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This simple 4-bike rack is perfect for families who enjoy the occasional bike trip. The masts fold down so you can easily access your rear cargo area with your bikes unloaded and it includes locks for bikes and rack.
Features:
Specs:
The XTC4's mast has a pair of ratcheting hooks that hold your bikes securely by the top tube. And because they move independently, you can carry bikes of different shapes and sizes. The hooks have soft padding that won't scratch or scuff your bike's paint.
The rack has wheel hoops that provide a stable base for mounting your bikes. Each hoop has a hand knob that lets you easily slide it along the tray to accommodate your bike's wheelbase. It also includes a rubber strap on each hoop that secures your bike's wheels to the rack. If you need to carry fat bikes, there are hoops (sold separately) that let you carry bikes with tires up to 5" wide.
You can fold the masts down for access to your rear cargo area. Just pull the spring-loaded release lever at the base of each mast and fold them down. You can also fold the rack up against your vehicle for storage. Pull the pin at the base of the rack, fold it up against your vehicle, and reinsert the pin in the hole at the bottom of the rack.
A braided-steel cable lock secures your bikes to the rack. It has a vinyl coating that protects your bikes from scratches and scuffs. There is also a keyed-alike locking hitch pin that secures the rack to your vehicle. The hitch pin works with a built-in anti-wobble device in the shank to eliminate rattle in the hitch receiver during transport.
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Average Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (249 Customer Reviews)
This simple 4-bike rack is perfect for families who enjoy the occasional bike trip. The masts fold down so you can easily access your rear cargo area with your bikes unloaded and it includes locks for bikes and rack.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.
Loads and unloads bikes super fast, and holds them firm. Wish I would have purchased this a long time ago instead of struggling with my old frame mount rack. I actually ride more because I don't dread having to load.
Adjusts to different bikes easily. Time will tell if the fittings, springs, straps hold up to weather (I leave it on car). It is fairly large and heavier than the more expensive 4 bike racks (it's mostly steel vs. composite plastic), so if you are going to take it off hitch and store it - be prepared. Only recommendation I have is to add softer foam on the frame bar for traveling on rough roads.
Clayton
9/9/2015
The rack works well. Use it often. 4 bikes is key.Since I dont leave it on the hitch, my only issue with it is the weight when taking it on and off. But I knew that going in, and was working to a price point, which precluded lighter manufacturers.
I love my Swagman XTC4 4-Bike Rack. Very simple to put together. In less than an hour you are done. The quality and finish of the rack is superb. You can put different size bikes from children to adult without a problem. Bikes are secure, I have driven at highway speeds without any concern at all. I had a two pole hanging type bike rack before this one and the bikes were getting scratched and I was always concerned of them falling off. The swagman bike rack folds away nicely when not in use and it fits perfectly on my 2005 Honda pilot. You will not be disappointed. I highly recommend this product.
Den
7/28/2015
The best Bike Rack I ever purchase.
I can't believe how quickly I received the bike rack. I ordered it on Monday and got an email Monday that it was shipping. The package arrived at my house on Wednesday; 2 days! I put it together today and installed it to check it out. Easy assembly especially after reading assembly comments and suggestions online while I was shopping. Best advice was to put it on the vehicle before assembling the remaining parts as the vehicle becomes your second set of hands to hold it. I think this will be perfect for our set of mountain, ladies, and kids BMX style bikes as it was tough to load all the different types on my last hanging rack.
Dan M.
6/12/2014
Ive used the rack for both trips around town as well as 2 day trips to and from the mountains. Its really solid and holds the bike securely so I dont worry about them at all. Folds up easily when the bikes are removed and then easy to relower when needed again.Really, the only downside is the weight when putting it on the vehicle and taking it off. Its still a one person job and the strength of the unit is worth that. I knew that from other purchaser comments so its something I decided was worth it for the quality of the rack.
Bought this bike rack on sale during Memorial Day weekend. Reviews have always seemed good. So I jumped at the chance to buy a quality 4 place platform bike rack [on sale]. However it took a long time to get as the company (Swagman) shutdown during the Covid shutdowns. I finally received it early July. Very well built, solid bike rack. I used it on our western trip to Colorado. Bikes stayed tight and did not loosen up the entire trip both ways! I didn’t worry after I seen they were still solid at the first fuel stop. Love the ratcheting frame holding clamps. I did have to purchase the fat tire hoops for my sons bike. And they too were well made. Love that the rack comes with a cable and lock to lock the bikes and rack to the vehicle. I highly recommend this rack.
It’s only down fall is that you can’t open the tailgate with bikes on it. But for the $$$ I can overlook that. It does fold up and out of the way for driving without bikes.
Only a couple of negatives.....it is a heavy rack (which is a good thing). And also bulky which can make it hard to store for some people. It does stick out rather far, approx 4ft. I put some reflective tape on the end supports for people to see. And you cannot access the rear tailgate area (see above).
I had a 4 bike hanging rack for many years. Never realized how much I hated that until I used this one. No damage to the bikes. They don’t bounce around. Just an all around better way to haul bikes.
We bought this rack to carry 4 bikes behind our motorhome. The Rack is not difficult to assemble and seems sturdy. It fits all of our bikes well even with one fat tire bike. The rack comes with a security cable that loops through the bike frames and then locks onto the locked hitch pin bolt. It all seems pretty secure and not too difficult to lock and unlock. My big complaint is with the hitch pin bolt. It is a shiny chrome finish and looks nice, but it didn't work well with my rack. The locking hitch pin was difficult to thread in by hand and seemed too tight. I mounted it on our motorhome and the pin bolt was difficult to get in. I moved the rack to our van and was unable to get the pin to work. It was difficult threading in again and tightened about half way and then stopped. I tried taking it back off and it locked up completely. I had to use an impact to get it off. I am not sure why the threads were so easily damaged. The pin is shiny but I wonder how hard it is. I am contacting support for another hitch pin.
The Swagman XTC4 looks to meet my needs very well. The assembly instructions included with the Swagman XTC4 are a little sketchy but the staff at Etrailer were outstanding. I have not experienced customer service from any retailer that matched the customer service I experienced at Etrailer.
This is a great bike rack. A few friends have more expensive One-up, Thule, and Yakima racks but this one seems to work just as well if not better. It's heavy but I can handle it. I have used it on the back of my motorhome on a couple trips from NorCal to SoCal. It was also on the back of my Jeep while I towed the Jeep and had the Jeep on a trailer. I even went off road with the Jeep with the bikes on the back, they did great. With so much blockage of the lights I also added a little red LED light powered by a 9V battery to help add some illumination to the bike rack for night driving. I don't want anybody smashing into $5k worth of bicycles.
Mike
11/10/2022
Thumbs up!
I really enjoy this rack for our four bikes. It is easy enough to work with and offers the security I was looking for. It is not so easy to store once removed, but I knew that in advance and felt this was the right rack for my price point. Overall I am very satisfied.
This bike rack is very solid and holds the bike very securely; not rattles, no wobbles, no scuffed bikes. It is a bit of a puzzle trying to get four bikes on the rack the first couple times but it is getting easier with practice. I have two adult bikes and two children's bikes which pretty much run the gamut on sizes and the rack holds the smallest just as well as the largest. As has always been my experience, the customer service from etrailer was extremely fast.
Mike W.
10/21/2013
Just some kudos to Etrailer and Swagman: somehow the folding pin in my unit got a slight bend in it. After searching for a replacement pin locally in vain, I contacted Etrailer. Tamara responded immediately to my request, but couldnt locate the exact part. So she forwarded on my request to Swagmans home office. Dave at Swagman got right back to me, identified the exact part and sent out a replacement, no charge. He was quite surprised to learn the folding pin had failed. Needless to say, working with Etrailer and Swagman has been greatthey stand behind their products with AMAZING service!!!
I finally got tired of messing with my hanging rack. It was built for 4 bikes but could only hold 3. I recommended to a friend to buy a platform rack if he ever got one. He got a Thule. It was nice but twice as expensive as this one. I just got my XTC4 last week and took it fully loaded 300 miles. The 4 bikes, which were all different sizes all fit, didn't move or rattle, and didn't touch each other. It took awhile to find the proper positions for all the bikes but now loading and unloading is a snap. This thing is solid. Just make sure to assemble it on the hitch. Makes it a lot easier.
We are using it for 2 to 4 bikes and it works great!
It is built very well. It is heavy when installing it.
Ronald
8/17/2023
The bike rack is working out great after a year of use. We take it off the Toyota 4Runner when not using it.
The other reviews were very fair. The rack is sturdy so the trade off is that it’s pretty heavy. I’m ok with it but my wife won’t be able to swap it between the CR-V and Ascent. The instructions leave a lot to be desired but you get the hang of it fast enough through trial and error. It took me an hour to assemble and another hour to mount it to the hitch, adjust the hoops for each of our bikes, and get everything dialed in. PLENTY of clearance backing out of the driveway which was a nice little surprise. I’m adding a picture to confirm that a beginner bike, cruiser, and hybrid mountain all fit just fine.
We've used this bike rack with our '14 Sienna for over a year now and it works wonderfully. I especially appreciate the way the rack folds against the back of the van when not in use. After many hours of research before making this purchase, I could not be more happy with this rack.
Erik
4/28/2022
Still fantastic!
As our family has grown, so have our bikes. We needed an upgrade from our frame mount rack. The XTC4 was an easy decision based on the many product reviews and some careful research. First, shipping was amazing! I ordered it on a Monday, and it was at my door the next day. Assembly took about an hour. Setting up and adjusting for four bikes took about another hour to make sure all bikes would go on and off the same way each time. It fits our fleet of mountain bikes nearly perfectly. It also fits behind our 2012 Honda pilot with room to spare when folded upright. Great product, awesome shipping!
This is a great hitch. The installation was easy and the unit fits nicely on the back of the vehicle. I would recommend it for anyone wanting to carry more than two bikes. It is a bit heavy. The piece that fits into the reciever on the hitch is a bit short.
The platform looks really good on the car. Easy to assemble but will require an extension to Your hex key so keep that in mind. Very quiet and practically no rattle sound or any unwanted movement. Bikes do look very secure and do not move at all. Very good product for the price.
This rack really isn't very well made. Cumbersome to mount bikes - particularly behind the vertical posts, showing rust within a couple of weeks of ownership, doesn't fold up all the way depending on car geometry (folded all the way on one car but not the other), wobbles significantly while driving. 4-bike hitch racks are expensive and this one is pretty reasonably priced, but you get what you pay for. We returned and bought a different model from a more reputable manufacturer and are happy with that purchase. etrailer was very accommodating with the return.
Very sturdy bike rack. Bikes don't move at all. Takes some time to put together. Directions are horrible.
Very happy with this purchase. Recommend taking some pictures after you have the bikes on. Took some time
To get all four bikes on( puzzle) with the pedals
And different size bikes.
I needed a new rack to accommodate the variety of bikes in my household. Not only does this bike rack work for kid and adult bikes, but it is rock solid! Expressway through to curvy gravel roads, there was little movement of the bikes while driving.
Bought the Draw-Tite trailer hits together with the Swagman XTC4 4-bike rack. Bought based on reviews on e-trailer and other sites that this is a sturdy and good-working combination for carrying 4 bikes.
* Delivery: Fast (<5 days)
* Packaging: Package had holes, which is not unusual as the box with the hitch has a lot of empty spaces. Others had same issue, but nothing to worry about. The hitch cannot really break easily and the hardware is safely stored in the 2inch receiver.
* Installation: Very nice video instructions on etrailer. Installation really can use two people, but it's fairly easy with two people. Had some problems with one of the nine screws to bite although I did a try run before mounting the hitch. Worked after some minutes of wiggling the hitch so that the screw got the correct angle to bite.
* Usage: Installed the day of delivery and used it the next day. It's the first time I used a trailer hitch and for sure the first time I used to carry 4 bikes. Stopped looking in the rear-view mirror after 1 minutes seeing that it's barely moving at all. So with a limited use so far I can confirm other's reviews of this combination and I think it works great. Recommended.
After one year: The rubber straps have started breaking down. It is difficult for one person to put in to place. But it is sturdy and has seen our family through mountain bike racing season.
So much better than hanging racks (have lost bikes because of those). This is very sturdy. Initial setup takes a bit of time, as does configuring the bikes the first few times. Once you get it down, this thing is rock solid. Best rack I have owned.
Have only had a short time, but so far I am pleased with this rack. Two observations just as a heads-up to potential buyers, not as criticisms: 1) It is quite heavy - but I expected that with a 4-bike rack. I can get it into and out of the hitch on my vehicle solo but I can imagine that it could be challenging as a one-person job for some. 2) It was definitely a some-assembly required item - but the directions that came with it were clear and the assembly was pretty straightforward.
As far as loading bikes on the rack, after initial sizing adjustments for your particular bikes, it is a breeze to load and unload bikes - much less work than my hang-from-frame type hitch-mounted racks that I've owned previously or remove-front-wheel/car-top type racks. Bikes seem secure and stable when driving.
I haven't had mine fully loaded with four bikes of various adult and kid sizes and gone on a long road trip yet, but my experience with a couple of bikes at a time on 50-mile-ish trips leads me to think this rack will do the job well.
Jeff
7/5/2019
Still a solid rack 1 year in - allows me to haul a variety of different bikes everyone in my family of four has a different size, I have more than one and adjust things pretty quickly and easily to fit the different bikes.
Our Swagman XTC4 hitch bike rack works very well, but compared to our previous bike racks, it is extremely heavy and difficult to take on and off the vehicle. As such, my wife is unable to use the rack when I'm not around. It is too large to leave on the vehicle all the time, so unfortunately, we have not used it near as much as we had hoped to. Additionally, the clamps that hold the frame down rub on the frame during long trips, so we learned the hard way that you need to put some type of pad (towel, rag, etc) between the clamp and the bike frame to keep from rubbing off the paint on your bike. The assembly instructions that came with the bike rack were extremely difficult to use, so we ended up figuring it out on our own, after much trial and error. They need to significantly update their assembly instructions! We are in the process of evaluating other bike racks to see what else will meet our needs.
Mike L.
9/13/2018
From what Swagman tells us, if theres an issue with the frame hooks causing wear on the bikes frame, its typically caused by the hooks being pushed down too hard. The wheel straps do the majority of the job of keeping the bikes on the rack, the frame hooks are used to keep the bikes upright. The hooks only need to be pushed down far enough to touch the bike frame, and no farther than that.
John
1/25/2020
Not good! Weve taken it off of our vehicle and are looking at other brands that are easier to use, weigh less and arent so big and bulky.
Tyler M.
2/5/2020
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Condition: Like New
Notes: May have damaged packaging or minor cosmetic blemishes.
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Mg
6/6/2015
This is an awesome bike rack. At 52 and 115 pounds I can load and unload the bikes myself.That said, even with a lock on the rack securing it to the hitch, someone stole the rack off the back of our car over night. Just wanted to warn the rest of you as I order another.