Bike Rack/Cargo Carrier Recommendation with Swing Away Hitch Adapter  

Question:

Expert Reply:

Hey Ryan, we have just what you are looking for with the Yakima EXO Swing Away 2 bike rack and enclosed cargo carrier part # Y34ZR. This has a 2 bike rack, an enclosed cargo carrier, and an integrated swing away pivot shank that because it's not a separate adapter it does not cut the capacity of the hitch by 50 percent. What kind of bikes do you have and about how much cargo were you looking to carry in a carrier?

expert reply by: Jameson C

0

Swing Away Cargo Carrier Bike Rack
(click to enlarge)

Ryan C.

10/28/2026

That's great. How does this address the dragging of the low hanging cargo carrier on a transit?

Jameson C.

10/28/2026

@RyanC How high off the ground is your hitch? This is a pretty standard height hitch accessory so I don't think ground clearance would be worse than normal but it doesn't have a ton of rise built into it.

Ryan

10/28/2026

@JamesonC Hitch height is about 13". I found the pakmule scrapes occasionally when driving around on dips. That's why I was hoping for a bit of lift on the swing away

Jameson C.

10/28/2026

@Ryan makes sense, that is a bit on the lower side but the good news is the Yakima isn't quite as long front to back as some carriers so that helps. The distance from the center of it's hitch pin out to the furthest point out on the carrier is 35-1/2 inches.

Bill M.

10/29/2026

@RyanC We have used the box and bike carrier combo on our 2026 Ford Transit Extended Length 350 HD SRW that has been converted into a campervan. We are right at the GVWR limit of 9950 lbs when fully loaded and there is a lot of weight at the rear with the fresh water tank, water heater, Li batteries and electrical system, and storage area. The low hitch height is definitely a concern and we have scraped a few times and have to be careful with abrupt grade changes. The lowest point on the rack is 8.25” above the pavement. We have also scraped a little at one end of the right load arm. Because of this, and the low clearance of the van in general, we are going to have the van lifted by about 2”. Other than that, the rack system is working well for us. We’ve traveled about 3,500 miles with it in two months. You can open the rear doors with the rack swung away, although the right door will not open quite to where it catches so I use a bungee cord from the door to the rack to keep it from swinging shut.

Ryan

10/29/2026

@BillM Thanks Bill. We went to the outer Banks with a pakmule and scraped gently several times and we couldn't open the door. We like hiking and forest service roads and I don't want to break off a low rack. I looked at the Wilco and a basket but that reduces our hitch weight to 225 before the gear and hauler. I was really looking for some type of rise that didn't reduce the capacity to 100 lbs. I guess I'll look at the door boxes a bit. Thanks very much for the feedback.

Jameson C.

10/29/2026

@BillM thanks for sharing!

Jameson C.

10/29/2026

@Ryan an air bag kit like the part # F53ZR will give you more rear suspension support and can help give you more lift out back to prevent sagging.

Ryan

10/29/2026

@JamesonC Thanks very much. A lift is in the long term plan. We aren't loaded enough to sag, we just live in the mountains with steep roads and fire roads. Excellent feedback. I was truly hoping there was something with lofr that still swung away . Excellent suggestions thank you!

Jameson C.

10/29/2026

@Ryan glad to help! I hope we can come up with something!

See All (9) Replies to Ryan C. ∨

Expert Reply:

Hey Ryan, we have just what you are looking for with the Yakima EXO Swing Away 2 bike rack and enclosed cargo carrier part # Y34ZR. This has a 2 bike rack, an enclosed cargo carrier, and an integrated swing away pivot shank that because it's not a separate adapter it does not cut the capacity of the hitch by 50 percent. What kind of bikes do you have and about how much cargo were you looking to carry in a carrier?

expert reply by: Jameson C

0