Best 2009 Toyota RAV4 Bike Racks

I bought this to replace the exact same rack I've had for about 7 years. The first Surco OSI Spare Tire Bike Rack became corroded after a time. I live in the northeast and left it on the car all year, so it's life expectancy could have been longer, but it was a "task" to remove it. It's definitely a hardy rack, but in reality it's a pain in the butt to use. It's the nature of the design. Also, it is designed to hold 3 bikes, but not without some cosmetic damage (at the very least) to the bikes. The only reason I bought it again is because it's the only feasible and reasonably priced bike rack for my 2003 Toyota RAV, which I've had for 13 years. I'm not going to replace the car right now, so I didn't have much of a choice. I only gave it 3 stars because I really don't like it, but it is a solid bike rack.

Works great on my old 2003 RAV4. Easy to install. Great service

I was excited to get this and eager to just pop it onto my spare tire like it shows in the video. 45 minutes later and I'm resigned to drilling an extra hole where the buttons are in order to tighten the hold over the tire, and chagrined that I had to "rear" my smaller bike frame angled upwards in order to seat it on the red rack receivers. This was because there wasn't enough room vertically on the frame or horizontally on the frame. Not sure how I would have been able to prepare for that, maybe there is some comment about smaller bike frames somewhere? One strap to secure the bikes is not enough in this situation, so things were strapped every which way, including the front tire of the bike so it wouldn't wobble everywhere. The bike and rack made it home for the maiden 60 mile highway trip, but I was not totally confident with it.

For the price, not bad. This bike rack is a simple design, that's easy to use, but doesn't seem very secure. I have used this on an older model Rav4, which means the bike or bikes are going to stick out more on one side of the vehicle. There seems to be a lot of movement when hitting potholes and bumps in the road. If you don't plan on using this rack often, don't want to spend a lot, this may be for you. Sufficient, but not very sturdy.

When together easily. Looks like what I wanted in a rack.

This is a tough and well designed bike rack. Things I like the most are the bikes get locked down very securely. The tire hoops prevent the wheels from moving at all (on freeway, over bumps, etc). There are no vibrations whosoever. You will forget you even have bikes on the back of your vehicle. One word of caution: be mindful of your hands when operating the sliding lock mechanisms. May want to wear work gloves to prevent pinching your fingers. They can also be a bit of a bear to break loose when you want to take your bikes down, especially if you are like me and lock your bikes down very tight. Pushing down on your bike when trying to loosen the slide locks seems to help though. Helps to have some muscle.

After buying a 2017 Toyota RAV 4 I was faced with the dilemma of a new bike rack that fit my car without destroying the spoiler on the back hatch. etrailer made it easy to find the correct rack for my car. This rack works perfectly for this car without doing damage to the spoiler. It is heavy duty and I have had so many comments about what a great bike rack it is from people who knew of my concerns about finding a rack for this car.

Since this rack is delivered completely assembled it was easy to install on my 2018 Rav4. As per the instructions, which are excellent, I set the hub to 4, and the upper strap does not put pressure on the spoiler. I attached the trunk security strap to the bottom of the rack, changed the bottom hook to the anchor position, and closed the trunk, then re-attached the strap to the rack. I haven't used the rack yet to go biking, but it is a solid, easy to use, nice looking rack. I recommend this product.

I was a little worried about the install, but the instructions are excellent, and the rack is well designed. It lets me carry my bikes with my teardrop camper on my 2009 Rav4. Great, quick, easy purchase and delivery from etrailer! Thanks for the fast free shipping - it saved the rest of my biking summer!

The product arrived within a few days. It was easy to install and works as advertised. One of the main reasons I purchased this model was from reading the product reviews and being confident it would fit my 2009 RAV4. Solid product from Thule. Holds 2 bikes easily and without movement or vibration. Can open my back door though not supposed to actually. Really great product.

5 stars

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Bike rack arrived fast, easy to assemble, looks sturdy. Won't be able to use it for a few weeks, but sure it will be fine.

I have a 2009 Toyota RAV 4 XLE. Ordered the hitch along with a Bike rack recommended by ETrailer... the Swagman XTC-2-2 (Part # S64670). The product arrived very quickly. I watched one of the several videos available for Toyota RAV 4 models 2007 and 2010. I did not have a torque wrench and was able to get one at Harbor Freight on sale. I got the largest 1/2 inch version they had and was glad I did as I appreciated the extra leverage needed to torque the hitch bolts down to the recommended setting. Installation once you have all of the right tools is a snap. If you are doing this at home, recommend you have a blanket or a rubber mat to set the hitch on before lifting it up to the frame as you may need a couple of tried to get it maneuvered into place. My wife helped me get the bolts started, once that was done, it was a breeze. I would note that my vehicle had black circular tape over the bolt holes that needed to be removed. Picked those off with a fingernail and found that the holes underneath were clean and ready for installation. If you have those on the frame of your RAV, you probably won't need the nylon brush. I just sprayed the holes and bolts with WD-40 and tested each hole with the bolts before trying to lift the hitch up into place. Everything went smoothly and can't be happier with the whole process. The bike carrier assembly afterward also went without problem. The bike carrier portion extends far enough away so as to clear the spare tire, though would recommend covering the pedal with a sock on the bike you mount closest to the tire to avoid scratching or marring the surface of the paint on tire covering. I don't usually write reviews on a product but this experience has been worth of my time. Great product Etrailer!!!

very fast shipping. Product was as advertised.

I am very pleased with this bike rack. For the price and sturdiness it works perfectly for my mountain bike. I will probably buy another one for the other side of my roof rack an my Toyota Rav4.

I've been using this rack weekly hauling a TT setup and a heavy mountain bike. I highly recommend this product to anyone seeking affordable dependability! -c

I am really enjoying this bike rack. It was easy to setup and an awesome upgrade from my 20 year old bike rack.

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On-line fit-up instructions specific to my vehicle, a RAV4, did the trick for me. Installed easily out of the box with no tools required. Very sturdy carrier, and we look forward to taking our bikes along with us on the next trip to the beach.

Well made and strong. The only caution is installing the adaptor plate. I have a 2009 Toyota RAV4 limited and the instructions simply say "if you have a spare tire support bracket this needs to be removed." Easily said...but you will need a metal cutting disc or sawsall to cut it off. It's tough metal! I don't keep those kind of tools just laying around...Otherwise, it was a simple installation.

Shipping was super-fast - ordered on a Saturday, received feedback on Sunday, and the rack arrived on Tuesday. I also liked the shipping progress map on the shipping status page. Not sure if it is accurate but it is pretty neat. We are happy with the rack so far; it was easy to install and is very sturdy. I do have one area of concern that I did not think about before ordering - the rack was installed on a 2009 Rav4 and I wonder about potential structure damage (over time) to the back door due to the addition weight of the rack and bikes. I would use eTrailer again.

Just installed hitch and carrier and it all went smoothly, the videos were terrific on how to install and use.

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Only complaint like others have noted is the Yakima logo is a sticker that easily peels off. Other than that, it's strong, sturdy, and easy to load my bikes. I've used it about 6 times over the past year with no problems. I'm very satisfied with my purchase.

The best thing about this rack is that on a 2009 RAV4, where the back door swings open sideways (rather than swinging up like many hatchbacks), this rack tilts far enough that you can get the door most of the way open and still use your back hatch. Other racks I tried did not have clearance. Other than that it serves it's purpose. I have not tried, but have been told, and it definitely looks true, that you won't really be able to fit 4 bikes on here. 2 definitely, would have to play around to see if 3 or even 4 would be possible.

I had an old Thule bike rack that was antiquated. I reviewed several new racks on etrailer. After narrowing down to a few models Phoned etrailer with a few more questions. They were very helpful and answered my questions,so I was able to select my model. The new Thule arrived in three days. The new rack was easy to assemble and meets all my needs.

Besides the awesome "Swagman" name, I feel confident towing two bikes off the back of my Rav4 through our upcoming North American Roadtrip. Installation was easy, however I would have liked if the rack folded down more in order to be able to open the back door of a 2005 Rav4 without removing the rack. Other than that, really like the product!

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Absolutely satisfied with the products and the timely shipment. The trailer hitch from Curt fits perfectly, and the Swagman bike rack works as expected and is very simple to use. Selected 4 stars as the packaging was not very robust and was significantly damaged when received, however the products were not damaged. I've purchased from eTrailer.com previously with excellent service and would recommend them to others.

Bought two. Easy to put together and install. Holds bikes tight.

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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Just put the Swagman Chinook on my 2016 RAV4. For a reasonable price, the quality seems very good. Assembly is easy, and it is much lighter weight than another brand I returned. The rear hatch opens with the bikes and rack tilted back. Since I most often use a single hybrid bike but occasionally like to also bring my mountain bike, I can set the Chinook up for one or two bikes, leaving three large pieces at home if I only need one bike. A platform bike rack like this keeps the bike wheels away from the car exhaust, and from scraping ground when going up driveways.

One year later I'm still delighted with this bike rack. I love that it is so versatile, allowing me to open the RAV4 back hatch using the tilt feature. The bicycle rides so securely and without wiggle at all. I also feel confident in the security of the locking features. This was one of the best purchases I've ever made! My only frustration is that I cannot use this bike rack when I am towing my new camper, which has zero to do with the product. Sad face.

I received the product at my door in a timely manner. Thanks!

This rack is very easy to put on the spare tire. It works fine with most bikes. It does not work with the newer expensive mtn bikes whose frames are really wide. it doesn't sit in the rubber holders correctly. It's great for slim framed bikes.