etrailer | Thule Stacker Kayak Roof Rack w/ Tie-Downs: The Breakdown

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Hi, everyone. It's Evangeline here at etrailer. And today, we're taking a look at a kayak carrier that allows you to carry up to four kayaks. This is going to be the Thule Stacker. The Stacker is an affordable option to carry around one, two, three, or even four kayaks. Now you may need to get some extra things like extra straps, you may want some cushions for your crossbars.
We'll talk about what is included with this kit, how to get those kayaks on there, and what you might need to carry around multiple kayaks. So carrying around multiple kayaks safely can get a little tricky and a little confusing when you have a lot of straps and a lot of kayaks. So first, let me show you how I got four kayaks up here. So we're gonna install our kayak carrier, and it really just involves four bolts, a clamp, and the Stacker. I do recommend laying down a towel on your roof first though.
That way, you can prevent both scratches and dings. So use the bolts that are correct for your crossbar size and then drop them right in. Get your clamp to go underneath the crossbar and into those bolts, and then use these wing nuts to tighten it down. And once they're tightened down, then if you're ready to load up your kayaks, go ahead, put it into the upright position, and tighten it down with a knob. So we have three kayaks up on there, and we're gonna get this fourth one on there too.
You're gonna have your friend hold up the kayak while you go get the straps and strap it down. Notice how we have the inside kayak strapped underneath, and then we're gonna have the top straps go over both kayaks and then around your crossbars. Make sure you're using your Thule buckle protector for that cam buckle. Go feed that strap through from underneath. That way, when you have it over your kayak's open spot, you can cinch downwards.
After you cinch down those cam buckles, go ahead and set up your bow and stern straps. So if you have a handle like this, you can just wrap that around, knot it into itself. Do that on both sides. You have this easy-to-use rope, as well as your tightener. So go through that rope through it, and then tie the other end to your included hook. So for my other straps, I used a hood and hatch anchor. So that's gonna be this. I just put that inside my hatch or my trunk, and then I attach the rest of the rope to it. Thule also has a semi-permanently mounted hood anchor strap that you can use. Otherwise, if you have a hitch, this can clip right into that hitch bracket. Then click the strap to your carabiner and then pull this tight until you have that tension on your hatch, trunk, or hitch. So we got the kayaks up there, but now let's take it for a ride. So you saw how it looked out there. Pretty impressive, the ability to carry around four kayaks. Now that does depend on what type of roof racks you have, what type of kayaks you have, and what type of vehicle you have too. So let's go over weight capacities. So it does have a weight capacity of 75 pounds total. So if you're carrying one, two, three, or four kayaks, make sure the total weight of that does not exceed 75. Double check your crossbars to see if this can fit around it. So if you have crossbars that does not have a cushion underneath, you may want to put a cushion. This can fit most of your crossbars, whether they're round, square, or aero bars like what I have here. This includes enough straps to tie down one kayak. So you have your bow and stern straps and you also have your two cam buckle straps with the buckle protector. Comparing this with other kayak carrier options, this is definitely a more compact way to carry around four kayaks. I would not be able to fit for J style carriers on this car. But comparing this with other four kayak carrier options, let's take a look at the comparison I did with my friend Aidan. So I have Aidan here with his car and the Rhino-Rack Nautic Stack. And that way, we can make a little bit of a comparison of similar style kayak carriers. So for me personally, I really liked the Rhino-Rack carrier just because of how thin and low-profile it was. I have 50-inch crossbars on my car, and I think with a wider carrier like the Thule there, I don't know if I could have fit all four kayaks up there pretty easily. So that just gave me a few extra inches of clearance having that thin profile, and it's got a really high weight capacity. It's 165 pounds on my carrier versus what, the 70 on yours75. There's 75 pounds of weight capacity for the Stacker, yeah. So if you're looking to carry f

[@bigeyejim]

Do you have to have a Thule rack or willl a stock Dodge Grand Caravan rack work. Thanks!

[@etrailer]

It will indeed work on the Grand Caravan OEM crossbars.
www.etrailer.com/Watersport-Carriers/Thule/TH830.html

[@bigeyejim]

@@etrailer Awesome! Thanks for the reply!

[@jayspot4]

Skipped so much important info

[@etrailer]

What did we skip? This is meant to be a description video that points out the features of the Kayak carrier, not an install video...
www.etrailer.com/Watersport-Carriers/Thule/TH830.html

[@jayspot4]

How about showing the strapping of the kayaks on the stacker? From attaching the stacker on the crossbars then next shot has 3 kayaks already loaded on top with no explanation on how they were loaded