trx440ex

Good Evening,


My wife has decided we need to get into riding bikes. I don't like the thoughts of lifting and then stacking the bikes into the bed. I've seen hitch mount ones for sale but wonder which to buy, hoping for some advice. In addition, what do guys do to keep the wheels from swaying into the rear bumper or tailgate. I'd appreciate any answers, in addition, I don't want to spend a ton of money as I'm not sure how often we'll find time to ride. I figure if we get a 4 bike we can ask others to go with us at some point.
Thanks in advance

rcroane

Mine is a Thule. Holds 4 bikes and quality is great. Easy to use. Folds down if you need to open the tailgate. I've had it awhile, so I don't remember what I paid.

Motorsports One

I have a similar one in a different brand and it has wheel straps built into the cradles, so wouldn't be a bad idea to add straps to the Curt carrier. I've seen a few reviews saying the top hooks don't hold well enough, but wondering if the reviewers just didn't tighten them enough. You can probably add bungees or straps at the top hook as well just in case.

Just make sure the tube going into the hitch is 2 inches, I had to have mine strengthened because it came with a 1.25 inches tube.

Also add a hitch tighetener to eliminate sway.

https://www.stowaway2.com/hitch-tightener

I like that the bike frame shape doesn't matter with this type of rack.

This is a picture of my rack.

77Ranger460

I use the Swagman receiver hitch carrier. Each bike has a front and rear wheel cradle. Loading or unloading takes seconds.....it is very similar to the one pictured above.

Kingofwylietx

What a coincidence, I just bought one yesterday that I needed today. It's a 4 bike carrier, we only put 3 bikes on it....but they were 3 full sized men mtn bikes.

It worked as advertised. It was only $99 and I picked it up at my local Walmart. It is the Allen Sports 542RR Deluxe 4 Bike Hitch Mounted-Bike Rack.

The only modification I would make is with the pin. It comes with an anti-rattle bolt that has a smaller diameter than a standard hitch pin....I'm thinking of drilling it out and using one of my locking pins. I don't care if it rattles a bit.

mrash

I'd strongly recommend the North Shore Rack NSR 4. They're bullet proof, easy to load and prevent any damage to the bikes or your truck.

http://www.northshoreracks.com/NSR%204-bike.htm

I had one on my old truck and ended up selling it before I moved across the country. Looking at buying another now 20140526 120249 resized

dalola

We have this one: http://www.discountramps.com/piggyba...08581-2A-2EXT/

Easy to use, well constructed, value priced. We have thousands of miles on ours with no issues.

Ktrich01

You might want to consider a pickup pad. Holds six bikes and super fast on and off. I've had mine for a while but pretty cheap from what I remember. Holds them very securely and no chance of anything touching the tailgate or bumper directly.

Kingofwylietx

There are apparently more options than I knew existed. I've never seen the Pickup Pad or a carrier that holds the bikes vertically like the North Shore.

rival

I just use an Allen bike rack that I think I got at walmart years ago:

It bolts through the hitch instead of a pin, so you can really tighten it so it doesn't move and bikes don't touch your truck. It does have a pin you can pull to tilt the rack down (even with bikes on it). It's made to give clearance for SUV liftgates to open, but it almost gets out of the way enough for putting the tailgate completely down. I put a little rubber pad on mine for the tailgate to rest on if I need to open it to get something out.