hitch rack suggestions requested
09-14-08, 11:56 AM
#1
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hitch rack suggestions requested
I'm looking at buying a hitch rack and have gone through the archives without gaining much insight. We have a 2" receiver. I have to carry a minimum of four bikes, and five would be nice. I'm looking, online only so far, at the Thule and the Yakimas for the most part, but would be interested in hearing how these or other racks have worked.
We presently have a Yakima trunk mount we put on the back of an '05 Highlander and the biggest problem is the support arms are so far apart I can't get my wife's Klein (probably a 52 or 54cm frame) and my son's bike (smaller still) without squeezing the arms together and jamming the bikes on, scraping the frames a bit. Mostly we haul road bikes, but our mountain bikes are also a concern with the present Yakima.
I wouldn't say money is no object, because it is, but I'm willing to spend more than a couple hundred bucks to get a solid rack. If you find a post in the forum that I missed, I'd appreciate being pointed to it. Or, if you have personal experience, or the experience of someone you know, I'm interested in hearing about that as well.
Thanks in advance,
We presently have a Yakima trunk mount we put on the back of an '05 Highlander and the biggest problem is the support arms are so far apart I can't get my wife's Klein (probably a 52 or 54cm frame) and my son's bike (smaller still) without squeezing the arms together and jamming the bikes on, scraping the frames a bit. Mostly we haul road bikes, but our mountain bikes are also a concern with the present Yakima.
I wouldn't say money is no object, because it is, but I'm willing to spend more than a couple hundred bucks to get a solid rack. If you find a post in the forum that I missed, I'd appreciate being pointed to it. Or, if you have personal experience, or the experience of someone you know, I'm interested in hearing about that as well.
Thanks in advance,
09-18-08, 06:55 PM
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I have the Thule 964 and love it. If your car is a van or SUV, the ability to swing the bikes out of the way so you can open the tailgate is wonderful.
https://www.thuleracks.com/product.asp?dept_id=8&sku=964
Tom
https://www.thuleracks.com/product.asp?dept_id=8&sku=964
Tom
09-18-08, 07:25 PM
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"The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?"
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09-22-08, 09:06 AM
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bike sizes
Could either of you tell me what sizes of bikes you carry on the racks? Do smaller bikes easily load? My son's is a 44 and my wife's a 52, and both are tough to load on our present rack. I've noticed in shopping that the arms are several inches closer than on our trunk mount Yakima. I'm also hoping not to need the adapters the Thule rack mentions.
By the way, we'll be using it on a 2005 Highlander. Thanks.
By the way, we'll be using it on a 2005 Highlander. Thanks.
09-22-08, 12:46 PM
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Could either of you tell me what sizes of bikes you carry on the racks? Do smaller bikes easily load? My son's is a 44 and my wife's a 52, and both are tough to load on our present rack. I've noticed in shopping that the arms are several inches closer than on our trunk mount Yakima. I'm also hoping not to need the adapters the Thule rack mentions.
By the way, we'll be using it on a 2005 Highlander. Thanks.
By the way, we'll be using it on a 2005 Highlander. Thanks.
I ended up getting a Softride hitch mount rack for it and was very happy with it.
They are very rugged, well made and easy to use also.
https://www.softride.com/rack-product...s/element_rack
I ordered mine through this website:
https://www.hitchsource.com/softride-...t-p-28888.html
