Thule Hullavator arm does not automatically lift as other arm does....seems to be leaking fluid?
Bought our Thule Hullavator from a dealer in Pittsburgh who installed it for us on our car. We used it all last year and had no problems and only used it for a few times this year and seems our one arm does not easily lift the kayak and does not fold down onto bars easily, we cannot put pin in as are does not bend inside as it used to. Do we need to send this back?
Boating - Thule - Hullavator Kayak Carrier
Answers & Comments
Hullivator lift cylinders are pneumatic, there is no fluid to leak. However, they do fail, and when they do, they do not provide lift. Despite what Thule says, the cylinders can be replaced. I have replaced 4 of them. Drill out the rivets holding the old cylinders in place. I bought new cylinders from LiftSupportDepot.com - they were very helpful and they charged a little less than $30 each for the cylinders. The first cylinders were 75 pound lifts. Those my sister found too light to provide all the lift she wanted. I have since installed 150 pound lifts (this will require a clamp). I cut off, and reused, the longer of the original Thule rivets where the shorter rivet formerly was, and used a 5/16ths 4" stainless bolt in place of the longer rivet. It will take a couple of tries and some prying to get all the holes lined up for that last bolt, under pressure, but in retrospect it will all seem to have been surprisingly easy. Good luck.