Most Popular Swagman for 2004 Subaru Outback Wagon

The Swagman XTC 2 bike platform carrier was mounted on a 2010 Subaru Outback equipped with a 2" receiver. I will also use the bike carrier on a 2008 Saturn Vue. Ordering from etrailer was straight forward, shipping was fast with continuous texts from etrailer as to shipping status. Impressive. The bike rack works perfect for my wife's extended wheel base-pedal forward Townie bike and my Giant Sequoia trail bike. Bike positioning is important, but not difficult. Retaining hooks ratchet into place easily, and rubber straps secure the wheels. The anti-rattle receiver mount with threaded locking hitch pin works well. No slop there. The only concern we have is the flexing of the receiver bar. With no bikes on board and the carrier arms in the vertical positing, you can watch the minor 'dancing' of the vertical members. Put 2 bikes on the carrier and you can see a little more wobble of the bikes. I suspect the receiver arm of the carrier needs to be sturdier to eliminate this movement. When you read the warranty, you will notice Swagman will void the warranty if the bikes are carried on a 5th wheel trailer or on a vehicle that is taken off road. That tells me they know the receiver arm needs beefing up. Oh well, it works for my interstate transport. I would recommend this carrier for normal day to day transport of 2 bikes.

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Delivery from etrailer was super fast and the price was very competetive. First the PROS: Basic assembly of this carrier was easy and quick. It does carry both our bikes within the width of the car (barely). The carrier is fairly light and attaches easily to the receiver. Mounting the bikes is easy. The latch release can be locked with small padlock, but I would lock both. The squared frame on my hybrid bike can be securely latched down with no marking. Now the CONS: Jiggly! My old Reese carrier was rock solid but this one really sways alot. The wheel carriers are not welded correctly and do not allow folding up to the latch point. Teeth on the hold down bar could be deeper. Getting our 2 bikes to sit within vehicle width took alot of initial finagling. Reflective surfaces were limited so i added my own tape for safety. Purchase of a bike post quick clamp was necessary to fit the 2 bikes on the carrier. And did i say jiggly! Oh, yeah. I don't know how long the rubber wheel straps or the hold down teeth will hold up. I can live with it not folding up as i use the rubber stap to grab the other side wheel hoop. ( i did call e-trailer support about this issue, CSR asked politely if i put it together correctly. Yes, i’m an engineer of 37 years senority). But the jiggling about really bothers me, and evidently, drivers behind as they do not tailgate anymore. So the jury is still out on the value of this product.

I recently ordered from Etrailer a two bicycle hitch rack for our 2017 Subaru Outback. The bike rack arrived promptly. The quality of the mount and ease of assembly exceeded my expectations and can also be easily adapted to our 2007 Yukon. I would like to also thank David the Customer Service Representative who answered my question about the unit during the ordering process. Great job Etrailer!

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Just completed my installation of the Swagman bike rack, took my daughter’s and my bike to the park and had a great time. Very easy to use.

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Used our Swagman Chinook 2 bike platform for the first time today. My wife and I really like it. Drove about 60 miles to a rail trail at a state park. Easy to load and unload, travels well on the highway and secondary roads. Love the ability to tilt the rack with the bikes on for easy access to the rear door of our Subaru Outback. It appears to be a very well made carrier. It does weigh almost 50 lbs, and that is our only complaint.

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Fast shipping and just right fit

Rack is very sturdy and heavy duty. Instructions were terrible. Locking hitch pin would not thread correctly and ended up damaging it. Thankfully the threads on rack were fine and I was able to use the non-locking threaded pin. Would like a replacement locking pin ASAP

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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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Solid craftsmanship. Bikes are secure, easy placement in holders. Nice option of pulling a pin, allowing carrier to tilt, to access hatchback of a Subaru Outback wagon. Slight "side to side" movement when driving down the road however; maintains solid attachment to trailer hitch.

Just installed the rack & took the bike on a little ride... all worked great! Installation instructions could have been a little bit clearer, but I've seen worse.

Goes together quickly, appears that it will fit my needs in terms of being cross-compatible on a variety of vehicles. Fit on a Subaru Outback factory crossbar and transported bike locally with no issues when I got it out to set up and test (not quite warm enough to ride much yet where I live). Instructions are not super, but the assembly is pretty straightforward so that is not a problem. At the price point, if this rack indeed holds up to swapping onto multiple vehicles and lasts me a few years, I'll be thrilled with the purchase.

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The rack was pretty much as should be expected at this price point. It works, but not great quality. For one, the paint easily chips off. Another, the rails are a bit flimsy and twist when you tighten the rear wheel firmly. The directions don't explain a number of small items (which make for a better installation) such as make sure the lever is positioned on the outside for easier installation of the bike, why is there one different bolt, whether the bikes should be mounted forward, backward or it doesn't matter, the rails have a right (and less right) way of going together, the strap for the rear tire "will" fall off of the rack if you forget to reinsert it after taking the bike off of the car. Despite these shortcomings, the rack works well at an inexpensive price...I think a pretty good value