What trailer hitch Bike Rack are you using

[randomboulder]

Another vote for the Kuat NV 2.0, About a thousand miles off-road with no issues. The only thing I had to do was add a 10" riser to improve my departure angle. Here it is going up some rock steps on a blue moderate trail in the Sierras a weekend ago.


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Are you still able to open the rear hatch with the riser + rack?

 

[FLY_FISHING]

I'm using an older model thule cross bar style, but if I were to get a new one it you have the wheel trays. My bikes are rubbed raw from my current rack and its a pain to get into the hatch

 

[hstexan]

Is this the Kuat NV or the Kuat NV 2.0. I am interested in this rack and want to know if both models , especially the 2.0 tilts down for access to the hatch with bikes mounted.

Rack showed up yesterday evening. Assembly, while easy, is a ***** because it doesn't sit flat so I had to prop pieces up with my feet to be able to spin the bolts freely. Because of this the four cross bolts took longer to install than I care to admit. My pivot release lever also was extremely tight to get on. There is a hole on the lever that fits over an existing piece on the main rack body. There was powdercoat in the hole on my lever and I had to basically smack it on there and it took the powdercoat off the inside of the hole. Not really an issue, but something that was slightly surprising considering the level of detail with everything else.

Rack mounts solid and it still fits in the garage just fine. It angles down as advertised and the new cam system works better than the original NV with a more solid feel and easier to use lever. My roadie mounts down rock solid and if I try to move it on the rack it moves the whole truck. If I only transport one bike I can use the other cable lock to secure my front wheel (which isn't an issue yet, but will be when I get some deep carbon wheels). Big fan of the redesigned trail doc--easier to use and looks much more "integrated." It comes with a plug for where the trail doc goes in case you want to leave it in the trunk. My buddy never had anyone steal his off his original NV, but if they do it's $80 to get another--perhaps I'm overly paranoid. The finish is incredible. The new dark grey matches my Shadow Mica paint very closely and I love the orange anodized accents. Lastly when you register your rack on their website for the warranty they send you a $20 coupon code for their store so I ended up getting a couple coozies, a pint glass, and a water bottle for free (including shipping).

Only used it once so far and it was great as expected, though I have not had the chance to take it offroad.

A few pictures:

 

[jmarthsr]

Rack showed up yesterday evening. Assembly, while easy, is a ***** because it doesn't sit flat so I had to prop pieces up with my feet to be able to spin the bolts freely. Because of this the four cross bolts took longer to install than I care to admit. My pivot release lever also was extremely tight to get on. There is a hole on the lever that fits over an existing piece on the main rack body. There was also powdercoat in the hole on my lever and I had to basically smack it on there and it took the powdercoat off the inside of the hole. Not really an issue, but something that was slightly surprising considering the level of detail with everything else.

Rack mounts solid and it still fits in the garage just fine. It angles down as advertised and the new cam system works better than the original NV with a more solid feel and easier to use lever. My roadie mounts down rock solid and if I try to move it on the rack it moves the whole truck. If I only transport one bike I can use the other cable lock to secure my front wheel (which isn't an issue yet, but will be when I get some deep carbon wheels). Big fan of the redesigned trail doc--easier to use and looks much more "integrated." It comes with a plug for where the trail doc goes in case you want to leave it in the trunk. My buddy never had anyone steal his off his original NV, but if they do it's $80 to get another--perhaps I'm overly paranoid. The finish is incredible. The new dark grey matches my Shadow Mica paint very closely and I love the orange anodized accents. Lastly when you register your rack on their website for the warranty they send you a $20 coupon code for their store so I ended up getting a couple coozies, a pint glass, and a water bottle for free (including shipping).

Only used it once so far and it was great as expected, though I have not had the chance to take it offroad.

A few pictures:

Thanks for the info. I am going to go with this.

 

[4rabbit]

Rack showed up yesterday evening. Assembly, while easy, is a ***** because it doesn't sit flat so I had to prop pieces up with my feet to be able to spin the bolts freely.

Ditto that on the Kuat's assembly taking longer than it really should have. I could have sworn the sketches on my set of instructions were inversely drawn, as I wound up installing everything upside down and having to undo/redo the whole thing. (It wasn't a matter of flipping it over, although it's a little hard to describe other than to say it certainly wasn't correct.) And like you, I also made it unnecessarily hard on myself the first time through by propping up the components as opposed to asking someone to hold the components for me. The second go-round, I surrendered and asked my wife to hold everything in place which made the process vastly faster and easier.

 

[hstexan]

Ditto that on the Kuat's assembly taking longer than it really should have. I could have sworn the sketches on my set of instructions were inversely drawn, as I wound up installing everything upside down and having to undo/redo the whole thing. (It wasn't a matter of flipping it over, although it's a little hard to describe other than to say it certainly wasn't correct.) And like you, I also made it unnecessarily hard on myself the first time through by propping up the components as opposed to asking someone to hold the components for me. The second go-round, I surrendered and asked my wife to hold everything in place which made the process vastly faster and easier.

Unfortunately I was impatient and my wife wasn't home yet to help. I kept trying to ask my dog, but he never seemed to know what to do. They Sherpa 2.0 can use the box as a "jig" to assist in assembly...I can't imagine why they wouldn't do that for the NV 2.0 as well. Was your lever install a tight fit as well?

 

[rblt]

Yakima KingPin 5. Have had it for 9 years, previously used on 1997 Astro Van and 2009 Buick Enclave.

What a treat that the 4Runner rear window goes down, so we can access stuff in the back while the bikes are racked up.

 

[Shepherd]

Thule

I have a Thule bike rack that swings down so that the hatch will clear it. The rack holds 4 bikes and folds down when not in use. It has a built in cable lock. Not sure of the model number or name.

 

[Liquidmantis]

Big fan of the redesigned trail doc--easier to use and looks much more "integrated."

Does it pivot? I'd highly recommend clamping to the seat post instead of the top tube, especially on carbon frames.

 

[hstexan]

Does it pivot? I'd highly recommend clamping to the seat post instead of the top tube, especially on carbon frames.

Yes it does...I actually already changed it to clamp to the seat post instead those pictures were immediately after I put it together and threw it on real quick. That bike is, however, Al frame.

 

[apollo]

iSi Advanced 4x4 Bicycle Carrier and Bike Rack Systems

4X4X4 with the extreme duty stabilizer...great build quality...the 4x4x2 extreme duty is angled even higher for more departure angle if you don't require 4 bikes like we do...

 

[Ike64]

Might need to upgrade my bike rack, just brought this doll home.

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[rick_reno]

I use a Thule 916XTR T2 platform rack. Works great.