Hitch Mount Bike Racks

Make sure you use the 2" receiver. It will be better suited for travel. I purchased mine through Walmart online. Spent about $100 or so and carries 5 bikes. I looked at that one and compared it to the very expensive ones and found no difference. I was excellent. Took it on a 5700+ trip through the SW last summer and through extreme rough roads and never a problem.

Hello, same here I had a 2 in. receiver hitch bike rack on my fiver for years and several thousand miles with no problems. It held two bikes and had plenty of clearance so when pulling into a driveway, etc. it did not scrape against the pavement. It worked great. Bought mine on line for about $200. Also, the one I bought said that it could be used in rv's. Some of the others said they did not recommend them for use on rv's.

@dalmationlovers, @Dr Jay --

Good to hear! The prices on these things are all over the map, and it's good to learn that I won't have to spend a significant fraction of what the bike cost in order to get a good one.

Question: did the rack you used have a fitting for 2-inch receivers ONLY, or did it have a smaller fitting for 1 1/2-inch receivers and an "adapter" so it could be used with the 2-inch receiver on the RV? The idea of being able to get one rack for thew RV and my car in attractive, but I've read on-line comments that the adapters are plastic and prone to failure. Your experience?

Thanks!

rich85704 wrote:
@dalmationlovers, @Dr Jay --

Good to hear! The prices on these things are all over the map, and it's good to learn that I won't have to spend a significant fraction of what the bike cost in order to get a good one.

Question: did the rack you used have a fitting for 2-inch receivers ONLY, or did it have a smaller fitting for 1 1/2-inch receivers and an "adapter" so it could be used with the 2-inch receiver on the RV? The idea of being able to get one rack for thew RV and my car in attractive, but I've read on-line comments that the adapters are plastic and prone to failure. Your experience?

Thanks!

Hi again, It came with steel inserts so it could fit the 1.5 or 2 in. receivers. The unit was made by Swagman for two bikes and the frame was made of steel. Some clips were plastic but they held up.

Swagman makes bike racks that are popular with RV'ers.
good product and made sturdy.

Check out Hollywood Racks. I just bought one of their platform racks for a 2" hitch. This thing is built like a tank, plus it has a metal loop that tightens on the hitch pin and makes it rock solid. They make a model for electric bikes also......Bruce

I bought a bike rack that fits both size receivers. The adaptor that sizes it up to the 2 inch is made of a durable plastic. There is a bolt that secures the rack to the hitch and not just a steel pin. I've had this bike rack for about 8 yrs. It has been across country and back 5 times now and I have never never had 1 problem with it. It was bought at Walmart and not a high priced bike shop.

As usual, there's a great range of good information and advice here. Reading what y'all have to say and doing a fair amount of on-line research, here's where I am:

My e-bike weighs 54 pounds with battery, about half that without battery. Removing the battery is fairly easy. But I'd like that to be an option; it's not hard to imagine situations where it would be more convenient to transport the bike with the battery installed.

So that eliminates a lot of the less expensive options.

I've also rethought my initial desire to have a rack which would be usable on my car (Hyundai Accent) and on the RV. My departure routine for an RV trip involves driving the rig to the house so I can load up on food, gear, etc. So I really don't need to install a hitch and a rack on the car to take the bike to the RV. The RV will come to the bike! And there's a great network of trails close enough to my house that I don't need to take the bike to the trails on my car.

So: I'm drawn to the sturdiness of the 2-inch receivers. Swagman has a nice looking unit which is 2-inch will carry up to 45 pounds (G10 $330) Close, but not quite. Hollywood does indeed (thanks!) have a model especially for e-bikes($395 from Amazon). BUT Hollywood says that batteries must be removed before transport. I'm wondering if that's something unique to them, or their product, or whether that's a general practice when transporting e-bikes. If it is, then I don't need the heavier-duty racks.

And there's another issue: my bike has a step-through frame. What used to be called a "ladies" frame. Some of the platform-style carriers say they'll accommodate these, some say you need an extra cross-piece, some seem to say no.

Man, this is when I'd like to buy something from a local dealer who'd give god advice and install it!

rich85704 wrote:
And there's another issue: my bike has a step-through frame. What used to be called a "ladies" frame. Some of the platform-style carriers say they'll accommodate these, some say you need an extra cross-piece, some seem to say no.

You'll probably need to get one that hold the bike on via the wheels, and not attaching to the frame. Something like the Thule T2 or the Yakima Holdup. These can hold any tire size between 20" and 29", and only touch the bike's tire, so the design of the frame does not matter. Racks like the Swagman have to be able to reach the top tube on the frame, and so they are not as versatile. (note -- Swagman may make a wheel-mounted tray rack, I'm not sure).

You'll spend a bit of $$, but the Thule and Yakima are quality products. I have the Yakima version, and like it quite a bit. I, for one, wouldn't trust my bike bouncing around on the back of my TT on a $100 rack. Actually, I wouldn't put any of them on the back of my TT, but I really like my bikes, and want them where I can see them. So they go in the back of the truck, on top of the Suburban, or inside the TT.

And they are very easy to install. They have the models I'm talking about at REI or other outdoor retailers. The Swagman, probably not -- I have never seen one in a store. But there is nothing to the installation -- you just slide in to the receiver, and there you go.

then you need a top tube adapter, for a rack that holds the frame.
i just Googled it:

https://www.google.com/search?q=top+tube+adapter+for+bike+rack&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&prmd=ivns&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=mflzU-aGEMXZoATHgoDADA&ved=0CBkQsxg