Thule Hullavator 897 And Hullavator 897XT Compatibility Issues

Question:

Hello, I am having trouble mount a hullavator to the thule aeroblades arb53. I have have the adapter clips. nothing lines up. when i spoke to thule hoping for advice, diagrams, videos, something to clear the ineptness from my brain. I was told by Thule that the first generation 897 can not, in no way, shape or form, be mounted to this type of bar? the expertsinch at thule customer support of late have left me wanting lately for confidence i am getting good advice, so i wanted to inquire with you about this issue. On a second note, how do you tell the difference between a 897 and 897xt. Thule only offer of assistance was that there would be a identifying sicker giving model number. No such beast on either of my hullavators. they also said the 897x had pads that were foam w/canvass covers.....which mine has vs. just foam as the original 897 allegedly only came with.....but, of course, they offered the warning that some 897s may have had their pads replaced with latter ones, so that may not be a good indicator either. I am confused, frustrated and now concerned I have a bunch of equipment that is not compatible with each other. Please lift the fog for me. Thank you in advance for any assistance you might be able to offer.

asked by: Roger F

Expert Reply:

The brackets on the Thule Hullavator 897 and the Thule Hullavator 897XT are not the same. The first generation Hullavator was designed to only work with Thule square bars, so it will not work with your Thule WingBar Evo. The updated model, 897XT, was designed to work with square and elliptical shaped crossbars. If you have the correctly shaped bracket you will be able to mount your Thule Hullavator 897 to your Thule WingBar Evo Crossbars - Aluminum - Silver - 53" Long - Qty 2, part # TH711400. You will need four of the Replacement Aeroblade Shim for Thule Hullavator Kayak Carrier - Qty 1, part # TH56JV. If your bracket looks different your Thule Hullavator is not compatible with the WingBar Evo Crossbars.

I have attached a picture of the bracket, a product description link, and a video review link below.

expert reply by: Mark Smith