Tow Hitch Bike Rack Questions...

[davechogan]

FWIW, I ended up getting the Thule 996XT. It swings down, not out. The 998XT swings out. I personally like the swing down feature, it gives me plenty of room to open the rear of the LR3. Either one is nice. I have only carried 3 bikes but it did seem like there would be enough room for another one. The racks come with an integrated locking cable to snake through the bike frames and anti-sway devices. The rack also has a lock for the hitch. It felt very secure with 3 bikes loaded on it.

 

[schafari]

I went with the Yakima Fullswing 4. It works great and is extremely solid. It swings sideways completley out of the way. It swings to the side instead of down.

 

[Amir]

hello folks, its good to be back...

had an awsome drive and am still in cali and will stay for a while here.

rheudabaga, right before i left for my cross country (ny to cali), i bought the LR bike rack which i used to carry my bike along. i would recommend the LR one because of the simple fact that by design it provides more ground clearance once you put it on. IMHO, the whole tow hitch design is pretty bad in LR3 as the receiver (once installed) sits so damn low and close to the ground that you can easily hit the ground with it while driving over building entrances, exits, driveways, etc. with some steepness or inclines (And this vehicle is designed to be used offroad). So, the clearance was the main reason for me but as grommet said, its also very well made and sturdy and designed to carry four bikes. It comes with a lock that locks itself with the hitch receiver (and the hitch receiver itself has a lock that locks it to the truck) and once the bikes are on it, they also get locked with separate locks (two bikes per lock) and keys.

So I really had no problems with the rack during my entire 3 plus thousand miles trip while I enjoyed maintaining around 90 plus mph most of the time and once pushed my beloved HSE to even a bit over 120 mph (sorry, couldn't help it, the I-15 was straight for miles ahead and clear, and yes the air suspension does lower the truck and verifies that in the pictogram above 100 mph, as documented in the manual). However I do not recommend speeds like this with this rig at all which is needless to say. I mean, the conditions have to be perfect for you to be able push it that far. Windy conditions make it unpleasant to drive this thing at even moderately high speeds which is the case for pretty much all SUVs within the given class. But, I am a *****, and thats why i did it and thank God didn't have to pay any price.

 

[bohnhead]

hello folks, its good to be back...

... and once pushed my beloved HSE to even a bit over 120 mph (sorry, couldn't help it, the I-15 was straight for miles ahead and clear, and yes the air suspension does lower the truck and verifies that in the pictogram above 100 mph, as documented in the manual).

Hmmm, I've been over 100mph on many occassions and hadn't noticed the icon. Certainly couldn't notice the lowering. I'll have to pay more attention to the dash next time.

Regarding bike racks, I really like the racks (like the new Yakima) which you set the entire assembled bike into, wheels rest on the rack and an arm secures the bikes. These racks will accommodate any frame style, full suspension, downhill, road, tri,... Plus, gravity isn't your enemy. I've seen wheels fall off when bikes are suspended by the top tube. Yes, you can use bungies or whatever to secure the front wheels to ensure you don't lose them...

If you're going offroad, you will likely have more ground clearance with the LR or similar (top tube based) model.

BTW, although the receiver seems low, I really like that it's completely detachable such that you departure angle is as high as possible.

MTB-)