Best 2009 Toyota Tacoma Bike Racks

Received the rack yesterday and it took all of 10 minutes to install in my '18 Tacoma this morning. Instructions were pretty thorough and should work great for our bikes (road and mountain). Quality mounts & skewers is a plus. Nice to have the option for locator pins in the side rail, too.

Click to Enlarge

The Swagman 2 bike carrier is fantastic. We installed it in our 2008 Toyota Tacoma which has a bedliner and rails. Installation was very quick and easy. The Swagman fits snuggly and securely into the rails. Also, etrailer.com has plenty of great information regarding the product on their website and shipping was prompt and free!

Velo Gripper Bike Rack install was super easy. Velo Gripper installed exactly as advertised. The videos were very informative and install was exactly as described. Install on 2023 Tacoma and it fit perfectly. Bike looks extremely stable so I don’t anticipate any issues.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Holds my bike onto the C-channel of my Tacoma w/o issue. Will likely add some padding under the l-brackets to prevent rattling at highway speed.

Good price and the best shipping cost of other sites I checked. It arrived today and is on our truck & ready to go.

This product was a little tricky to figure out at first, I have a 2018 Tacoma and I had to let the tailgate half way down to get the straps through. After I figured that out, it was easy to use and protected my tailgate. Great product! We've loaded three bikes on it at one time (26.5", 27", 29") and it worked great.

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.

Click to Enlarge

I bought this bike rack back in April but wanted to make sure I used it to give the best review. First I want to say I did a lot of research on bike racks and found this one to be the best one to fit my needs. The best price I found was on etrailer.com, at the time it was When I called the customer service to place my order, I spoke to Dan. He was very pleasant on the phone and took the time and listened to what I needed and understood my concerns. I ordered the bike rack and also ordered the Thule Snug Tite Hitch Lock and Anti-Rattle Device and the Thule Cable Lock w/ One Key System Lock. Dan suggested I also get the Thule Bike Adapter Bar, which I never even thought of getting. Delivery was in about two business days, which was really fast and at the time of order they were running a special free delivery over $99. When I went to put it together I noticed I was missing the flat cap screw M6 x 16mm, part number #853-5787-02. I emailed Dan and within 24 hours received an email that the part was sent out and also in the email their was a link to track the order. After I received the part I did notice that the flat cap screw was actually in the 2 inch adaptor sleeve. The instructions were very easy to read, and it took me about 20 minutes to put together. I did have an issue when I positioned the stinger into the cradle, with the 8mm locking nut, it was not staying tight and when I took it off I noticed the threads inside were gone, so I ended up going out to Lowes and buying a new one and its holds perfectly fine. I also had a question about that part because it is not a locking part and was worried someone would try to steal the rack. I contacted etrailer.com to find if they make a locking device for this and they said no but I can contact Thule to double check, I'm still waiting for an answer back from Thule. The weather finally broke and we installed the rack onto my hitch, tightened it and it doesn't rattle. When I finally used the rack and put my bike on, it did sway a little but at 50 mph I was very happy with it. The trailer comes out just enough away from my car that I do not have to fold completely out and I can open my trunk with no issues. I am very happy with my purchase and had a great customer experience with Dan. Would highly recommend ordering from them to anyone.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Looks like a good bike rack. I had to get a front receiver hitch and this bike rack so we could take our bikes when we tow our a-frame trailer. The bikes don’t block our view of the road much if the seats are removed.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

We got the XTC2 to replace an old school rack. It was easy to put together and feels sturdy and well made. We will be using it on a 2016 Civic, 1999 4x4 Tacoma and a Casita Trailer. Looking forward to using it when the weather warms up.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Quite pleased with nearly everything regarding this rack. Setup was super easy right out of the box, loved that I didn't need any tools. Bikes feel very secure and I haven't noticed any shifting or movement while driving around. My only complaint is that it's possible for someone to remove (or steal) the locking skewers when there's no bike attached just by unscrewing the endcap. Even if the handle is locked in place, just unscrew the endcap and you can remove the whole locking mechanism. So...works fantastic when there's a bike to be hauled, but makes me uncomfortable when I just park the truck and walk away. Works great, could just be a bit more secure.

Garbage. You have been warned.

I looked at so many products, but then saw these pull up on a truck beside me one day. I started with two and mounted them to the rails in my Tacoma truck bed. After continuous use hauling our bikes to and from triathlons, I bought a third! I can now fit three road bikes across the bed of my truck and still have rooms for gear below them. Thanks of the great product guys.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Bike rack in Tacoma

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Works great! It would be nice is it came with the mounting hardware, however. eTrailer.com shipped the product immediately.

Have used the block head bike mounts by Yakima on trips of 800 to 1500 miles with no incident. Easy to mount the bikes and they have not released even on bumpy roads. Great product for my truck box and bikes are always in view. Easiest way I have found to transport our bikes

An extremely secured way of transporting my Cannondale mountain bikes. Well designed and very sturdy. Conveniently folds out of the way when not used and does not obstruct access to the truck bed and campershell on my Toyota Tacoma.

First platform style I've used. It is on a 2016 Toyota Tacoma. I can ALMOST put the tailgate flat, but goes 99% when tilted back to remove items from bed of truck. There is a lot of nice things about this product. The mast lays down and platform fold closer to your vehicle when not in use. It also tilts away from the vehicle to easier load the front bike. The tightening and locking pin is nice and the ratcheting hooks also lock. Was east to assemble. Galvanized hardware is also a nice touch too. Well worth it, I got it on sale anyway. It was a very long time to ship, got held up at the manufacture. Very happy with the Swagman brand!

Truly grooving on my wife's new Swagman Chinook bike rack. She wanted to be able to transport her nice road bike easily without throwing it in the back of her car, and since a roof rack is out of the question, this Swagman model fit the bill perfectly. It arrived quickly on the anticipated date. Kudos to etrailer.com for the email updates to keep me informed of my purchase. Within one hour, it was installed on my wife's 2014 Mazda3 hatchback. The Swagman is heavy and solid, which is reassuring as it makes me feel confident that it will keep the bikes secure. It also makes me feel like I got my money's worth. A ratchet wrench and Phillip's head screwdriver were the only tools required for the easy install. I did my research before purchasing the Chinook model as I was also eyeballing a very similar Thule rack that was slightly more expensive. I spoke with an etrailer.com expert who gave me the lowdown on both models. Ultimately, the Swagman won out because it has a smaller 'footprint' while extended or folded up ... and also can tilt away from the car for easy access to the hatchback area. Very convenient! FYI: Mazda doesn't make a trailer hitch for the Mazda3 as it's a small car with a small engine and has no business towing anything. Thankfully, the Curt company makes an aftermarket frame and trailer hitch that fits the Mazda3 hatchback perfectly with no drilling. Stupidly, I purchased it from another online company thinking I was getting a good deal. Turns out etrailer.com had it for less with FREE shipping. Oh well ... live and learn. Now I know that etrailer.com is one-stop shopping for bike racks AND trailer hitches. (Full disclosure: I had the garage down the street install the frame as it's easier with a lift) Only snafu: the shipment contained an extra set of keys that I assumed was for the hitch bolt lock (there was also a set of keys on the bolt itself). I spent 15 minutes using those keys trying to figure out how to remove the lock from the bolt to install it on the hitch. The keys just wouldn't turn in the lock. I called etrailer.com and Kevin told me to try the other set of keys ... and they worked. So an extra set of keys came with it that did absolutely nothing ... weird! Obviously, I can't speak to the longevity and durability of the Swagman Chinook 2 Bike Platform Rack as I just installed it. What I can speak to is the sturdiness of it, the ease of the installation and my complete satisfaction with the good folks at etrailer.com.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

This thing is built like a tank! It is of the best fit and funtion I have seen in a bike rack! Solid as can be, fits my bikes perfectly and looks awesome! Plus it folds completely out of the way to access the rear liftgate on my 2022 Rav4!

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Great service from etrailer and the rack arrived as expected. Fairly easy assembly. OK video on Kuat’s site, but didn’t cover the foot pedal. Really glad we got the 2” hitch. It tightened up and we’re impressed with the quality and the stability of the rack. We haven’t done a road test yet, but look forward to putting it to the test. We have a Ford F-150 and it works great. The bikes were fairly easy to load with the batteries out and two people. We do need the strap extenders for our RadMini Step Thru’s. The tires are too big for the ones that come with. Only one set of extenders came with the bike and one adapter for a smaller tire. It’s okay, but since it’s a two bike unit, would have been nice to have both extenders. Otherwise, we are really liking the look and stability.

Click to Enlarge

Kuat Beta is ideal 2" hitch, 2 bike rack. It is well made, relatively light, very sturdy, and installs in a minute. We recently drove for 2000 miles with our bikes on it. Very stable, no vibration. Minimal vibration only on very rough roads, as you would expect.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Built extremely well , simple to use and reasonable cost compared to other brands. Very satisfied. Ed T

Overall I am happy with these bike carriers. They mount to the racks over the bed of my Tundra TRD Pro. Installation is simple. I think they could be just a bit sturdier because there is just a bit of wobbling when driving on bumpy roads but I'm not too worried about them coming dislodged. Take note that although they come with a cable lock to attach the bike to the carrier, the key is sold separately.

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Very good product. It holds the bike securely on the roof without contacting the frame. It is easy to adjust from my road bike to my 29er mountain bike. Our drives are all relatively short, so I like that I do not need to remove the front wheel to lock in the bike. It's also nice that the SKS locking system allows me to use the same key for this rack that I use for my Yakima roof box and hitch rack. This is my first roof rack and I chose this route for a couple reasons. Some of the roads we travel to get to our trail heads are a bit rough and with a roof rack I don't have to worry about bottoming out a hitch rack hanging off the back of the vehicle. Also, it takes up less room in the garage. Our vehicle is a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee with an additional 4 inches of ground clearance. That makes it a bit of a reach for my 5'4" wife, so we take our two-step along to help her. This is my third time purchasing from etrailer, and each experience has been very good. They are a very customer service oriented company. I really appreciate all the additional information they provide on their products, especially all the videos they produce to aid in reviews, assembly, and use.

Click to Enlarge

Another great product from etrailer.

Linda and I recently ordered two Aventon Pace 500 NextGen E-bikes from [bike store] in Madison, WI. Not wanting to just toss our expensive new bikes in the back of the p/u when they arrive next month we promptly ordered the Thule Instagator from etrailer. My prior experience with etrailer came as a recommendation from a friend. I was able to do quite a bit of the research on etrailers website, the demonstration video extremely helpful and we placed an order. The racks were in-stock, shipped promptly, etrailer providing a very nice tracking link that included pics of the staff involved in processing the order and a map of the route all the way to delivery. Absolutely 1st rate service. The racks showed up in perfect condition about two days after placing the order, exactly as promised. We are very pleased with etrailer, will most certainly be ordering from them again and recommend this company w/o reservation. Nice job etrailer!

Click to Enlarge

We just installed the bike rack this weekend for a trip down I95S. The assembly was easy, but I recommend you finish the assembly on the vehicle to make sure the crossbars correctly align with the rack. Someone also recommended you install the upright bar to make sure it faces to the outside of the car. This means you will have to switch the orientation for a passenger-side installation. It is a little more difficult to tighten the upright bar if it is located to the center of the car. Finally, though the clamps may seem narrow, you can fully remove the tightener knob to full pull apart the upright bars. We needed to do this to get my husband's bike to fit within the clamps. The installation was simple. It did require two people to put the bikes on top of a Tacoma Pick-up due to the height of the rack. The bikes were stable on the racks, and we noticed no issues while going down the road. Excellent product for the price.

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.

Click to Enlarge

After one year still love this product! Use it in a 2019 Tacoma Short bed with a leer cover. My bike fits perfectly and is stabilized during travel - so easy to take in and out. Also use the wheel holder which works well. When not using the Sari track its so simple to take out of truck and store.

Excellent product and well made. Looks great

I just received the 2-bike Rhino Rack for use with a 2016 Tacoma, It was easy to assemble and all the accessories for assembly were enclosed. I purchased this rack because it looked like it was very solid and well built. I think this is a very good bike rack. Please note that the Tacoma tail gate will open when the rack is angled down.

I purchased this bike rack a year ago and I use it A LOT. I had to buy and install a stabilizer because without it, the unit would sway back and forth even without a bike on it (very noisy). This makes removal more cumbersome but since I keep the hitch on year round it doesn't matter to me. The tilting function is fabulous allowing easy use of my RAV4 hatchback. I can even tilt it down with a bike on it. I got the 2 bike hitch. Plenty of room for two bikes to fit without rubbing. Lastly, the hitch has a sizable through-hole on the bottom to thread a good sized cable so I can lock my bike up. Sturdy. I highly recommend.