Will The Blue Ox Hitch BLU72UR For A 2026 Honda Odyssey Carry A VelociRAX 7 MAX Bike Rack?

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Question:

I recently purchased a 2026 Honda Odyssey Elite and installed the Honda OEM hitch 08L92-THR-100A, along with the trailer wiring harness and hands-free tailgate adapter. My intended use is to carry 6–7 conventional bicycles on a vertical rack, specifically the VelociRAX 7 MAX 107 lbs. I anticipate another 150–200 lbs of bicycles, for a total load of approximately 257–307 lbs. Although the Honda hitch is advertised with a 350-lb tongue weight rating, I discovered that the label on the actual hitch specifies only 300 lbs. I had also seen references suggesting that the Odyssey itself is limited to 350 lbs regardless of the installed hitch, but I have been unable to verify that restriction in the 2026 owners manual. VelociRAX specifies a 500-lb minimum tongue weight rating. However, when I contacted the manufacturer, they indicated that other Odyssey owners have successfully used their racks with reduced bicycle loads, provided the total remains below the vehicles limits and the vehicle is driven conservatively. I recognize that this is not necessarily formal approval of my configuration. I noticed that etrailer previously recommended the Blue Ox BLU72UR for vertical bike racks on the 2026 Odyssey. I also noticed that CURT expressly prohibits vertical hanging racks on its 13523, despite its higher tongue weight rating. Could you help me clarify the following? Does Blue Ox explicitly approve the BLU72UR for seven-bike vertical racks such as the VelociRAX 7 MAX, and are there any restrictions beyond the published tongue weight rating? Is there a documented 350-lb vehicle-level tongue weight limit for the 2026 Odyssey, independent of the installed hitch? If so, can you point me to the Honda documentation? Are there other hitches for the 2026 Odyssey that are explicitly approved for vertical bike racks? Which of those hitches offers the most concealed installation, with the receiver tucked close to the bumper and good ground clearance? I have already trimmed the bumper cover for the OEM hitch and would prefer similar receiver positioning, particularly because my Elite has an additional trim piece along the lower edge of the rear bumper. Can you provide receiver height, distance behind the bumper, and any available installation photos comparing the Blue Ox and Honda OEM hitch? I have confirmed that my current OEM receiver provides the 3? inches of ion depth required by VelociRAX. I would prefer to retain the OEM hitch if it is structurally appropriate, but I am willing to replace it with a better-suited option. Thank you for your guidance. Cheers

asked by: Andrew C

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Expert Reply:

Hi Andrew!

Though not explicitly stated in your owners manual, it does elude to your tongue weight capacity being 10% of the max towing capacity (for some reason this is how most are doing it nowadays). So since that towing capacity is 3,500 pounds, that does mean your max tongue weight capacity is 350 pounds. I could not find anywhere saying this is an incorrect number, but I can say 10% of the max towing capacity is almost always the max tongue weight for passenger style vehicles, like your 2026 Odyssey Elite.

I asked Blue Ox if their # BLU72UR hitch can handle the VelociRAX 7 MAX and this is the response I got from them: "The Max weight carrying is 675 and it looks like it has 100lb limit per basket. So it would be about 25lbs over that gross tongue carrying capacity. It would heavily depend on how heavy the bikes are. I called down to our tech who specializes in these and he said it should be okay, just to watch the total weight of what you're putting onto the rack". So that part is good to go.

I just measured the depth past the center of the pin hole, and that was 5-1/2" so that part is a go. We haven't done an install video of this hitch on a 2026 Odyssey quite yet, so I can't tell you bumper or ground clearance though. I do have a couple pictures with different views showing it installed that will give you a good idea of how it's going to sit. This hitch does have the cross-tube exposed, so I would imagine your OEM hitch does look better.

So long story short, unlike all the other hitches we carry for your Odyssey (which are actually all technically Curt hitches), Blue Ox does say their hitch will work with the VelociRAX 7 MAX and all the measurements and weight capacities confirm that as well. You will just need to choose if you want to swap out your OEM hitch for it.

Are you looking at the VelociRAX 7 MAX for a shuttling type thing, or do you have a big family?

expert reply by: Lazer S

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Blue Ox BLU72UR Hitch Installed
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Will The Blue Ox Hitch BLU72UR For A 2026 Honda Odyssey Carry A VelociRAX 7 MAX Bike Rack?

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