That’s a great rack and will last a long, long time. I might advise adding a locking hitch pin to it if you don’t already have one. We’ve got jackholes here in the Chattanooga area stealing the nicer, empty bike racks off cars just to simply sell the racks. I guess that since most racks aren’t serialized, tracking the theft is next to impossible.
How do you carry your MTB on your 4runner?
- Thread starter kolelt
- Start date
That’s a great rack and will last a long, long time. I might advise adding a locking hitch pin to it if you don’t already have one. We’ve got jackholes here in the Chattanooga area stealing the nicer, empty bike racks off cars just to simply sell the racks. I guess that since most racks aren’t serialized, tracking the theft is next to impossible.
Reinout
Member
Hey: I'm seeing a lot of replies, but they didn't seem to address the fact that you have a rear tire carrier. What bumper do you have, can you send a picture? I used to work at RackNRoad and dealt with Jeeps with the tire carriers all the time.
99% of the time if you still have the hitch option an extender: 8" Receiver Tube Extender (2" Shank, 3,500 lbs.) SKU #45791 for $65.85 by CURT Manufacturing will do the trick with your standard hitch mount bike rack.
Flemster
Member
I use a simple axle mount on my rack. Then just strap the back tire to another crossbar. I have also hung the bike off the back using this method too and it works well and keeps everything a little shorter, just have to pull the bike to open the hatch.
<a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/140899154@N02/48391479636/in/dateposted/" title="Untitled"><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/48391479636_8a97d54b7f_b.jpg" width="768" height="1024" alt="Untitled"></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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jkeith.w
Official Vendor
nice bike!
Flemster
Member
Wish it was mine but it is not haha, just transporting it for a friend.
Wow awesome find there. Thank you. I actually haven’t had much time to even assemble the new bike carrier. So I haven’t had a chance to take any photos. Although I will. I think with this extension it will clear pass the tire. My bumper is SAVAGE OFF-ROAD. Since my rack is aluminum. It’s light and shouldn’t be to bad with the extension. Plus the bikes are light !!! Hopefully 8” is enough. Again, savage rear bumper with 285/75/15 tire.
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I have a rear swingout bumper (4XInnovations), and do some moderate wheeling with bikes on during our Colorado/Utah trips. The main issue is getting the bikes tucked in close to the truck and high enough to not get dragged going over ledges, and if they do get dragged, held in such a way as to not damage them.
Even though the bumper's receiver is higher than normal, it's still not really tall enough to get the bikes up out of danger, so I use a receiver drop adapter installed upside down - this also works to get the rack far enough out to clear the spare tire. Then the main issue is that you can't really get into the rear hatch without removing the rack - since the dropper reaches up and blocks the swingout. So that's a bit of a PITA when camping/overlanding - every evening, have to unload the bikes and unbolt the rack to get into the rear (there's a cargo platform - so to get to the stuff underneath the raised floor, the hatch has to open).
And the rack I'm using is just a simple type that has two arms that you're supposed to hang a bike on via the top tube. But modern bikes don't have nice straight top tubes - my Niner's is very curved and if I mount it the 'right' way - the front wheel drops *way* down, so I end up setting the downtube on top of the arm on one side. The plus side of that style rack is that if a wheel getts nudged or brushed - then the bike is just secured to the rack by rubber straps or bungee cords - and can fairly easily move and avoid damage.
On the Gold Bar trail out in Moab a week ago (+/- a coupla days):
Far from ideal, but it sort of works. I keep trying to think of a better solution, but I don't want them on the roof because sooner or later I'm going to run them into something. It would be nice to have a rack that holds the bikes by the wheels so it doesn't beat and scratch up the frame (putting a dirty mountain bike frame onto a rack - grit gets to grind away as you bounce along a trail).
I sometimes ponder putting some fork mounts on the rear end of the rack and just letting the bikes dangle down. Downsides to that are that out of the 3 mountain bikes we generally drag around, they would need different form mounts (QR, regular thru axle, boost), plus road bikes. And with the fork fastened firmly to the mount, if something reached up and bumped the rear wheel, something bad is likely to happen - no give.
I'm currently pondering a 1up just for the ease of use and lack of damage to the bikes - an improvement over the current rack. But I think it would need an even taller riser/dropper than I'm currently using because from the measurements on the 1up site, the rack would hang lower than the wheels currently do. Don't want to wreck the rack. Maybe something silly tall like this: https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Adjust-Receiver-Hitch-U-4043/dp/B071R35K26
I'd still need to remove it every evening to access the hatch area, but at least the bikes would be less beat up. My wife refuses to put her CF Niner on the current rack.
Even though the bumper's receiver is higher than normal, it's still not really tall enough to get the bikes up out of danger, so I use a receiver drop adapter installed upside down - this also works to get the rack far enough out to clear the spare tire. Then the main issue is that you can't really get into the rear hatch without removing the rack - since the dropper reaches up and blocks the swingout. So that's a bit of a PITA when camping/overlanding - every evening, have to unload the bikes and unbolt the rack to get into the rear (there's a cargo platform - so to get to the stuff underneath the raised floor, the hatch has to open).
And the rack I'm using is just a simple type that has two arms that you're supposed to hang a bike on via the top tube. But modern bikes don't have nice straight top tubes - my Niner's is very curved and if I mount it the 'right' way - the front wheel drops *way* down, so I end up setting the downtube on top of the arm on one side. The plus side of that style rack is that if a wheel getts nudged or brushed - then the bike is just secured to the rack by rubber straps or bungee cords - and can fairly easily move and avoid damage.
On the Gold Bar trail out in Moab a week ago (+/- a coupla days):
Far from ideal, but it sort of works. I keep trying to think of a better solution, but I don't want them on the roof because sooner or later I'm going to run them into something. It would be nice to have a rack that holds the bikes by the wheels so it doesn't beat and scratch up the frame (putting a dirty mountain bike frame onto a rack - grit gets to grind away as you bounce along a trail).
I sometimes ponder putting some fork mounts on the rear end of the rack and just letting the bikes dangle down. Downsides to that are that out of the 3 mountain bikes we generally drag around, they would need different form mounts (QR, regular thru axle, boost), plus road bikes. And with the fork fastened firmly to the mount, if something reached up and bumped the rear wheel, something bad is likely to happen - no give.
I'm currently pondering a 1up just for the ease of use and lack of damage to the bikes - an improvement over the current rack. But I think it would need an even taller riser/dropper than I'm currently using because from the measurements on the 1up site, the rack would hang lower than the wheels currently do. Don't want to wreck the rack. Maybe something silly tall like this: https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Adjust-Receiver-Hitch-U-4043/dp/B071R35K26
I'd still need to remove it every evening to access the hatch area, but at least the bikes would be less beat up. My wife refuses to put her CF Niner on the current rack.
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I have a rear swingout bumper (4XInnovations), and do some moderate wheeling with bikes on during our Colorado/Utah trips. The main issue is getting the bikes tucked in close to the truck and high enough to not get dragged going over ledges, and if they do get dragged, held in such a way as to not damage them.
Even though the bumper's receiver is higher than normal, it's still not really tall enough to get the bikes up out of danger, so I use a receiver drop adapter installed upside down - this also works to get the rack far enough out to clear the spare tire. Then the main issue is that you can't really get into the rear hatch without removing the rack - since the dropper reaches up and blocks the swingout. So that's a bit of a PITA when camping/overlanding - every evening, have to unload the bikes and unbolt the rack to get into the rear (there's a cargo platform - so to get to the stuff underneath the raised floor, the hatch has to open).
And the rack I'm using is just a simple type that has two arms that you're supposed to hang a bike on via the top tube. But modern bikes don't have nice straight top tubes - my Niner's is very curved and if I mount it the 'right' way - the front wheel drops *way* down, so I end up setting the downtube on top of the arm on one side. The plus side of that style rack is that if a wheel getts nudged or brushed - then the bike is just secured to the rack by rubber straps or bungee cords - and can fairly easily move and avoid damage.
On the Gold Bar trail out in Moab a week ago (+/- a coupla days):
Far from ideal, but it sort of works. I keep trying to think of a better solution, but I don't want them on the roof because sooner or later I'm going to run them into something. It would be nice to have a rack that holds the bikes by the wheels so it doesn't beat and scratch up the frame (putting a dirty mountain bike frame onto a rack - grit gets to grind away as you bounce along a trail).
I sometimes ponder putting some fork mounts on the rear end of the rack and just letting the bikes dangle down. Downsides to that are that out of the 3 mountain bikes we generally drag around, they would need different form mounts (QR, regular thru axle, boost), plus road bikes. And with the fork fastened firmly to the mount, if something reached up and bumped the rear wheel, something bad is likely to happen - no give.
I'm currently pondering a 1up just for the ease of use and lack of damage to the bikes - an improvement over the current rack. But I think it would need an even taller riser/dropper than I'm currently using because from the measurements on the 1up site, the rack would hang lower than the wheels currently do. Don't want to wreck the rack. Maybe something silly tall like this: https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Adjust-Receiver-Hitch-U-4043/dp/B071R35K26
I'd still need to remove it every evening to access the hatch area, but at least the bikes would be less beat up. My wife refuses to put her CF Niner on the current rack.
I saw a Jeep with a bike rack that mounts onto the tire. The bike rack mounted through the center of the wheel and bolted onto the structure of the tire carrier.
I regularly do similar trails to you and went through 4 different racks and ended up with the ISI bike rack system. They are out of Austraila, but they regularly work with US customers. At the time of purchase a few years ago, they didn't have a US vendor, but maybe they do today? I've never scraped and the departure angle is better than anything I could find. They are expensive, but very much worth it to me. I never have to worry about harming the bikes and they stay put really well. They do have extensions on the hitch so that it can work with a rear swing out. Customer service is top notch too. I don't have access to any of my photos with the bikes loaded, but this photo gives you an idea. Their website has a lot of customers photos that you can check out. /iSi Advanced 4x4 Bicycle Carriers | Extreme Duty | Offroad | Cars | 4x4 | Caravans and Camper Trailers
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Reinout
Member
In my experience the limits that are set for bumpers are "safe" numbers and the rack and bumper will handle a lot more, they just can't say it.
Example of manufacturers playing it safe: having been in the bike industry for almost 20 years we manufactures put a weight limit on bikes of 300 lbs for rider and gear on most bikes: The frame in most cases is tested well above 500 lbs.
With that, I don't know if the 8" extension will be enough or too much, it's hard to tell. And of course no matter what, no big air with the truck as that force will surely exceed the limits.
Reinout
Member
I know it wouldn't work well with our hatch, but this would surely clear: Fiammastore : F35pro
I've installed versions of it on Sprinters.
Two minor issues with that:
- the tire is considerably off center - sometimes when we're shuttling bikes up and down mountains on some rides we'll stick a folding Saris Bones rack on my wife's 4Runner - it has the same rear bumper and swingout, so we put it on the spare tire. Pretty secure and all, but the bikes stick out pretty far on the passenger side. So far that you really have to pay attention to things going by on that side (trees, signs, etc)
- Maybe there are stronger swingout designs out there - but this one all rides on one pair of bearings (passenger side) and I don't think it would be good to mount a heavy rack, and a couple of bikes on it for long periods of time. We do it briefly for some shuttle runs, but it's more about the leverage (a couple of 30 lb bikes hanging 1 and 2 feet out on a rack vs. a 75 lb wheel mounted in close, or more correctly, ina ddition to that 75 lb wheel.)
Hmmm... that one looks really interesting. Certainly raises the bikes further up than the 1up does (40 degrees vs. 15). I'm not sure exactly how many inches of clearance I have to work with between the receiver and the swingout. I need to measure that. But if I could open the swingout with the rack folded down that would really fit the bill.
EDIT: After clicking around on their site I 'discovered' all the options they have on the pivot base portion of the rack: iSi Modular Bicycle Carrier - Extreme Duty Modular Bicycle Carrier Design
Between the high, std, low, ultra low, one of those would absolutely work, I'd just need to measure how much clearance I have and get one that barely clears, to leave as little as possible hanging down. Even if the bikes don't hit I somewhat routinely bang/drag the hitch.
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Email them your dilemma and they should get back to you with some answers. I bought my bumper with the expectation that Savage was going to add a swing out later down the road. Never happened, but ISI recommended that I start with a short one since I wanted it as close as possible and when I got a swing out I could swap out the pivot point down the road for not very much money. If I remember right it was just shipping my old one back with a small fee and they would send me a longer one. They had really good customer service and would buy again based on my previous experience. It's been a few years now that I've had it, it's a beast and built very well. For really gnarly trails, especially Moab, I cant recommend it enough.
Edit: during my research, it was between this and the 1UP. At the time 1UP claimed that it can be used offroad, but my impression I was getting is that it wasn't its main intention, more for light offroad, fire road type stuff. The ISI system was clearly built for the rugged stuff and that's why I pulled the trigger on that system. I was sick of tired of dragging ass from my Kuat and also had two other systems similar to yours and it was a bare to watch in the rearview mirror of the bikes moving around so much. Had the roof rack system and was a pain in the ass to get them up and down. To me the ISI is a true rack that you feel comfortable taking almost anywhere offroad. I love the departure angle on it. If your sticking to streets then it's not the rack to get.
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Yeah, I plan on making some measurements and letting them tell me which options for the pivot and arm would work best.
Now you got me second guessing my self for purchasing the 1up-usa
I'd just about gotten around to ordering a 1up before the ISI got posted.
Although they are almost identical a. The only thing that ISI has over 1up is that extension that is angled. If you have a welder. You could easily make one your self and then attach the 1up. I’ll keep my 1up because it’s aluminum. Much much lighter. I also called them. And they said it is totally ok to off road with it.
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