Best 2013 Subaru Outback Wagon Bike Racks

While searching for a good hitch bike rack for our 2013 Subaru Outback I was looking for something that would be secure in the hitch and provide good capacity for multiple bikes. I had been looking at the Yakima brand units and while they look great and are strong I learned that almost everything Yakima makes other than cargo boxes is made in China now. Thule however has made a great investmeent in USA by continuing to produce most of their products here (Odd that a USA company produces in China while a Swedish company produces in USA!). The Hitching Post Pro seems like an exclusive product for eTrailer.com as I could not find it anywhere else. Other retailers have a similar unit, but without the anti-sway. The units without the anti-sway were actually higher than the price I paid from eTrailer on the one with anti-sway. I had an issue with another rack without anti-sway where the pedals off my bike scratched our previous Honda CRV. The hitching Post Pro is based on the old style Thule hitch rack, i.e. still using pins for the dual fold down capability rather than the clicking/locking mechanisms and it also has the old style box style main post, but I love the price for what you get with this rack. One suggestion would be to include the locking hitch pin. Thule wants $45 for a locking hitch pin (crazy!)

Very easy to use and put together. Normally, we carry three (3) bikes. This unit is installed on a 2013 Subaru Outback with a 2" receiver. Loading and unloading the bikes has been very easy.

I would rate our experience with the Swagman XTC-2 bicycle rack as very good. We use it on our 2013 Subaru Outback. I read the reviews prior to buying it and it performed as well as they said it would. It is easy to load and unload the bikes and to remove the rack when needed.

I'm very pleased with the timely delivery and the product. It seems to work well. Very easy to assemble and install. I will recommend your company to people that ask.

I recently purchased the Swagman XC 2-bike Rack. It came sooner than expected and was easy to assemble. I like that I can use it for one or two bikes. When carrying one bike I leave the 2 outer wheel platfoms and the outer hook at home. The rack is very well constructed.

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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Great product. Worked great for taking the boys bike down to the beach. Also great around town going to the bike trail.

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I purchaced two of the swagman upright roof mounted racks the day before I left for a camping trip. They were easy to install on the existing cross bars of my 2009 Subaru Outback. The factory bars are slightly curved so I plan to shim one side of each rack to level them out. I mounted two full suspension mountain bikes on these racks. The jaws have trouble opening up wide enough to fit the beefy downtubes of these bikes but after a bit of force and unscrewing the jaws all the way, they fit in. (Bikes were a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR and a Trek Remedy) Once tightened, the racks held the bikes well and we had no issues with anything comming loose or shaking during the 6+ hour round trip. The tightening wheel locks with a key but it would have been nice if both racks (ordered at the same time) were keyed with the same lock. Not a big deal, just have to remember which key goes to which rack each time. There are better racks out there but this one does the job even for larger mountain bikes if you dont mind fighting the jaws a little. Great rack for the price.

Great product, high quality, fits our Outback perfectly. Bike fits the rack great. Painless ordering with etrailer and prompt delivery. Only concern was that the shipper banged up the box pretty hard, but the bike rack was not damaged.

Great rack! Many improvement over the current yakima product. Easy to install, easy to mount bike, everything quick to turn by hand-no tools necessary. May have to get another one.

Great product! Exactly what I hoped the rack would be, but be sure your order locks! They are not included by Yakama.

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

I've had this bike roof rack for 1 year and I'm happy to say that it was the right product to purchase. I've had no problems at all with the racks. I bought a pair for my Subaru Outback and had my bicycle repair guy install it for me. I feel secure in that it locks the bikes in place and keeps them sturdy on the roof. I'm glad I got the one where you remove the front tire of the bike. The other style would make it much to hard to remove the bikes from the roof. I usually put the bikes up and remove them with my wife and the aid of a small step stool. It's been really great riding with our bikes to our favorite bike trails. Would highly recommend Rhino for making such a great product.

I mounted this on my 2011 Subaru Outback in about one hour. The instructions were in error as in Step 1 it has you put on the end-cap first. But then you have to take the end-cap off in order to thread on the Wheel Strap. I mounted the bike (29 inch hard-tail) and it seems sturdy and secure. So far so good. Will it keep the bike on in Wyoming cross winds? This remains to be seen.

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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Once I figured out that my factory crossbars *could be moved* everything worked (2009 Subaru Outback). If you happen to have fixed position crossbars, and your bike's wheelbase just happens to place the rear wheel exactly in the middle of the rear clamp, then it won't work (even if you get the free fix). The rear tire ratcheting tie down (wheel tray) can't be placed suitably close to the rear wheel for buckling. Also, the clamps don't *exactly* match the shape of my crossbars, so the gripping force is not spread out. I need a notch between the upper and middle notches, or a rubbery, compressible surface.

The clamps fit factory oval cross bars. No adapters necessary. Setup on my 04 Outback took 20 minutes.

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.

Quality product. Very easy to assemble and use...had it out of the box, assembled and loaded with bikes in less than 30 minutes!

The bike rack is awesome, well built and easy to assemble. The only issue that i have is that the product description says that these are suppose to have ratcheting straps to secure the tires and mine most definitely DOES NOT. Its not a big deal but still.

I have a great rack! (actually my wife does) I have 5 or 6 friends that use this rack and grew weary of throwing my bike on top of the Outback. Additionally my wife has become interested in venturing off on her own and cannot put a bike on top her outback. etrailer shipped promptly, and the product arrived in good shape, note: there were a few spots where the parts had jostled around in the box slightly and you could see some marring of the surface. This polished right out with a microfiber towel and mothers. There are a few minor nicks (I mean really minor) on the rack;but, they were there before being put in the factory packaging. Not enough to whine about just know the finish is great just not perfect. Speaking of the finish the color matches my Outback perfectly, it actually looks like an OEM Subaru thing. Fit is good using the Hidden/Drawtite hitch clearing the hatch while tilted back easily even with 800mm bars. The locking Hitch pin that comes with the rack is 1/2" diameter instead of the normal 5/8", fortunately the hitch mentioned above has a smaller 1/2" about 12mm aft of the 5/8" hole. The hole in the rack is 5/8" but do to the snugging system on the Küat the mismatch I'd of no consequence. Assembly is easy and someone with good mechanical aptitude should be able to do it in less than 10, an extra set of hands would be nice but aren't required. I built mine on an elevated bench and it was quick and super easy, admittedly I used power tools because I have them. I'm looking forward to the convenience of a tray.

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I received the rack very quickly from eTrailer.com, faster than expected, which is always nice. Of course UPS beat the tar out of the box, but the rack was packed well and survived the abuse without a scratch. Assembly was quick and easy, 4 main bolts and 1 for the tilt release lever, that was it. This rack is built like a tank, I'm impressed with the construction and finish. Test fit my road bike (Cannondale Synapse Carbon) and wife's MTB (Cannondale Foray) in just a few minutes. Bikes fit well and felt very solid. Overall I'm a very happy camper and would highly recommend the rack and eTrailer.com.

Ordered, delivered as agreed. Bike rack is great and goes well with my new 'Hidden Hitch' which i also ordered from ET and installed myself. Thanks

It’s relatively heavy but super easy to install and use. No rattles from hitch or bike areas. Red Yakima stickers on the vertical beam are low quality, not firmly attached, and I expect them to peal off. Otherwise, very happy with the rack.

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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

The rack came damaged and could not be assemble without first repairing the damage. The mounting bracket for one of the cross arms was bent (see photo) which prevented the cross arm from being installed. The bend had to be hammer out straight before the cross arm could be installed, which also cause the area of repair to need repainting. Otherwise, the rack appears to be functional and well built. The website specs for the rack list its weight as 38 pounds, but the actual weight is 45 pounds.

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I bought this rack for transporting my full suspension mountain bike and gravel bike on the back of my 2016 subaru outback. The rack itself so far is great - I spent a while researching different systems, and the Rocky Mounts MonoRail had the best value for features of all racks I looked at. The tilt feature is great, and the loading/offloading is easy. The integrated locks for the rack and your bikes are a great feature, although the cable would not stop a determined thief with tools. Bikes are relatively stable in the cradles on highways, minimal movement on gravel roads. One complaint is that the entire rack is not very snug in the 2" hitch installed on my vehicle. There is a noticeable bob and sway on the entire loaded unit on bumpy roads. Ideally, I would add shims. Finally, this unit does block ~60% of my backup camera, which just means you have to be careful and use the old school method of turning around to look before backing up.