Kuat Hitch Bike Racks Review - 2016 GMC Sierra 2500
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Review of the Kuat Hitch Bike Racks on a 2016 GMC Sierra 2500
Hey everyone, Charles here at Etrailer, and today we're taking a look at the Kuat Sherpa bike rack on a 2016 GMC Sierra 2500. This is a great bike rack. It accommodates a lot of different styles of bikes, but one quick disclaimer, on the Sierra here, we have a two and a half inch hitch with an adapter to reduce it down to two inches. And the self-tensioning system that Kuat has in the Sherpa, it's self-tensioning to the adapter, instead of the actual hitch. So we are gonna have some play in there, but if you wanna stick around and hear some of the features, we'll get right into that. We are gonna have 40 pounds of capacity per bike.
And I really like having the front wheel mount, instead of a frame mount, because I don't have to worry about warping or damaging any of the carbon frame style bikes. And it's just easier to accommodate a lot of bikes with the odd shaped frames as well. One of the cool features is the tilt-away access, by this lever here. And even though our tailgate is gonna make contact with the pedal if we fully open it, we can still open up far enough to grab our helmets, waters, or lift up the tunnel cover. We're gonna hear a small audible click when we pull that back up.
It's just, I just really like how smooth and durable this bike rack feels. We're gonna have two attachment points: the front wheel mount and a rear wheel back strap. To remove the bike, we're gonna start with the strap. Let's push that button and get it out of the way. And then keeping one hand on the frame, so it doesn't fall on your truck, we can push this button, lift up, push that out of the way, and now our bike is free.
With the bike off, we can take a closer look at some of the features. This front wheel hook is gonna have this nice thick rubber padding on here for extra protection for your tires. And the cradle over here, we have a thin groove to support your road bikes, all the way up to your three inch tires. Folds down for a nice clean, slim look. And this rear cradle over here will pivot to accommodate your wheel bases of up to 47 inches.
With a rack on the back of your vehicle, you have some added length. So from the bumper to the furthest point of the rack, it's about 35 inches. Something to keep in mind when you're backing up. And the ground clearance. is gonna be about 26.5 inches, and from the shank, about 18.25 inches. Something to keep in mind when you're going up and down those steep hills and driveways. The front of your vehicle's gonna go up, and the rear's gonna go down. We can also fold this rack up with that same lever we used to tilt it down. And that's just gonna give us a lot more room in our garage or parking lots. So now from the bumper to the furthest point, it's gonna be about 18 inches, and the closest point of the rack, it's gonna be about 7.75 inches, but nothing to worry about, as it's not gonna get much closer than that. Over here, we have our two-inch hitch that goes into our two-inch reducer. We have this pin and lock. That's gonna be key to life with the cable lock. And the self-tensioning mechanism here is going to expand a piece inside to eliminate any play inside the hitch receiver. But again, since we have this reducer over here, it's tightening to that actual piece instead of the hitch, so we are gonna have some play here. Hitch Tester This is our test course. Let's start with the slalom. This shows side to side action, such as turning corners or evasive maneuvering. Then, onto our alternating speed bumps. This shows twisting action, such as hitting curbs, potholes, road debris, or even uneven pavement. Last of all, the solid speed bumps. This shows up and down action, such as driving through a parking lot or parking garage, or driving in and out of a driveway. Overall, this is a well-built quality rack. It's movements are smooth, and you get a lot of premium features. The only downside with that is having the play. If you wanted something with more weight capacity and no play at all, check out the Rocky Mounts Monorail. That's gonna have a anti-rattle bolt, instead of this self-tensioning system. If you go check out that video, I'm shaking the whole truck. But otherwise, if you have multiple vehicles that you wanna swap this in and out of, this is a great option. And that's gonna do it for our look on the Kuat Sherpa bike rack on a 2016 GMC Sierra 2500..
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