View Poll Results: Would you prefer a roof rack or hitch mounted rack for bikes?
Roof 45 20.27%
Roof
45 20.27%
Hitch 177 79.73%
Hitch
177 79.73%
Voters: 222. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 06-23-2013, 12:51 PM #16
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Roof or Hitch? I chose neither. $30 bucks in fork mounts and a 2 x 6 (and some cool stickers) and I can run my road and mountain bikes in the back. works for me, but obviously you trade space for bikes!
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Old 06-28-2013, 09:45 PM #17
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Thule hitch rack on the 4Runner. Thule roof rack on the Audi.
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Old 07-02-2013, 03:52 PM #18
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Old 07-02-2013, 11:42 PM #19
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Looks good to me and they are locked up indoors with no chance of falling off the rack!
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Old 07-03-2013, 01:41 PM #20
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It really depends. The roof racks are nice for parking and maybe everyday driving if ya don't have to deal with parking ramps. BUT for interstate driving it sucks and kills your gas mileage which is why if you are roadtripping with bikes and need space inside your vehicle the hitch one makes sense. So I guess I have no finite answer just some things to think about.
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Old 07-12-2013, 10:40 AM #21
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If you're doing mostly local trips with no more than 2 bikes, I'll 2nd the interior bike rack. Works great and you can leave your bike in there w/ no worries!

Interior bike rack

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Old 07-13-2013, 04:04 PM #22
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I've done both... if you are lifted, hitch. If not, it doesn't really matter. Keep in mind you may forget about bikes on top of your car if you have a garage. Also that if you have a really nice bike and someone rearends you with them on a hitch mount that sucks too. Lifting a 30lb MTB is different than lifting an 18lb Roadie. My $.02 is that you probably will spend more for roof mounting than if you just went with a hitch mount.
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Old 07-18-2013, 11:54 PM #23
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Get a hitch rack- they are easy to put on, adjustable, and look good.
Make sure to get a tray rack vs the hanging style. The hanging style ones are very rough on bikes. The are constantly being banged up together.

I would recommend a Thule or Sportsworks tray hitch rack.

My .02¢
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Old 07-19-2013, 01:41 PM #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuckles89 View Post
Make sure to get a tray rack vs the hanging style. The hanging style ones are very rough on bikes. The are constantly being banged up together.
I have a Thule Vertex hanging hitch rack. If you get a nice enough hanging rack you don't have the issue of bikes hitting each other. My rack came with stabilizers for both bikes and a strap to wrap through the wheels to keep the front from turning left/right and hitting the other bikes. Tray may be nicer and "sturdier" but there is certainly nothing wrong with hanging. I think hanging is way more convenient if you're going to leave it on there. Just get one that folds down like mine so you can open the liftgate. I personally love it and have taken my bikes 100s of miles without any problems. For me, a tray is just to big and bulky.

I can also fold it down carefully with the bikes still on it if I really need to get the rear hatch open.

My $.02
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Old 07-19-2013, 02:37 PM #25
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Old 09-09-2013, 10:34 PM #26
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We have had a North Shore Racks NSR-4 for a couple of years now. Love that rack! Don't have any pics of it on the 4Runner yet (only bought it a couple days ago...haha). Here are a couple photos of it mounted to our little turbo diesel Mitsubishi Delica 4x4 van.





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Old 09-27-2015, 10:21 AM #27
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What if you are also pulling a popup? Boat, etc.
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Old 09-28-2015, 01:16 PM #28
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I have both.

Roof rack advantages:
- Not in the way of the rear hatch
- Rack always there and ready for use
- I feel it is more secure theft-wise. It's hard to get up there to cut locks

Hitch rack advantages:
- Much easier to load/unload, especially if lifted
- Better gas mileage
- You don't have to think about height clearances
- I can pull in my garage with bikes loaded

Ultimately, if you can run them inside like others have suggested, that is best. When my inside is full I am using the hitch rack more and more.
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Old 10-24-2015, 11:49 PM #29
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Hitch

I think it depends on what kind of bike you have. If you have a road bike and can take the front wheel off and just fork it, roof is probably okay. If you have a mountain or hybrid and need to put the whole bike on the roof, it's probably far easier to just hitch it, right?

I've also found that my bikes stay cleaner and don't get all of the bug guts on them if I hitch them instead of on the roof. Added plus.
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Old 10-25-2015, 02:19 AM #30
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dude1394 View Post
What if you are also pulling a popup? Boat, etc.
I use one of these:

Roadmaster Dual Hitch Receiver Adapter, 4" Drop/Rise Roadmaster Accessories and Parts RM-077-4

May need an extension depending on what your pulling to make sure there is enough clearance for a tight turn.
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