MaxxHaul 70210 Hitch Mount Bike Rack 4-Bike Rack, Black For Cars Trucks SUV's Minivans, Large

I previously tried to use one of the "universal" style bike racks that will fit a passenger car or an SUV and didn't even begin to trust it to drive across town, much less on the long trips I was going on. I bought this in preparation for an out-of-state camping trip to the mountains my girlfriend and I were going on, and it arrived on time as advertised. Assembly was very easy and took maybe 15 minutes total with a few basic hand tools (allen keys, socket set, and wrenches). I have an extra trailer wiring harness and I may see about wiring a brake light up to attach to the flat plate on the end rather than just having a red reflector on it. I've driven over 1400 miles in two weeks with the bike rack on my 4Runner and had zero issues of any kind, with and without bikes on the rack. I'd say my road time was split 80% highway (70-90mph), 15% twisty mountain roads (lots of up and down hill, sharp curves, braking and acceleration), and 5% off-road driving, and the bikes didn't move around in the rack at all. The wheels or handlebars of either bike never contacted my vehicle, either, and during the trip I secured them in every one of the four slots, just to make sure (my bike has 28" wheels and hers has 26" I believe). You may have to remove water bottle attachments though, my Bontrager bottle cage barely fit on the rack (I never use it anyways, so I removed it when we got home, no big deal).The mounts that the bikes sit in are VERY secure and attach to the rack itself with crush washers and lock nuts. The velcro straps that wrap around the bike frame seem to be of good quality and absolutely hold the bikes 100% still. The vertical portion of the rack folds down with the pull of the hinge pin to about a 45 degree angle to allow you to open your rear door/hatch with ease, and mine cleared it with ample room to spare. This was great when it came time to unload the car at our camping destination and for loading it back up to head home again.I only found a few "negatives" during the assembly and use of this bike rack, but none of them were enough of a problem to distract from the rating based on things that actually mattered to me. The first was that some of the nuts that went with the actual bike holders (which attach to the rack itself) were metric and the bolt heads were standard/SAE. This wasn't a big deal, just a bit of an annoyance.The second downside is that the top hinge pin (which allows the part of the rack the bikes sit on to fold down so it doesn't stick out two feet behind your vehicle) will only insert into the vertical part of the rack from the left side when the rack is folded. When the rack is extended out to the rear, it will fit from the right side. Again, just an annoyance, nothing that would affect the usability.The third is there is some play in the fit between the mount and my hitch receiver. When there is no load (bike) on the rack and you move it by hand, it seems very loose. I didn't notice any noise or movement while driving with the rack on my vehicle, whether empty or with bikes loaded.The fourth downside is it seems like the receiver pin that holds the mount into the hitch receiver itself is a smaller size than the one for my regular 2" ball hitch mount. When I assembled it and put the rack into the receiver, the regular pin wouldn't go through. I haven't removed it to compare them yet though, so I could be incorrect and maybe just had a bad angle on it.Overall, I absolutely recommend this rack. I was blown away at the quality of the product for the price (seems like a comparable rack would cost $100-200+ at a bike shop or other online stores) and I've had nothing but good luck with it thus far with quite a bit of drive time over varied terrain. Buy with confidence!

Could be better, but it's already pretty good.It does what it says surprisingly well and it's easy to put together with no instructions.As for things I would improve there are a few but not major, or at least they would probably matter more to me than to others.1-longer bike Velcro straps. I have a very wide bike frame so I had to use my own Velcro straps. Kinda sucks, whatever. Works fine for typical bikes with what's included.2-the extra features like changing positions of the rack are not super easy, you have to pull out a pin, then wiggle the whole device until the long bolts slide out. It can take around 20-30 seconds so it's still a rapid change just not quick enough imo. At least it's sturdy.3-better security would be nice. The mounting holes for the hitch rack are non-standard usually you have the typical 1/2" and 5/8" or whatever on a hitch. Those hole sizes can offer security with a lock.I have a hitch lock that has the typical two hitch hole sizes I could have used if the rack followed those standards, but unfortunately the holes on the rack are smaller and feature a screw able bolt and instead.If you want that added security you will have to drill a corresponding hole into your bike rack to accommodate a hitch lock. This is something I would highly recommend for those long trips with bikes on the back if you plan on parking at a hotel and leaving bikes outside locked with an expensive high carbon strength steel chain wrapped around your hitch and bikes....which is what I'd do. Beats carrying them up the stairs. Don't forget to store the seat in the car.There is an Italian brand with 12mm square steel links for a chain that is virtually impossible to break into with industrial snippers. Very expensive. I would personally go with equal strength rounded links of towing chain with cheaper Chinese brand.You'd need a loud rotary tool to cut through either chain rapidly. Or a manual handsaw with a good blade and a lot of time to cut through. Time which a thief does not have. And can't risk the noise.So yeah...I park my car in odd locations sometimes so security is a must for me. At Mexico/us border I often have to leave the vehicle unattended for an hour or two around people I don't trust. Security always a must.

Reasonable bike carrier. Relatively easy to put together, however it was missing one bolt and nut for the bike bracket, which denotes poor quality control. Made of beefy steel, should last a long time with proper care like washing if it gets muddy, etc.