Best Ford Expedition Bike Racks

The good: I like the way the bikes are held in and the ability to add the upright adapters to the bike frame holders. The straps are quality too. For a jeep with a spare tire, this is the perfect length to clear it. This rack is 5 stars from the bike holders to the base of it. The bad: the 2"receiver adapter and bolt are insufficient. I wish they made this in a solid 2" hitch. The entire setup is held into the receiver by a very short bolt. It only goes about half way into the receiver tube. So your hitch is only "secured" on one side. A hitch pin or bolt should go through the receiver tube completely imo so it can be secured on the other end with a retaining clip or nut. Because this only goes in the one side, the entire weight of the rack plus bikes are held tight to one side of the receiver by the undersized bolt and washer. A few bumps down the road and that bolt loosens. Now instead of distibuting the weight of the rack and bikes on the receiver and post, it's completely up to the bolt to keep you from losing the rack. The bolt threads get damaged too. I took this down a dirt road and nearly lost everything. I had to buy my own bolt with hd fender washers and lock washers to correct this. Thule should've provided this from the start. The current short bolt design where only one side of the receiver secures the rack is unacceptable. This rack is 1 star at best for the connection to the receiver.

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Hitch pin broke before I got it. Looks like a poor design for the locking pin, they might want to consider a different design. I got a 3/8 shear pin from Home Depot to replace and it works great. Bike rack is great!

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Planning on bringing bikes while camping. I mounted 2 of the Swagman bike racks to my new Sportrack on my pop-up camper. The bikes fit perfectly. The racks seem sturdy enough. Not heavy duty, but for my needs they should be fine. Assembly was relatively fast and easy.

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We have used the Swagman Roof Rack a number of times when we have needed the additional bike carrying capacity. It took a couple attempts to get the initial spacing of the bike rack properly balanced on the van’s roof rack as recommended by the instructions. But it was easy to do and once set was very easy and quick to put on and take off. The rack works great, the bike is easy to put into place and secure. The bike and rack are very stable and quiet and haven’t required any mid-trip adjustments. We always put the cheapest bike on the roof (lol) but do use a bit of duct tape to protect the finish just Incase. We are very satisfied with the rack and consider it quite a deal for the money.

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First-time rack buyer / owner / installer. The rack arrived in a timely fashion, maybe a day or 2 ahead of schedule. It was well packaged. I’m LOVING this bike rack. It was easy to put together and to mount on my new Honda Passport. Thus far, no squeaks in my 2” receiver. Hardest part of initial set-up is figuring out the best way to position two bikes. Trial & error and some patience. The directions weren’t clear as to where the 2 left-over screws went. I found the answer in another review and have posted a pic in case others have the same problem (photo with pen pointing at screw). These screws go in the underneath side of both of the folding arms. They appear to keep the wheel wells from sliding off in case in you drive with an empty, un-folded rack, and forgot to tighten down the wheel wells. The folding arm push / pull pins can be difficult at times. I coated the tips with some lube. That and a little jiggling seems to solve that issue. I guess it’s better for the pins to be snug vs popping right out. I added a small Master lock to the hitch pin (in lieu of the provided cotter pin) as a theft deterrent. I read that a 3/16 shackle lock will fit into the bike clamp down arms to also act as a deterrent. I had an old 3/16 lock that did snugly fit and appeared to be locked. HOWEVER, I yanked on the lock and it came open as there isn’t quite enough clearance for the shackle to lock. I discovered that longer 3/16 shackle locks are hard to find. Have attached a photo of the lock that actually fits and works (Ace Hardware). One lock on the upper clamp down arm will secure both arms as the lower arm can’t be removed without removing the upper arm. The clamp down arms appear to be coated to prevent damage to your bike. I’ve tried a simple rag and ultimately settled on pool noodle pieces as a precautionary measure. I CAN NOT open my tailgate (regardless of whether or not the rack is fold up and in the bike carry position). If that’s a concern for you, then spring for the more costly titling version. My back-up camera still functions.

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The Swagman XTC-2 platform bike carrier arrived very quickly from etrailer and in good shape, the actual carrier box is inside another shipper box, which I'm sure helped with its condition. Assembly was relatively quick and painless, even though the instructions could be a little more thorough. Installing the carrier on the back of our Jeep Patriot also was quick, it helps to have an extra ratchet & 3/4" socket laying around for just this purpose. Installing the bikes takes a little patience and trial and error the first time you try and put them on the carrier. It's easy enough to adjust the wheel holders to fit the wheelbase of your bikes, but for us at least, the challenge was trying to swing the vertical support bar up into position after putting on the first bike (closest to the Jeep). We couldn't angle the bike enough toward the Jeep to have the bar clear the bike. We learned that the easiest way to secure the first bike was to remove the ratcheting frame hooks altogether, put the bike in the carrier, swing up the vertical support bar, put in the pin, and then slide one of the frame hooks down on the bar. The outside bike is much easier because you can set the bike in the carrier at whatever angle you need, not being limited by the back of the vehicle. One thing we did to protect the bike frames was to use some foam pipe insulation as cushion between the frame hook and the frame (see pictures). Once you get a system for installing the bikes, it is very quick to load/unload them. The rack seems to be well made and doesn't wiggle excessively when traveling. All in all a good product for a good price, would definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a platform bike carrier.

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So far I’ve just assembled it and took a quick test drive around the block. My initial thought is this thing is perfect. It’s super sturdy and easy to use. My only gripe and it’s not fault of the rack, but it’s heavy…

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If you've done any research or read any of the other comments on either this rack, or this seller...rest assured they really are as good as everyone says! I ordered my rack on around 4pm est on a Friday afternoon and within an hour I received an email that said they have shipped my product AND upgraded to priority shipping. Can't say enough positive things about the customer service! When the rack arrived, it took me a little over half an hour to get it set up. Probably would e been faster if I were even slightly mechanically inclined (or if didn't I didn't have to borrow a socket wrench from my neighbor). We finally had an opportunity to load up the bikes and head out for a ride today. As others have said, the first time you load up your bikes, it's kind of like a puzzle to get them situated. Took about 15 minutes. This rack is awesome! Very sturdy and the bikes were very secure. Only racks I have had in the past were rooftop fork mount racks. This is so much easier! On e we got to the trail (over an hour drive) getting the bikes off was a piece of cake. Afterwards, it was time to load them back up and it was less than 5 minutes to get them all on and ready to hit the road. There were other 4-bike racks on the website, but this one had enough great reviews that I felt comfortable making the purchase. After the fact, I'm very glad I did! I can't imagine the $800 rack can be that much better than this, and I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a 4-bike platform rack. I will definitely recommend this rack and etrailer.com to everyone I know.

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Check out my other review on the hidden hitch for a 2015 BMW 4 Series for the majority of the review, but this thing is great. Easy setup and install, does all the things it's supposed to do. Mounting and removing bikes is a snap with the included clips (big difference from some of the cheaper variants with nylon ratchet straps). Fits very snugly in my 2" receiver, and pretty solid on the highway and over bumpy roads.

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The rack itself is fantastic. Not too heavy, easy to attach to hitch, and very easy setup. The only real downside is if your bicycles don't have a standard frame, you'll need to buy the Yakima Tube Top Bike Adapter Bars (~$50 each) in order to be able to mount them on the rack. I will say that smaller bikes (for my 9 year old) can be a challenge to mount with larger bikes as you'll need to finagle the handle bars and such to get them to line up but once you do it a few times you figure it out.

My Kuat NV 2. Bike Rack is the best bike rack I have ever owned. It is excellent for electric bikes. Very easy to load bikes and holds bikes very securely.

This bike rack is built extremely good. It is solid and the bikes are easy to put on and off the rack. The reason for the 3 stars are the following. I purchased the 4 bike rack together. It comes in two seperate boxes one for the main unit and the other for the additonal two bike add on. However, even purchasing this as one unit the two units are keyed different. If I have 4 bikes on the rack and lock the bikes I have to have two different keys to unlock the bikes. Why? The main unit came with some scratches on it. However, I know that putting bikes on and off the unit will get scratched. It is disappointing to see the amount of money this bike rack cost to come already scratched. The other major issue with having the four bike rack is the ability to have all 4 bikes on the rack and tilt the rack down to get into the hatch of the vehilce. The manufacture could provide an extention to the lever so that when the rack is setup for 4 bikes it can be tilted without the assistance of another person. Only comes with two child bike adaptors.

WOW WOW WOW That is what I just kept saying after installing this Saris bike rack. I have been looking for a bike rack for almost 3-4 months now. Thule and Yakima didn't have what I was looking for. Their solution for a 4-5 bike rack is too complicated, not efficient, and it would be a nightmare to manage on a regular basis. So I couldn't get myself to pull a trigger on any of those and I kept searching. Finally, I came to eTrailer and found out about Saris. That is where the love starts :) We are a family of 5 (3 kids and 2 grown-ups). I needed something that will help me load bikes fast, unload them and still be able to have access to the back of my Toyota Sequoia. Saris delivered in every way. Assemble of the item is straight forward. Instructions are clear and to the point. They even give you a yellow strip that helps you mark where the hitch needs to be in order to align hole openings for easier installation after you install it the first time ;) The back-up camera is still usable but not 100%. Tilting down the rack with the bikes on it is simple as 1-2-3. There is plenty of room left between the trunk door and the bike as you can see on the pictures. One HUGE benefit is that you do not need any extra parts for kids bikes. Not like with other brands. Saris delivers tremendously on this part too. No shaking, rattling, or anything that would make you notice that you have this amazing product on the back of your SUV/truck. I can't recommend it more. I am just surprised that this product has not been more advertised and represented compared to other products.

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this thing is a beast. while i haven't used it as much as i thought i would, i'm really happy with the quality of the rack. would def recommend to others looking for a 4 bike rack.

When I ordered this rack, I was thinking " Wow, this is a lot of money for a bike rack." Now that its assembled and I loaded it with 4 bike's (don't ask me what the bike's cost) I'm thinking "Wow, this is a lot of bike rack for the money". Awesome product and customer service.

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This rack definitely has some pros and cons (as do most racks). A minor frustration is that despite ordering the rack and add-on at the same time, the keys don’t match so if locking three or more bikes you need two different keys (this has only really irritated me when it was raining). As other reviewers have mentioned, this thing is heavy. Neither my wife nor kids can lift it to put it on or get it off the car by themselves. The downside is that given the size of the rack it is not real convenient to just leave it on the car. When the rack is in the up position, it is impossible to get in the back so it is necessary to lower the rack each time you want to get in. The other downside is that the rack significantly cuts down on visibility when backing up. All that being said, the rack is rock solid and the bikes are very secure. The rack is great for extended trips. When loaded and tipped down, it is great to be able to open and access the back. The spacing of the bikes is great and I don’t have to spend 15 minutes figuring out how to slide four bikes in just the right spot to make them all fit as I did with my old rack. Best of all the bikes are only sustaining damage on the trail, not on the back of the car! Despite some minor annoyances, I highly recommend this rack. As for assembly, my 13 year old put it together by himself in about 20 minutes (I promised him i would include that fact).

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Unit doesn't fit a Jeep Rubicon with a spare tire. I tried 4 times and contacted etrailer.com that the unit doesn't work as sold and they offered to sell me a 7 3/4 extension and reduce the load capacity 50%. The length of the 2" hitch needs to be 3" longer for a standard Rubicon to get past the spare. You not going to want to take your spare tire off for the hitch to work. It defeats the purpose. Customer service was excellent, however the product is a flawed design. Can't recommend this hitch. Its also heavy.

Solid rack for half the price of the name brands. Don’t waste your money! Thanks to the extensive reviews on etrailer and a free shipping promotion I took a chance and ordered this along with the three of their crossbars, anti rattle hitch pin and cable lock. All for well less than the name brand rack alone. Shipping was painful. Etrailer said it was in stock but then due to a delay with the manufacturer it took 35 days from order to arrival. I wasn’t in a hurry so I waited patiently, and etrailer reps emailed often to lmk they hadn’t forgotten. I thought some kind of reward for my extreme patience was in order- discount, gift card, free bag of chips- but they politely declined. Oh well. In the end it arrived when they (eventually) said it would, all in one box, in great shape. The rack was super easy to assemble. You’ll need a ratchet or two and you’ll need to crank those bolts to assemble- they don’t just “insert.” But otherwise it’s only a few steps; I had mine hanging on my truck in probably 15 minutes. Swings away and locks smoothly and requires no effort to do so. Everything feels quite sturdy and well made. No rattle on initial test drive either. This will be a once in a while rack at best for our family of four. We have two SUVs so I needed a rack that could get out of the way of the rear hatch WITH bikes on it. This will do that. And now I don’t need to stuff four dirty bikes into the back of my truck, getting them all tangled and scratched!

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Fits perfectly on our Lexus CT200h. Only on the old LS400, the side straps have to be fastened to the wheel arch edge, since the upper trunklid gap is to narrow for inserting the strap hooks. Mounting of two bikes is (with some routine) quickly done, and they stay safe even for longer and faster routes. For transporting three (mountain) bikes, though, the design doesn't seem big and robust enough. Nevertheless, the price-benefit-fun ratios are way better than reasonable.

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We are very pleased with the quality and ease of use for our like-new purchase. From the online shopping experience with etrailer.com through multiple outings already, this bike carrier more than meets our needs. Thank you!

I like the overall design of this rack, but unfortunately after hauling a couple bikes around for a while the point where the crossbar connects has apparently rounded off so the rack swings back and forth. I've used rope to tie the ends of the rack to the car to stop this from getting worse, but it's inconvenient. Note: the hitch connection itself is good and solid, but the point where the crossbar connects to the bar coming from the hitch has gotten loose and there's no way that I can see to tighten it.

It works great! Easy, quick, you know. One needs to screw in the hitch bolt, for some reason, before latching it. Other than that, it makes going bike riding way easier.

So, one year in, this works well for the price. I have successfully hauled around 5 bikes a couple times now including a couple vacations. Bikes got there securely despite 4+ hours of driving at interstate speeds, including one harrowing stretch on bumpy roads with 70 mph speed limits (wow Texas, seriously?) where the car got significant amounts of "air" at random intervals. Getting the bikes on and off is still a major pain. I had to buy the adapter for 3 womens/children's bikes. My own full size mountain bike barely fits on, too, the pitch between the bars seems a bit challenging and requires me to contort the bike dramatically to get it on and off. If you are trying to actually get 5 bikes on here, figuring out the bike handle tetris game is not easy. Will take you a bit. It still takes me ~15 min to load 5 bikes up every time. On short trips I sometimes skip the tiedown through all the bike wheels and it's fine, although I wouldn't do it for long trips. My biggest regret here is not buying one where the rack will pivot out to allow access to the rear minivan hitch with the bikes attached -- this means this is the last thing to pack in the car and the first thing you unpack, every time on vacation. It requires planning and forethought. The rack does fold down nicely which we used extensively on vacation once the bikes were unpacked, just don't drive around that way. On my Honda minivan the bottom of this sags a bit when fully loaded with bikes, to the extent I scrape hard every time exiting my slightly inclined driveway. We found a few other low spots along our way, from restaurants to other businesses, that resulted in similar cringe-inducing moments. We drove it on the beach quite a bit, after a healthy wash with the pressure washer there is some mild rusting where the handles rotate, but the rack is otherwise in good shape.

Bought several bike racks and trailer hitches from etrailer. They followed up to make sure all was good. I would highly recommend buying from them. Good people and they care about the customer!

The BEST bike carrier by far!! We are both in our 7th decade and even I alone (5’2” 120 lbs) can manage to attach this in my hitch without any issues. It’s so easy to load both our hybrid and e-bike and they are super secure. We love that it folds up small and wheels away when not in use. This bike carrier is worth every penny!!

This rack is perfect! eTrailer had it shipped and at my home in almost no time. I drove with it on the car today, and it was solid and secure. It's super easy to get on and off the hitch. I'm 5'1 and I was able to load the bike on with the ramp without a struggle. Thanks for the thorough video and comparison information. It made this purchase easy.

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