Draw-Tite 63124 Eclipse Black 2-Inch Sq. 4 Bike Carrier

I bought this rack to accomodate 2 kids bikes and 2 adult bikes. I researched bike racks extensively and was relieved when the rack arrived and appeared to be very high quality. The hardware fittings are oversized, the frame is heavy duty, the padding where the bike frames rest are thick, molded rubber and the velcro straps are about 2inches wide with plenty of length to ensure confidence. There is not a single piece of plastic or cheap material on this bike rack. It took about 30 minutes to assemble the rack and get it ready for hitch installation. One glitch I found was that the threads on my rack were reversed. While the instructions said to screw the bolt from the passenger side through the hitch, mine was clearly too loose after installation. The rack needs to screw in TIGHT into the hitch. Luckily I tried to screw it from the drivers side and it worked just fine. There is minimal clearance between the two pieces once the rack is fully installed. There is a heavy duty pin that allows for tilting the rack to access the trunk.Now the fun part begins. Make no mistake, the first time you try to mount your bikes, plan for 45 minutes! This is a game of Tetris, but once you figure out the right configuration for your bikes, the mounting should take no more than 10 minutes including straps. We ended up putting the 2 kids bikes first then the 2 adult bikes. (yes the kids bikes Require an extension bar.) Keep in mind, there will always be points where the bikes rub together, but you can minimize touch points by moving the pedals to the optimal position. After that, we used knee and elbow pads as padding between the bikes. This works like a charm! The velcro straps allow for a variety of secure positions and we haven't scratched our bikes at all!The last part of securing the bikes includes straps. It is recommened to strap any bike that uses an extension bar from the bike frame or tire to the bike rack directly. This provides extra security should the extension bar fail, the bikes will still be strapped to the bike rack. I usually wrap one long strap around the first pair of bikes securing them to the rack, and attach another strap to the second pair of bikes and rack. The last strap I use is secured from the bike rack to the roof rack of my SUV. This is actually a critical part of feeling secure! This is an anti-sway strap that keeps the entire bike rack from moving too much when you hit a bump in the road or go over a train track. Trust me, you want to buy this strap!Our first road trip with the bikes fully loaded took us across 4 hours of highway and country roads. The bikes arrived without a scratch and my nerves were intact too. We have used the rack now 10+ times and each time it gets easier. Overall, I highly recommend this bike rack. It is a very strong and sturdy extension of your vehicle. The only drawback I see is that it doesn't fold down. But the single post allows me to mount kids bikes, the tilt function is perfect and easy to use, the strength in design is obvious so I will accept the single drawback happily!

I purchased this product to a replace the Yakima Bighorn 4-Bike Rack that was recently stolen off of my XTerra.The rack itself came in a box that was a little beat up when I unpacked it from the HUGE box it was shipped in but upon inspection, nothing was damaged or out of place. Be warned, the parts are very well made, and that makes them heavy. All fasteners were included and came pre-coated with thread lock where needed. One word of advice; With the thread lock on these items, using the included allen wrench was difficult. I mounted an allen tip on my ratchet and it cut assembly time in half. (or more.) All of the bolts and welds on this item seem very heavy duty, and I found nothing in need of additional adjustment right out of the box. The steel between the cradles has generously sized cutouts, through which you can snake locking cables for that extra security.Also, take your time mounting the bike cradles. I wasn't paying attention and mounted two of them with the straps opening one direction, and the other two opening in the other. This may not be a big deal for you, but I had to re-do that part of the process. (Maybe a little OCD, on my part.) Once assembled, the unit is a tad heavy but an average person should not have a problem mounting it on a vehicle.The rubber cradles and heavy duty velcro straps keep the bikes solidly in plave, and allow bikes of different types to be mounted together. Though, because they are relatively close together, you may have to "play" with aligning the bikes to accommodate seats and handlebars. As long as you keep balance in mind, you shouldn't have any problems.Now granted, I have only used this product once since I received it in the mail (SUPER QUICK) last Monday, but in my one 3-day trip since it arrived, it held 2 adult mountain bikes for more than 150 miles without a problem. It stayed rock-solid on the highway. Nary a wobble on normal, paved roads, and for about 2 miles of sand / gravel road it stayed perfectly in place with only a little shudder. When you do notice movement, it tends to travel forward and back, rather than side to side. In my observation, this is because there is about 1/8 inch of play in the size of the insert to the trailer hitch. Because of this size difference, you may notice 1/2 an inch of movement forward and back. Not even enough to make me feel the need to continuously check it in my rearview. With the threaded bolt that holds it in place, i could not imagine a more solid platform.Halfway through my trip, we met up with some friends and took all 4 bikes on this rack to the Cape Cod bike trails about 25 miles from where we were. With 4 adult mountain bikes on the rack too, I noticed a little more movement, but still nothing significant and heard no clanking or other noises. I honestly expected to hear some noise / rattling but was pleasantly surprised.Now, a word of caution; I would not recommend using the tilt-out feature of this rack with 4 bikes loaded. I can't image it was designed for that purpose. With one or two bikes, and the weight of the unit itself, it is heavy lifting to get back in place. It is held in the upright position by a substantial slide-through bolt with a safety wire and a wrap-around fastener. Sliding the pin through the hitch was challenging but doable, with just two bikes loaded, using one hand to support the weight. I must comment though, that the tilt out feature leaves more than enough room for access to my XTerra's tailgate.All in all, a fantastic purchase, and I was so happy with the price. It held up to the Yakima and Thule racks I have used, and at almost 1/3 the cost. I would definitely recommend this item to anyone, and will likely be buying another for my brother and sister-in-law for Christmas.If there was one negative to list, it would be that the rack doesn't fold down when unloaded, but this is not enough for me to take a star away.If there was one improvement I would make; I would ask Pro Series to add an actual brake-light connection and brakelight instead of just a reflector. With 4 bikes loaded, visibility of the two lower brake lights is obstructed quite a bit. It might not hurt to add that one additional safety feature.Hope this helps!

I ordered this bike rack prior to a 1500 mile road trip thru the Rocky Mountains in our 2013 Toyota Highlander, to carry one adult mountain bike and two kids bikes. I was very impressed with the strength and quality of the product. It is made of heavy gauge steel, and mounts solidly in the 2-inch hitch receiver. The included hardware is sturdy and appropriate to the application (i.e. high quality machine screws with thread-lock compound to prevent loosening). The hook-and-loop (a.k.a. Velcro) straps that hold the bikes in are big and strong. Combined with the rubber V-shaped cradles, the system works very well. It was overkill, but I also used some bungee cords to help hold everything in place and keep it from moving around. I also duct-taped an old rag around the vertical post of the bike rack to keep the bikes from banging into it while on the road.Assembly was simple and only took about 10 minutes. The kit even included an allen wrench to tighten the bolts. During the trip I had occasion to carry four adult-sized mountain bikes during an excursion, and the rack handled these four large, heavy bikes with no problems.As other reviewers have noted, you cannot tilt the rack down while the bikes are loaded - it's just too heavy. You have to first remove all the bikes. However, I found during our trip that, by the time I had unloaded all the bikes, it was just as easy to simply remove the bike rack completely, rather than bother with tilting it down.At the end of the 1500 mile road trip, the bikes and the rack are still in perfect shape!This is a sturdy bike rack, and an exceptional value. I would purchase again without reservations.

This is a cheaply poorly designed bike carrier.