oceantoeverglades:
I agree with you 100%, the TI is actually way easier to load onto the rooftop than our old Oasis was. I honestly cannot tell any difference in weight (maybe 5-10 lbs) between the Oasis and the TI, and because it is longer and has a lot better hand holds it actually makes it way easier to load a TI onto the roof verses the Oasis. I'm in my 60's and not a big guy (5'8) overweight, and broke my back a long time ago (used to be 5'9 before I broke my back), so my back is not very good. Yet I loaded TI's on top of my car every weekend (sometimes 2-3 times per weekend) onto my SUV with no issues or problems all by myself (no help, the way I prefer it). Once you get the routine down it easy with very little effort. I know in a bunch of posts, nobody agrees with me (car topping TI's is kind of a touchy subject LOL).
Here is my rig all set to go to our other house down in Key West, we go down there once a month or so. In Key West parking is a premium and our house down there really has no place for a trailer so we just keep the TI on top of the car, usually 3-4 weeks at a time. If I had a Revo or something smaller I would worry about it down there, but lets face it, I simply can't imagine a couple teenagers running down the street with a TI on their heads trying to steal it (there is an advantage to the size).
We have a couple hundred thousand miles traveling with the TI's (and other kayaks) on our roof all over the country and have never had any problems or issues. We have multiple motorcycle locks on the boat so someone would need to really work to get the stuff off, I feel if they can do all that without setting off the security system on the car, waking me up, and them surviving the encounter with me, they get to keep it (it's all insured anyways).
I used to use Malone V wing roof racks, but since I got the T-bar (which I got via Amazon for around $90 bucks), it made my life a lot easier. Now I just place a pool noodle on the roof, lift the boat nose up and place onto the Tbar (I would guess I'm lifting about 50 lbs (same as a bag of salt), I then go in the back and lift the boat and just slide it forward, it rolls on the pool noodle, and is actually quite easy to push forward and back on the pool noodles (with no roof rack system at all besides the factory roof racks which are very strong and durable on the Yukon)). On long trips I place a couple extra pool noodles under the hull to distribute the weight better, but don't bother on short trips.
That's all the good news, the bad news is if you do car top any kayaks in salt water, it takes a huge toll on you vehicle, we actually rusted out the roof on our Denali and had to have it replaced (under warranty). I spent $150 bucks for a Harbor freight trailer, and another $150 in aluminum and rigged the trailer to haul the TI. Everything fits in my garage, and is actually faster and much easier to get onto the water. This is the setup I'm using right now.
Hope this helps
Bob