Bike rack for long distance trips

[t-the-east]

Looking for a bike rack for a trip across the country. We are camping along the way and would love to bring the bikes along. We got four bikes, I have a tundra with a cap. I've been looking at the Thule Vertex swing hitch mounted rack, not sure if it'll be a pain in the ass to swing the whole rack out every time we need to get in the back of the truck though, it does have an integrated lock which is cool. I don't think mounting them on the top of the cap would be fun or easily accessible.

Thinking it'll be nice to go for an hour ride after driving 8-10 hours in a day, cruise around campgrounds, and hit a few trails here and there.

Anyone have experience with the Thule Vertex? Any other suggestions from the always informative tgr knowledge base?

Bottom line, I'm looking for something that -
- allows easy access to the back of the truck
- easy to get bikes on/off
- bikes are secure and lockable
- holds 4 bikes

I searched on this subject but couldn't find anything, if a thread exists, let me know and I'll get rid of this one. Thanks

[adrenalated]

North Shore. [/thread]

[t-the-east]

North Shore. [/thread]

Just looked into the North Shore and read this review http://blistergearreview.com/gear-re...-4-bike-rack/2

The only downfall I see ( after quickly reading the blister review ) is that to access the back, the rack has to be emptied....

[adrenalated]

The only downfall I see ( after quickly reading the blister review ) is that to access the back, the rack has to be emptied....

No it doesn't. The rack hinges back to allow the back to open. If you have 4 heavy bikes on it, then you'll want help lifting it back to the upright position, but if you have 4 bikes I'm going to assume there's another person with you...

Loaded NSR4 with the back of my Tundra open:

[El Chupacabra]

X2 on the North Shore, plus a big chain lock.

You can raise or lower the rack, loaded, by yourself - but it helps to have someone else to put the pin in place when lifting it back up.

[sethschmautz]

Used a Thule swing rack for the last year prior to getting my platform. I really miss the swing out. There is a manufacturer that combines the platform with swing (rocky mounts?). Personally, I think this would be the best of both worlds. It was really nice being able to swing the rack to be side and have full access to the back.

My platform rack swings down (Yakima holdup), but it isn't nearly as convenient as the swing rack.

The only complaint I had was that it was difficult with modern mountain bike frames. Worked fine for our road bikes, but my Santa Cruz Tallboy was difficult to fit as was the old Jamis Dakar that we used for the kids.

The more expensive option is to get a combo of a platform or having rack and a hitch mount swing that you can buy from a third party.

Seth

[t-the-east]

No it doesn't. The rack hinges back to allow the back to open. If you have 4 heavy bikes on it, then you'll want help lifting it back to the upright position, but if you have 4 bikes I'm going to assume there's another person with you...

Loaded NSR4 with the back of my Tundra open:

Ahhh, I see now. On the North Shore site it has many pics of the NRS4 fully loaded and hinged down.

But man that thing is pricey. $650 shipped!

[t-the-east]

Used a Thule swing rack for the last year prior to getting my platform. I really miss the swing out. There is a manufacturer that combines the platform with swing (rocky mounts?). Personally, I think this would be the best of both worlds. It was really nice being able to swing the rack to be side and have full access to the back.

My platform rack swings down (Yakima holdup), but it isn't nearly as convenient as the swing rack.

The only complaint I had was that it was difficult with modern mountain bike frames. Worked fine for our road bikes, but my Santa Cruz Tallboy was difficult to fit as was the old Jamis Dakar that we used for the kids.

The more expensive option is to get a combo of a platform or having rack and a hitch mount swing that you can buy from a third party.

Seth

The swing appealed to be just because we'd have unrestricted access to the back of the truck, for slide out drawers if I have enough time to rig something up like adrenalateds setup. I have read about women's and kids bikes as well as some MT bike frames not fitting correctly in the hanging style like the Yakima... A swing out platform would be sweet!

Edit- looks like Rocky Mounts only has a 1 or 2 bike version