I love kayaking. Except for occasional rental places I find in our travels, though, it’s pretty hard to do while Roadtreking.

I’ve been tempted to get an inflatable kayak but, well, I want a real one, with a composite body. The problem, though, is how do I carry it?

My friend Gary Hennes from Minnesota has solved that problem with a roof mount and a Hullavator mechanism that effortlessly lifts the kayak up to the roof of his 2006 Roadtrek RS-Adventurous.

He got his from a local outfitter near his Minneapolis home, from a competitor of the folks who made the demonstration video below.

He got his from a local outfitter near his Minneapolis home, from a competitor of the folks who made the demonstration video above.

Gary’s rack is from Yakima but the Thule Hullavator works with it just fine, he reports. He has it all mounted on his 2006 Roadtrek RS Adventurous, starting just ahead of the roof vent and continuing back a little past the front edge of air conditioner.

On it, he carries a Current Designs 14′ Kestrel kayak and sometimes, in a separate rack on the other side, a We-no-nah 16 1/2 foot kevlar Advantage canoe.

I’m sure Gary will watch the comments here and be glad to answer any more questions. The photos are of his setup. The video demonstrates how it all works.