2012 hitch rack thread

[El Chupacabra]

Can you see the license plate through 4 bikes on the NSR? Does anyone know if with 6 on there you can see tail lights?

You can see the license plate, but it's obscured (depends on where the plate is on your vehicle, too). I live in Nevada, they don't seem to care about that here.

On the taillights: if it's a fullsize SUV/truck, I think even the NSR-6 wouldn't block the lights. The NSR-4 doesn't block them on a midsize SUV (4Runner).

[summit]

T2 vs Holdup, will one make the difference for rear hatch clearance on a 2007 Toyota 4Runner with two bikes mounted? Or are their clearances equal when tilted down?

Holdup works great and the hatch opens with the tiltdown no problem, even wwith both bikes and wide bars.

[jqualls]

Is there any way to rig the NSR4 to work with a road bike. I have the Kuat NV and love it. The main reason I didnt consider the NSR4 is the inability to carry a road bike and I got a killer deal on the NV during the winter. Even though I dont travel with a road bikes very often it would still be a pain in the ass to need a second rack to carry the road bikes when needed.

[tsproul]

Reviving an old thread...

Looking for tow hitch mount, tray style that swings out. That is, I want access to rear without needing to unrack bikes. Needs to hold road and mountain, 2 or more bikes.

My googlefu has so far been rather lacking. Anyone know if such a rack exists?

I've got the Yak swing daddy but want to hold bikes in tray.

[bean]

I ended up going with the 1up, despite having access to discounts on Thule and Yakima. It's a bit pricey but with a single carrier on, I can get in to the hatch on my car without having to fold anything down. The add ons go on/off in maybe 30 seconds. I just got mine this spring but so far I'm really impressed with it.

On a related note, if anyone in CO is looking for a 1.25" Kuat I've got one for sale.

[chatton18]

Reviving an old thread...

Looking for tow hitch mount, tray style that swings out. That is, I want access to rear without needing to unrack bikes. Needs to hold road and mountain, 2 or more bikes.

My googlefu has so far been rather lacking. Anyone know if such a rack exists?

I've got the Yak swing daddy but want to hold bikes in tray.

Your local metal fabricator?? Such a beast doesn't exist, and it's probably due to such a "beast" being way too heavy to move let alone not break your hitch. Some like the one up will drop down horizontally and you might be able to access the trunk if theres only one bike on it. Depending upon what kind of car you have a North Shore Racks could work, but they're not designed to work with road bike, but apparently people have rigged them up.

http://bb.nsmb.com/showthread.php?t=150216

NS Racks go down like this so they work for a rear gate that goes up/down, not swing out.

[Roxtar]

Kuat racks tilt back(while loaded) to allow access to the rear hatch.
Not as accessible as a swing away but gives enough space for most applications.

[Dromond]

A friend of mine was checking these out the other weekend but that's all I know: http://www.loloracks.com/#home

I've seen a few of these locally:
https://www.facebook.com/ReconRacks
http://recon-racks.com/

[Danno]

A buddy has a swing away tray rack. But they're two different things. He has a tray rack, and it is mounted to hardware that swings away from his van with two or three arms. I know he didn't build it, so it's out there, but the solution is to look for a separate piece of hardware, not a rack taht will do this for you. And I assume that you need to have a class III hitch and a vehicle that can handle the extra weight hanging off the back, because 2-4 bikes, hitch rack, and the swing away hardware is a lot of weight.

edit: lookie here, this isn't what he has but it shows that stuff is out there: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1lJ38n2v6k

[FlimFlamvanHam]

I ended up going with the 1up, despite having access to discounts on Thule and Yakima. It's a bit pricey but with a single carrier on, I can get in to the hatch on my car without having to fold anything down. The add ons go on/off in maybe 30 seconds. I just got mine this spring but so far I'm really impressed with it.

^^ This.

After getting a 1Up and looking hard at the Thule, Kuat, and Yakima options the only reason I can see why anyone ends up with anything other than a 1Up for a tray rack is that they simply are not aware they exist. They are that nice.

All of the aforementioned racks tilt down, but with 3 or 4 bikes loaded plus your 100lb tray, it is not an easy maneuver. At least that's my experience.

[Diesel]

A buddy has a swing away tray rack. But they're two different things. He has a tray rack, and it is mounted to hardware that swings away from his van with two or three arms. I know he didn't build it, so it's out there...

I think you're talking about Ron, who has an MWE Red October adapter. http://www.mweracks.com/red-october. I've been trying to buy one for a while since it would be perfect for using my Thule hitch tray rack with my camper. Unfortunately MWE is a family company and their chief engineer/founder has died, so they've suspended operations since sometime last year. They are the only ones that I've found who make this sort of system/adapter, however Rocky Mounts has said they're working on something similar. I'm not sure where things are in their process. I'll ping them on it today.

If anyone knows of another company to make this sort of adapter, let me know. Otherwise I'll be hitting up my enginerd and welder friends to see what kind of monster we can fabricate before my next long road trip.

[forty]

If anyone knows of another company to make this sort of adapter, let me know. Otherwise I'll be hitting up my enginerd and welder friends to see what kind of monster we can fabricate before my next long road trip.

few more ive stumbled across in my search
http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-...rts/AL105.html
http://www.stowaway2.com/swing-away-hitch-frame.aspx

[Diesel]

Yeah, I've come across those as well. The first, in the etrailer link, is more for scooters or something. I've seen reviews where they say that they won't work well with bike racks. The second seems to just be targeted to cargo carriers.

I spoke with Rocky Mounts this morning and they're about 8 months away from launching their hitch adapter.

[forty]

Yeah, I've come across those as well. The first, in the etrailer link, is more for scooters or something. I've seen reviews where they say that they won't work well with bike racks. The second seems to just be targeted to cargo carriers.

I spoke with Rocky Mounts this morning and they're about 8 months away from launching their hitch adapter.

yep neither is a bolt on fix, but i would trust the 2nd one completely, they make complete bike racks as well, and the swing away paired with a nsr4 upper rack would be tits imo

happen to get a $ quote from rocky?

im trying to sort out a setup for a gx470, nsr4 is my fave rack, but the barn style rear door doesnt play nicely, custom may be the way to go but it gets $$$ quick since i moved away from my welding buddy...

[Diesel]

Did not get a quote from Rocky Mounts...it's probably a bit early yet on that, but as soon as I have an idea, or a photo, I'll post up here.

[swerve]

Recon Racks that Dromond posted has the option for a swing out rack. You might be able to get just the base from them and then add an adapter for your rack or have them do it.
http://recon-racks.com/new-products/swinger-system

[El Chupacabra]

im trying to sort out a setup for a gx470, nsr4 is my fave rack, but the barn style rear door doesnt play nicely, custom may be the way to go but it gets $$$ quick since i moved away from my welding buddy...

Might check with a local 4x4 fabrication shop on your idea. These guys weld up stuff like custom bumpers + tire carriers, and I would expect they'd be able to do a hitch-mount swingout for a bike rack fairly easily.

For my NSR4 rack, I usually leave it mounted on the back of the camper truck, on a step extension in order to clear the back door on the camper. This is the extension I use, but I doubt it is long enough to get you much clearance for the rear door on a GX:
http://www.harborfreight.com/hitch-e...tep-97685.html

Extending out a heavy load will put a big strain on your vehicle's hitch, so be sure you have something sturdy. Something made to accept a weight-distributing trailer hitch would be a good idea. Mine is on a class IV hitch on a 3/4-ton truck, and so far, no problems.

[zombinate]

while it doesn't swing to the side, the Softride Hang5 pivots out of the way. Might be worth a look.

http://www.softride.com/rack-product...ang5_bike_rack

[Danno]

I think you're talking about Ron, who has an MWE Red October adapter. http://www.mweracks.com/red-october. I've been trying to buy one for a while since it would be perfect for using my Thule hitch tray rack with my camper. Unfortunately MWE is a family company and their chief engineer/founder has died, so they've suspended operations since sometime last year. They are the only ones that I've found who make this sort of system/adapter, however Rocky Mounts has said they're working on something similar. I'm not sure where things are in their process. I'll ping them on it today.

If anyone knows of another company to make this sort of adapter, let me know. Otherwise I'll be hitting up my enginerd and welder friends to see what kind of monster we can fabricate before my next long road trip.

Yeah, that's who I was talking about. But he didn't get the red one! Didn't know that whole story.

[tsproul]

Thanks all for the links and ideas.

[jm2e]

^^ This.

After getting a 1Up and looking hard at the Thule, Kuat, and Yakima options the only reason I can see why anyone ends up with anything other than a 1Up for a tray rack is that they simply are not aware they exist. They are that nice.

All of the aforementioned racks tilt down, but with 3 or 4 bikes loaded plus your 100lb tray, it is not an easy maneuver. At least that's my experience.

x3. They really are that nice. I tell people that the 1up rack was one of my most awesome biking upgrades. Every single ride is more enjoyable with that rack. They tilt down away from the rear gate and it's no problem accessing the back of the car. Whoever things more bikes will make access harder hasn't really thought about the layout. More bikes just make it heavier.

That said, I had my first downhill experience a month ago. Ended up bringing 3 bikes, because I wanted to see how the Chili would handle "real" DH terrain. (Amazingly well!). Turns out that a 40+ lb DH bike, and two 30 lb trail bikes is a bit of a strain for the 1up. I'm using a 1 1/4" hitch, and with that 3 bike load, there's definitely more swaying going on. It was definitely solid, round trip 12 hrs driving on mix of interstate and winding West Virginia hell, but I couldn't help but notice more movement in the rear view mirror than I was used to.
If I was routinely running more than 2 heavy bikes or shuttling DH rigs, I'd definitely look into the NS style rack. For daily riding and having something that works brilliantly and looks sharp on the car, the 1up is still the hands down winner.

[wilcox510]

Someone in my neighborhood recently started making these swing out hitch rack attachments, similar to those MWE racks. I've seen a couple in person, they look pretty burly.

http://rakattach.com/

[homemadesalsa]

Someone in my neighborhood recently started making these swing out hitch rack attachments, similar to those MWE racks. I've seen a couple in person, they look pretty burly.

http://rakattach.com/

Good one Wilcox! Those Rakattack folks came to the 2015 Wydaho Rendezvous as sponsors. I got to look closely at their offering. If we hadn't already made a custom version for the back of the van, we would have gotten one of theirs. Looks solid but not too heavy: http://rakattach.com/

[gramboh]

x3. They really are that nice. I tell people that the 1up rack was one of my most awesome biking upgrades. Every single ride is more enjoyable with that rack. They tilt down away from the rear gate and it's no problem accessing the back of the car. Whoever things more bikes will make access harder hasn't really thought about the layout. More bikes just make it heavier.

That said, I had my first downhill experience a month ago. Ended up bringing 3 bikes, because I wanted to see how the Chili would handle "real" DH terrain. (Amazingly well!). Turns out that a 40+ lb DH bike, and two 30 lb trail bikes is a bit of a strain for the 1up. I'm using a 1 1/4" hitch, and with that 3 bike load, there's definitely more swaying going on. It was definitely solid, round trip 12 hrs driving on mix of interstate and winding West Virginia hell, but I couldn't help but notice more movement in the rear view mirror than I was used to.
If I was routinely running more than 2 heavy bikes or shuttling DH rigs, I'd definitely look into the NS style rack. For daily riding and having something that works brilliantly and looks sharp on the car, the 1up is still the hands down winner.

Good info here. Currently running two Thule Sidearms on the roof of my Mazda 3. Thinking next car will be a Forester and will do a hitch mount rack. Given I go to Whistler often, sounds like NS 4 bike would be the best option for 4 DH bikes? Also for shuttling on both pavement and forest service roads. Don't care that much about looks.

[bagtagley]

round trip 12 hrs driving on mix of interstate and winding West Virginia hell

I love that winding WV hell! Snowshoe?

I think over two, maybe three bikes, you'd want a 2" receiver. The 1UP comes with an adapter for 2", which is nice. I agree, though. I could see running 3 XC/Trail bikes, but throw in another bike, heavy bikes, off road, etc., I'd go for the NS. It's not an engineering or quality issue at that point. I've been in plenty of situations with four bikes dangling precariously off the back of a vehicle, over long distances, on road and off. It's always worked out fine, but it's far from ideal. And it only takes a small failure to cause a lot of expensive damage.