Thread: Bike Racks to attach to tow bar

Not for 3-4 but worth checking with them direct as low volume and may consider a special - but excellent quality and clearance for off road situations

iSi Advanced 4x4 Bicycle Carrier and Bike Rack Systems

Originally Posted by FifiLámour

Just wondering if any of you folk here can recommend a bike rack that will attach to the back of the D3 on the tow bar. We are wanting to carry (ideally) 4 bikes, but at a minimum 3.

Needs to be "girl friendly" .

Any recommendations?

Any we should avoid?

As always, many thanks in advance.

Hi Fifi, I have a 4 bike rack as per this link Pacific 4 Bike Carrier
It is very girl friendly, as once you have mounted the base plate onto your towbar, you only need to pull out 2 pins to remove the top section.
It does move around a little, but it is more so the movement of the towhitch rather than the rack itself.
Very handy to put bikes on and off as they hold in place via velcro straps.
Cheers, Craig

Thule make some excellent bike racks. Bit pricey though Thule Australia > Roof Racks + Roof Boxes + Bike & Ski Carriers

My major concern with a bike rack on the D3 is with how low the hitch sits and the potential for the overhanging bikes to hit the ground.

Originally Posted by Disco4SE

Hi Fifi, I have a 4 bike rack as per this link Pacific 4 Bike Carrier
It is very girl friendly, as once you have mounted the base plate onto your towbar, you only need to pull out 2 pins to remove the top section.
It does move around a little, but it is more so the movement of the towhitch rather than the rack itself.
Very handy to put bikes on and off as they hold in place via velcro straps.
Cheers, Craig

my girlfriend has the three bike version of this one......really good for two bikes, very tight for three top end MTB's

Thanks for your responses guys, will go check all of these out.

Fifi,

A mate of mine has a Thule carrier that hooks into/onto the tow hitch and type of drops down/pivots back and out of the way (even when loaded with 3-4 bikes) to allow access to the rear cargo area, however he recons it is heavy and probably not "girl friendly" to put on and off, but if you had someone put in on for you you could leave it for the day or days as needed it or were away and then got the same or different person (your choice) to take it off again. Note Thule is not cheap but is is really good kit.

I use the Thule roof rack ones, but these are not easy to use as the D3 is so tall it is a bit a struggle sometimes to put them up (even on access height), particularly when I have 3 or 4 up there, definitely not a job my wife would contemplate. There are small steps you can buy which work by fitting over the wheel and making one small step but you have to be able to and comfortable with lifting a bike over your head.

There are also a few that attach to the rear via staps and type of hook onto the rear door, often seen on smaller hatch backs etc, I see no reason these would not work. I think they are made by "Saris" try this link Saris Racks

Good luck, the iSi one looks bloody excellent particularly if you are going off road with bikes.

George

I decided on a Yakima SwingDaddy. It was a coin toss between that and the Thule Revolver. Both fit the standard 50mm hitch receiver and are completely lockable to the car with integrated cable lock for the bikes. Best feature is the swing to the side with all bikes attached for rear access. Oh yeah... handles up to 4 bikes.

We've got the Thule Revolver on our RRS and chose is because of the fact it easily swings away from the car allowing you to access the boot. It also had built in locking cables to secure the bikes. I'd certainly recommend this unit.