usually lift it strait over my head. I put this assist tool on and it makes it very easy for me to load my 50 lb canoe up and down from the top of the mini suv.