Recommendations on a hitch & bike rack

[azrider]

Go to Etrailer, enter your vehicle info, get it shipped to your house, and do the install yourself. It's a very, very easy DIY project.

That said, my trusty Thule T2 is still going strong and much more "economically" friendly than others mentioned

[p nut]

Originally Posted by azrider

Go to Etrailer, enter your vehicle info, get it shipped to your house, and do the install yourself. It's a very, very easy DIY project.

That said, my trusty Thule T2 is still going strong and much more "economically" friendly than others mentioned

Caveat: this poster is from AZ. Those in the rust belt.....it may not be a very easy DIY project.

[Ozz]

Originally Posted by p nut

Caveat: this poster is from AZ. Those in the rust belt.....it may not be a very easy DIY project.

also gets more complicated if you have ultrasonic sensors in your bumper.....

[azrider]

Originally Posted by p nut

rust

what is this "rust" you speak of

Originally Posted by Ozz

also gets more complicated if you have ultrasonic sensors in your bumper.....

MY wifes CRV had sensors as well as my Prius V and both were not affected by, nor was installation any more or less problematic because of them.

[p nut]

Originally Posted by azrider

MY wifes CRV had sensors as well as my Prius V and both were not affected by, nor was installation any more or less problematic because of them.

Install on my Sienna was not bad. Didn't have to remove the bumper cover nor mess with the sonar.

I looked at an install video of a Forester (I think. Maybe it was an Alltrack), which required the removal of the rear bumper skin. Didn't look fun.

[Gummee]

Originally Posted by azrider

Go to Etrailer, enter your vehicle info, get it shipped to your house, and do the install yourself. It's a very, very easy DIY project.

That said, my trusty Thule T2 is still going strong and much more "economically" friendly than others mentioned

It *can* be an easy project. I did an 18 Explorer and while it looked easy on paper, it was a PITA IRL. IDK if I didn't un-do enough of the exhaust or what, but I managed to scratch the heck out of that hitch.

Did an 18 X5 too. Undoing the bumper cover was also a PITA. The actual bolting of the hitch was easy: 4 bolts and it was done. Took 3ish hrs of my day. Good thing I didn't have any other appointments after that. Bad thing was that appointment was on the other side of the Beltway and I got done right at the beginning of rush hour. Took forever to get home.

I just sold my T2 to a buddy to get a Sherpa 2.0. The 2.3 tire on the Superfly was barely fitting the old Thule. The new 2.4 tire on the Superfly wouldn't have fit at all. The Sherpa 2.0 fits just fine. I ride a Medium frame so no worries on wheelbases for me.

As an added bonus, the Sherpa is lighter than the T2

M

[bart998]

If cost is the issue I bought a used Kuat Transfer 3-up rack for $200 on craigslist and installed a receiver hitch from Harbor Freight... both are great! Deals are out there... look around!

[djg21]

Originally Posted by Spdntrxi

yes...

if you don't mind doing it yourself.. I'm very happy with hiddenhitch.com and my Kuat rack.

I put a stealth hitch on my x5, because I didn’t want to have to cut the trim around the bumper or the rear skid plate, which would have been necessary for me to use a regular hitch. https://stealthhitches.com/. It’s very slick.

I use a Kuat NV 2.0 rack which is great. I use a 2-bike extender, so it holds 4 bikes in all. The only bad thing about it is that it’s heavy to carry when off the car. But that also makes it rock solid, and it is very easy to use and is very secure.

[kppolich]

2" hitch if you can... more options there in the future should your needs change.

[Ozz]

Originally Posted by azrider

...
MY wifes CRV had sensors as well as my Prius V and both were not affected by, nor was installation any more or less problematic because of them.

Might depend on the vehicle:

Will Hitch Mounted Bike Carrier Interfere With Back up Sensors On 2017 Subaru Forester?

I'm still doing the research on how to make this work on my X5...the BMW factory hitch has a special wiring harness for turning off rear sensors (IIRC)

[djg21]

Originally Posted by Ozz

Might depend on the vehicle:

Will Hitch Mounted Bike Carrier Interfere With Back up Sensors On 2017 Subaru Forester?

I'm still doing the research on how to make this work on my X5...the BMW factory hitch has a special wiring harness for turning off rear sensors (IIRC)

I have an X5 and the sensor alarms go off whenever I’m in reverse. I don’t have the factory hitch with the wiring harness though (I don’t pull trailers ever). It’s annoying, but I can turn off the alarm when it starts going off. I don’t want to disable it because I like it when I don’t have the rack on the vehicle. The rack also obviously interferes with the back-up camera when it’s folded up against the back of the vehicle or is loaded with bikes, but it is still fairly useable.

[torquer]

I had the worst experience with UHaul.
Try calling the local installer and get the national call center. They schedule me for an install in Ohio (I'm in Westchester.)
Get that straightened out, they tell me it will take 45 minutes. Nobody takes 45 minutes; even the order they provide me shows two hours labor.
Wife shows up at the appointed time, and of course they don't have the correct hitch in stock. (It had been confirmed with the call center.)
Back to calling the call center (since the installer couldn't be bothered) and they find the hitch in New Jersey. But they can't/won't overnight it to our installer, and we're leaving on vacation in a few days.
I've had better customer service at McDonalds.
Wound up going with local shop, Rack & Go, for a bit more money, but they were a pleasure to deal with and delivered what was promised, on time.

I do agree with all the 1Up recommendations, though.

[vqdriver]

just go to uhaul and have them put it in. it's not difficult to diy, but considering the heft and ungainly weight distribution while on your back, there's a legit risk of injury.
and if you're comparing, i believe drawtite makes the uhaul hitches. mine was fine and built like a tank.

for a bike rack, kuat and 1up remain forum favorites. my kuat was fine and worked great. i've used the 1up as well and it's great in its own way. no regrets with either of those

[fmradio516]

Originally Posted by vqdriver

just go to uhaul and have them put it in. it's not difficult to diy, but considering the heft and ungainly weight distribution while on your back, there's a legit risk of injury.
and if you're comparing, i believe drawtite makes the uhaul hitches. mine was fine and built like a tank.

Agreed. I am extremely cheap so I went the DIY route, but before my buddy came over with his torque wrench, I spent a good amount of time on my back... struggling. I even called uhaul to see how much it was going to cost for just labor.. It was close to $300 iirc..... i got right back out there!

If you dont wanna do it yourself, id suggest going to a mechanic and seeing if theyll throw it on for you. Might be cheaper.

[schwa86]

1 up after reading various reviews here. Incredibly solid and easy to take on and off. Only nit, if you have a bike with fenders not a great choice.