Best 2019 Ram 3500 Bike Racks

We purchased the Swagman to go into the hitch receptacle on our 2016 Dodge Roadtrek campervan. The rear doors would not open with the rack installed as per the original instructions since the horizontal male part going into the vehicle's hitch receptacle has a bend upward before connecting perpendicularly with the actual bike rack. I solved this by reversing that part so the bend is downward, thus allowing the campervan's swing doors to open over the entire rack when the empty rack is in a horizontal position. I do have trouble remembering which of the cushioned inverted "J" holders goes on the vertical post first. I think colour coding will solve that problem. The rack seems to work well despite the poor roads we travelled over to and from lower Michigan and Florida and back .

First-time rack buyer / owner / installer. The rack arrived in a timely fashion, maybe a day or 2 ahead of schedule. It was well packaged. I’m LOVING this bike rack. It was easy to put together and to mount on my new Honda Passport. Thus far, no squeaks in my 2” receiver. Hardest part of initial set-up is figuring out the best way to position two bikes. Trial & error and some patience. The directions weren’t clear as to where the 2 left-over screws went. I found the answer in another review and have posted a pic in case others have the same problem (photo with pen pointing at screw). These screws go in the underneath side of both of the folding arms. They appear to keep the wheel wells from sliding off in case in you drive with an empty, un-folded rack, and forgot to tighten down the wheel wells. The folding arm push / pull pins can be difficult at times. I coated the tips with some lube. That and a little jiggling seems to solve that issue. I guess it’s better for the pins to be snug vs popping right out. I added a small Master lock to the hitch pin (in lieu of the provided cotter pin) as a theft deterrent. I read that a 3/16 shackle lock will fit into the bike clamp down arms to also act as a deterrent. I had an old 3/16 lock that did snugly fit and appeared to be locked. HOWEVER, I yanked on the lock and it came open as there isn’t quite enough clearance for the shackle to lock. I discovered that longer 3/16 shackle locks are hard to find. Have attached a photo of the lock that actually fits and works (Ace Hardware). One lock on the upper clamp down arm will secure both arms as the lower arm can’t be removed without removing the upper arm. The clamp down arms appear to be coated to prevent damage to your bike. I’ve tried a simple rag and ultimately settled on pool noodle pieces as a precautionary measure. I CAN NOT open my tailgate (regardless of whether or not the rack is fold up and in the bike carry position). If that’s a concern for you, then spring for the more costly titling version. My back-up camera still functions.

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I used 2 inch square tubing cut the length of the tie down support bracket in my 2007 Honda Ridgeline and secured with a stainless bolt and wing nut, use a large enough washer to cover the diameter of the supply hole in the Honda Ridgeline bracket on the truck. A couple of notes: Be sure to use something as a cushioning gasket to insure a snug fit and to protect your truck lining. I used rubber or foam exercise mat cut to the same as the aluminum square tubing. Use a washer that a combination of hard plastic and metal to avoid the corrosive effects of dissimilar metals in contact with each other. last: My 26" full suspension bike fits, but I have swing it to one side slightly before i close the tailgate and lift the bike up and slide it down....It's a very snug fit but the suspension adds pressure to the tailgate and its works out very well. Or you could just use a tailgate extender.

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Referring to special mounting instructions if you have a bed liner: (line #3). I do not have a bed liner, but I do have a molded plastic cap on my bed rails ('04 Ford F350). The first install over the plastic cap the locking pin or pin as called out in line #3 was nowhere near making contact with the metal lip of the metal bed under the plastic. What I did next on the second and final install was remove/cut away the plastic on the inside of the bed rail to allow the vertical portion of the "L" mounting bracket (Fig 4) to contact the metal bed. The locking pin is now at a position almost where it would protrude under the metal bed lip if I would remove the rest of the plastic under the horizontal portion of the "L" mounting bracket, I did not do that. After cutting a notch in the metal rail to accept the pin, the pin barely flushes out to secure the rack. A 1/4" longer pin would take care of this problem. One other thing that was not addressed in the install instructions was if you have a full size pick-up bed you are likely to attach the passenger side fork mount (Fig 2) to the right of the extension tube locking mechanism. The extension tube is a smaller diameter, so you will have resize the fork tube clamp (Fig 1) for the smaller tube. I can't explain how to do it other than it's a Chinese puzzle.

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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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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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This is the best bike rack! We have electric bikes, which are heavier that most bikes. Ebikes can weigh in at approximately 50 lbs. This bike rack has a ramp, which allows us to easily roll our bikes right up to the rack, and not have to do the usual heavy lift. The tilt away feature makes it so easy for us to remove items from our vehicle without the need remove the bikes from the rack. Finally, what makes this rack incomparable than any other on the market, is that we can easily fold it up and carry it into the garage! No more ramps, or wheel holders sticking out and consuming the space in our garage. This is an excellent product!!

This rack is perfect! eTrailer had it shipped and at my home in almost no time. I drove with it on the car today, and it was solid and secure. It's super easy to get on and off the hitch. I'm 5'1 and I was able to load the bike on with the ramp without a struggle. Thanks for the thorough video and comparison information. It made this purchase easy.

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In a Honda CRV, just finished a round trip, North Carolina to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and back, carrying an e-bike and road bike, over 3500 miles. Bikes were rock solid on back, no movement between bikes and rack. Heavy e-bike easy to roll up supplied ramp, road bike a simple lift. Super system! Being paranoid about theft, several different types of bike locks were used. We're soon off on a cross country to Washington State and back, and I am adding a durable cover over the bikes, protecting them from rain and curious eyes. I have no hesitation recommending this when an e-bike is too heavy for a another type rack.

This is a great product and works beautifully! The only issue was some sloppily made plastic turn knobs that were cross threaded on arrival. However, Yakima immediately shipped out replacements. It carries two large E bikes easily. They fasten solidly and are easy to load and unload!

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Using the Grippers for carrying 2 ebikes, weighing 55 & 75 lbs. I know this is above the rated bike weights but so far they have performed well. My short bed keeps the 75# bike pretty well locked in front to back so that may help.

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I am disappointed that they don’t hold my bikes better than they do. I still have to strap them down so they don’t fall out. They are pretty expensive for what you get. I need to modify them so they will actually work. Not really what I was expecting to do, but I need to so my bikes are secured.

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Paid for 2 day delivery on 2 items. 1 Came 4 days later and 1 came 5 days later so it was to late for me to use them for my trip.

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.

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Great product. Worked as advertised . Used to be able to take 4 wheeler and bike. etrailer did a great job helping me find an item that would work for my application 10 out of 10 on etrailer. Thanks Vanessa

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This rack is great. I've traveled about 2,500 miles with the bike loaded up and it has been rock solid. Well designed. I bring a little folding step ladder with me that I use to load/unload the bike. When I'm not using the rack, it lays down nicely and you never even know it's up there. Highly recommended product.

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Put the bikes on it today. it's going to be great

Easy to use and install extra heavy duty! Has been great for hauling 2 of our 4 Lectric bikes on the front of the truck while towing our Fifth-Wheel! Going to get a second one so we can put the other 2 on the back of my wife's car!

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Put the bikes on it today. it's going to be great

Easy to use and install extra heavy duty! Has been great for hauling 2 of our 4 Lectric bikes on the front of the truck while towing our Fifth-Wheel! Going to get a second one so we can put the other 2 on the back of my wife's car!

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I've taken this rack all over New England on the front of my Dodge Ram 3500 pick up truck with a truck camper. I had no idea it was possible to love a bike rack so much. After one drive I didn't ever worry about it again. So nice that it locks up when I am camping or taking a quick stop for food on the road. So glad I bought it from etrailer. They totally help me pick the perfect rack for my challenging set up.

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Still very new, but what an awesome bike rack! Assembly was a snap and the rack is rock-solid when you secure it to the hitch receiver. etrailer was amazing too - excellent communication, price and fast, free delivery. Overall I am extremely happy with the rack and service!

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Very happy with my rack use it constantly I recommend the 3500 which comes with locks

This rack has been great on my 2016 Nissan Rogue SUV, very sturdy and holds bike(s) securely. I've used it with a fat bike, a regular mountain bike, and a road bike. Amazingly this rack gave me a couple inches MORE clearance in my small garage than my previous hanging-style rack. The aluminum trays themselves are still in great condition, though other parts are showing some rust after 1+ years (and since I use it in the winter as well I leave it on most of the time). The tilt-down feature is great, but pulling the pin and reaching the knob to do this is awkward with bikes in place. When removing the bike, it can be hard to squeeze the lever on the hook that holds the front tire. (Maybe because of pressure when the hook is against the tire?)

I installed this rack onto a Curt trailer hitch which is mounted onto a 2017 Honda Fit. I have been using it intermittently for several months, probably about 5 times with one bike and twice with two bikes. I give some pros and cons below and then elaborate. Pros: easy to assemble, easy to mount and dismount bikes, easy to lock and unlock, how to put the rack into different positions is intuitive Cons: inconvenient to put the rack into different positions, inconvenient to mount the rack onto the hitch, rack protrudes about 15 inches from bumper when in flipped up position (seems very vulnerable to someone backing into it in a parking lot, very inelegant looking I say the repositioning is intuitive because there is really only one way you could possibly place the pins for each position. But removing and replacing two pins is much less convenient than turning a knob or a lever, like some racks do. Also many racks fold and flip in such a way as to look very unobtrusive when in non-use mode. This one looks like kind of a monstrosity. That does not really bother me but it might bother some owners. The part that does bother me is how far it protrudes from the car. I back into parking spaces whenever possible to avoid someone bumping into the rack and damaging it (which happened to a friend). My number one suggestion for Curt is related to mounting the rack onto the hitch. Make it easier to tell when the holes are lined up so that the bolt/pin will fit and thread. As it is now, if you insert the rack as far as it can go it is way too far in. Ideally, it would be exactly lined up. Failing that, maybe some kind of click or other feedback to know at least that you are in the neighborhood. It would also be great to have an attaching device that is easier to fasten and unfasten than is the bolt/pin. Tip for mounting the rack onto the hitch: I assumed that it would be awkward to hold, what is it 46 pounds?, while trying to line up the rack probe with the receiver. If you have a garage with exposed collar ties, my solution could work well for you. I looped a cargo strap over a collar tie. Then I hooked both hooks of a bungie onto that loop. The idea is that you hook one of the bike frame holders of the rack onto the bungie, suspending the rack a few inches off the garage floor. This takes most of the weight of the rack so that you can just pull up or down and forward until you line up with the receiver. Tip for mounting bikes. Don't put the little screw into the post that prevents you from completely removing the bike frame holders. Remove both holders. Position the first bike, slide the holder into place, position the second bike, slide the holder into place. I found this makes it much easier, because you avoid parts of the bike hitting the holder as you are trying to get the wheels into place. The trick is that if you are mounting only one bike, don't forget to put the second holder back on - or maybe just stick it inside the car right away.

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I had a 1 1/4" hitch installed on my 2016 toyota camry (the only size offered on the camry). I was very pleased with the ride. I expected to hear alot of noise like experienced when towing a trailer, but I heard almost nothing accept when going over speed bumps. I had to extend the tire supports to their widest position because having mountain bikes with a step through angled bar, they were more secure the closer i could get the upper and lower support arms to the seat post. The bikes were mounted in opposite directions and only stuck out maybe 6 inches or so. One locking barrel on the lower support arm was malfunctioning and gave me trouble but i called etrailer and they sent a replacement as soon as they were in stock. It comes with a anti rattle hitch pin but I highly recommend purchasing an anti rattle hitch pin with a lock on the end instead of just a clip for more security when unattended. After a few times mounting the bikes and figuring out the best way they should be positioned (pedals positions, direction of bike, and that my wife's smaller bike fit better going on first with my larger bike on the outside) I can mount the rack and bikes and be ready to go in just 5 minutes. (70 pounds on a torque wrench recommended for the hitch pin) I am overall pleased with my purchase i would recommend this product.

I have bad shoulders and could no longer lift my long wheelbase recumbent bike up to my Thule rack. The new rack solved the problem and made it much easier to load the bike. Very happy I got the new Swagman rack.

Thank you again for such excellent customer service. I am including two pics from today showing the bikes mounted on my 2009 Honda Fit with the bike rack we purchased from you. Please feel free to use them in any of your publications, print or web.

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Great product, great company to do business with. etrailer is the best. Friendly, helpful and they made sure the bike rack was shipped immediately and it was delivered on time.

The quality of the rack is very sturdy and well built. I needed a rack that has a 12” spacing between wheels do to the baskets on each bike, and this rack delivered that. The issues I have with this rack are: I have a GMC Yukon suv and with the rack mounted I have to lift my two Lecritc 2.0 e-bikes, at 60 pounds each up over 24” to get it mounted. It sure could use ramps, which I know it did not come with. The clamp hold down does not work with fenders on a bike. It does not clamp very well on the cross bar (male and female) type do to the width and the angle of the cross bars. When clamping in front of the front fender makes the bike very unstable, and will require additional strapping and tie downs to secure the bikes. It claims it is for e-bikes, but only if it has no fenders. Nice rack, just not for me.

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It was obvious that we received a product that was returned by someone else when the box was overly taped shut, a support collar was broken, and most of the pieces were out of their ripped plastic bags. However, it was a great price to hold 5, 26" and/or 27" Trek bikes. I used a piece of the broken collar and went ahead and assembled the rack. Due to the weight of the 5 bikes it did not wobble that much when driving, as one of the bike tires was up against my car. I can only imagine that if we received an untampered product that this review would have been 5 stars. The picture is a little hard to see, but there are 5 Trek bikes on the rack on my 2020 Toyota Seinna.

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We received a damaged box, damaged items, no instructions, the nuts and bolts are completely stripped and not inside a bag. This was obviously used, returned, not checked for quality and sent out. We are extremely upset.

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