Bike Hitch Review

[kasrhp]

So I juts purchased a bike hitch carrier about a week ago for the new Pilot. I was looking all over the place to try to find the difference between a $400 Thule carrier, and the little $80 bike carriers on ebay. I ended up with a 4 bike carrier from etrailer.com.

I ended up getting this off etrailer.com after watching their video review on the product. The carrier itself was $99 and shipping was $17. It looked pretty heavy duty, and had the features I wanted. I wanted a 4 bike carrier that will tilt down for access to the cargo area. Officially made by Tow Ready, by Draw-Tite, Hidden Hitch and Reese.

http://www.etrailer.com/p-63124/Tow-...r-2-Hitch.html

The carrier is of very high quality. They have used very good components for it (bolts, metals, etc). This is definitely not some half baked product. The tubing itself is very thick and extremely strong. The finish is a powder coat finish. It looks like it will last. I have thrown it around a little just to see the real quality, and there are no scrapes or scuffs. The carrier tilts at the bottom to allow cargo access. This is done by pulling a locked pin out near the base, and then the arm swings down for access. To be honest, this wasnt the easiest task with some bikes on. I had no problems doing it, but I would never have my wife do it. The carrier gets a little heavy so you need some muscle.

The bike carrying part at the top does not swing down for better storage. That was fine by me as I have room in my garage, and just leave it on the ground underneath my hanging bikes. If you want to spend some more $$$ for this feature, it seems to be the only compelling reason to go with the Thule's, etc. But the carrier has thick foam pads for the bike frames to sit on. They strap in with heavy duty Velcro straps. The bikes are completely secure with no rattling coming from the back. Driving around with my bikes on the back, you will not notice the carrier at all. There is no rattling from the bikes or anything else on the carrier. Also standard with the purchase is a rattle free locking pin. It looks like a normal pin, but is threaded on one side. It works. I havent tested another alternative, but there was nothing but quitness from the bikes/carrier while driving around with them.

Overall I am very pleased with the bike carrier. I couldnt understand paying 3-4x as much for something that does the same as this. Some of the cheaper carriers have skinnier tubing, twist down bike clamps, cheaper components, etc. This gives me the heavy duty carrier I want with all of the extras I need at a very good price. I recommend this to anyone looking to haul their bikes.

Pictures:
You can still use the reverse camera with the bikes on!


etrailer.com

[colorider]

Moved thread to General>Accessories.

[Happydady]

You can get one form Walmart ($99 +free shipped to store) and have that feature. That is what I got. Very happy with the product.

Walmart.com: Deluxe 4-Bike Carrier for 2" Hitch: Bikes, Scooters & Skates

[kasrhp]

I saw that one, maybe it was the pictures, but I didn't seem to impressed with it. It looked a little flimsy, and like there was less padding for the bikes. But, I am glad it worked out for you. Is it pretty durable and substantial? I guess if you ordered it from Wal-Mart, its not like they have a tough return policy if you didn't like it

[carguy07]

Not to jack your thread, but I have one of these and love it other than the fact that it's pretty heavy.

Hitch racks, Sport Rider, bike racks, trunk racks, bicycle carriers - Hollywood Racks

[kasrhp]

No worries. $420 for that. Is there anything special I am missing? Looks good though.

[carguy07]

Yea it cost twice as much as it should have. It just had everything that I was looking for. I really like the platform type racks. Supporting the bike by the wheels makes it super secure and easy to load. The ones that I have had before would let the bikes sway all over the place and bang into each other (even though they are not supposed to, it would happen). The platform racks are safe for carbon fiber frames too. I doubt I will ever ante up for one, but my brother in-law has one and can't use a traditional rack that clamps on the bike frame. The other thing that I wanted was the ability to use it as a 2 bike rack most of the time and be able to add the extension for the other 2 as needed. It folds down for hatch access, etc. To me one of the best things is that I can drive normal with bikes back there and not have to think about carefully slowing down or going around corners. The bikes and rack are locked in tight and nothing moves around. There are lots of good racks out there, I just settled on this one.