What are GX470 guys using for bike racks?

[IanB]

Now that our daughter is 2, we're starting to look at getting back into mountain biking as a family activity. Looking for a bike rack that will fit 2-3 bikes via 2" receiver hitch, and swing/tilt out of the way enough to allow the stupid rear door to swing open with the bikes loaded. Has anyone here been able to figure out a solution?

I've been looking at the 1upUSA and North Shore units, but they are BIG money and I want to be sure they'll do everything I want before buying and testing on my own.

I've also got an HDJ81 with rear spare tire swingarm that I'd want to use the rack on as well, but I'm sure if I can find something that will clear the GX's rear door, the spare tire and liftgate/tailgate won't be an issue on the other truck.

North Shore:

1upUSA with 1 bike:

Softride Hang5:

NV Kuat w/ 1 bike:

Or should I be looking at some sort of swingaway adapter like this:
Swingaway Hitch Frame | StowAway2.com

Or maybe a receiver extension to push everything back and away from the hatch? What are others doing?

 

[123ROBERTELEE]

I'm in the same boat as you and was about to make a thread like this...

 

[IanB]

Came across another couple contenders:

Yakima Swingdaddy:

Thule Revolver 964:

 

[Scat Adams]

I wanted a swing out rack just could'nt find one used for cheap. Went with a Thule 4 bike rack that can fold down, not perfect since I cant use the rear door when its on but worth it for $100. Good luck!

 

[NMBruce]

Came across another couple contenders:

Yakima Swingdaddy:

View attachment 1143548

Thule Revolver 964:

View attachment 1143549

what I use on my Wrangler, works great

 

[IanB]

what I use on my Wrangler, works great

Which one? Think it would swing open far enough so the hatch wouldn't hit it when you opened it?

Has anyone ever seen one that swings open the other direction?

 

[NMBruce]

I use the Yakima Swingdaddy

 

[Nothinghead]

I had the swingdaddy for a week. I hated it. The bikes swing around a lot and scratch each other. Any bike with more aggressive geometry or full suspension also never fit well. If you have aluminum or steel road bikes or more relaxed mountain bikes and need the swing out, go for it.

I run a Thule t2 and it fits any of my road, 29er or fat bikes excellently with no contact between them. It locks the front wheel down securely and not the frame so no worries about scratching paint or damaging carbon fiber. It also locks each bike twice. It's not as trendy as a küat but is cheaper. Still, any tray mount won't allow you to open the barn door with bikes on. (The Yakima I tried wouldn't even clear the door when tilted down.)

 

[IanB]

Ya, the tray ones seem poorly suited to the rear door on the GX's, which is unfortunate as they otherwise seem great.

 

[Source3]

isi bicycle carrier: iSi Advanced 4x4 Bicycle Carrier and Bike Rack Systems

 

[IanB]

isi bicycle carrier: iSi Advanced 4x4 Bicycle Carrier and Bike Rack Systems

Did some quick googling, this one looks very good! Tray style, but folds down low enough to clear the GX's rear door! Unfortunately, only carries 2 bikes, is priced very high, plus shipping out of Australia.

Thanks for this suggestion, it's one of the better solutions I've seen so far.

 

[Source3]

The isi can carry more than 2 bikes. Search there site. Shipping out of Australia was only $80 or so. Not bad. Before the owner accepts your order, he makes you take a picture of your rig and hitch to make sure they send you what you need.

Bike rack in action:

This was on my lifted 80-series but you will see how the bike rake up-angle clears the ruts etc.

 

[IanB]

Hmm, did some more perusing of the iSi site, seems they DO carry more than 2 bikes, and I was even able to find some pics of Prado 120's with 2 bikes loaded, and the rear door open!!! I'm not sure it would still work this way with 3-4 bikes loaded, but this is the most promising solution I've seen yet.

Blue one looks like a Prado150?

This one is a Prado 120!

I'm also curious if the North Shore rack with a hitch extender would clear, but I'll need someone with one to take some measurements to confirm...anyone with a Northshore rack up to help out?

 

[IanB]

More searching, more answers! Found a Prado 120 w/ 3 bikes mounted, door doesn't open all the way, but enough to get the dog in/out, which is pretty good I guess.

 

[Source3]

The isi can ship with different lengths of the male part of the receiver. Notice on you last picture the hitch insert is extended to clear the tire carrier. As I stated above, isi will ask you a few questions before sending you a quote or your order to make sure the fitment is correct.

 

[Nothinghead]

isi bicycle carrier: iSi Advanced 4x4 Bicycle Carrier and Bike Rack Systems

This looks like a great solution for our dumb barn door except that the it grips the top tube and not the tires which isn't ideal. I guess you can't have everything.

 

[IanB]

This looks like a great solution for our dumb barn door except that the it grips the top tube and not the tires which isn't ideal. I guess you can't have everything.

On their site they detail the top tube grip, it looks pretty decent as far as not scratching paint, etc, and says it's CF frame friendly.

 

[Nothinghead]

On their site they detail the top tube grip, it looks pretty decent as far as not scratching paint, etc, and says it's CF frame friendly.

I agree their design is a lot better than any of those other racks that clamp onto the frame. My concern would be if I went down any fire roads and got sand or dirt in between the tubes and that rubber hook. The vibration moving back and forth might really dig that grit right through the paint finish.

 

[Source3]

... The vibration moving back and forth might really dig that grit right through the paint finish.

Then ride your bike harder and get some scratches ...you will not worry about it. I have abused this rack and found the top tube clamp not to be a big issue.

 

[Nothinghead]

Then ride your bike harder and get some scratches ...you will not worry about it. I have abused this rack and found the top tube clamp not to be a big issue.

Oh, I do beat my bikes and don't care too much about the paint, personally. In fact, I've only ever owned one new bike. All of mine are demos.

I guess I was just making the observation that this design has more of a chance of scratching your bikes than other tray styles like the küat, Thule, etc.

If I had known about this rack, I probably would have bought it instead of my Thule because I hate not being able to open my back door.