Bike Racks, Roof and Hitch mounts

[astrorex]

Bike racks

One of the great things of getting a new model car is the bleeding edge technology and all the oohs and aahs you get from 'townfolks' But the bad thing is scarcity of supported accessories.

I just found out my superjoe yakima trunk rack won't fit my 2011 Explorer. Now I have to invest in a new one, or maybe trade this. Do any of you folks have recommendations on what rack will fit best? I plan to carry a max of two bikes at a time. Have always used trunk ranks, but now looking at hitch mounted ones (roof might be too tall for me) How hard would it be to setup a hitch mounted rack? Since mine does not have a towing package how difficult will it be to set this up?

Thanks,
AstroRex

 

[rescue_31]

went onto hitchesonline.com you can get a class 3 hitch for 149.11. If you are somewhat mechanically inclined you can install it yourself, no drilling required, just needs some basic wrenches. And, should be high enough where you wont need to jack the back of the car up.

It doesnt supply a wiring harness, but if your only moving bikes, wont be a problem.

Then you can get any hitch mount rack you want. Yakima makes great ones, just check out their site.

The nice part about yakima is that their hitch racks dont have the typical hitch pin, they are threaded and when you put their pin through, it has threads new the cap, which allows you to tighten it and it snugs it up tight against one side of the hitch, which stops it from shaking and rattling around.
Keep that in mind when you read reviews about yakimas hitch racks, ive noticed a lot of people just push the pin through and put the retaining clip on the end, and it wiggles all over.

I use yakima, about to buy a new one to hold more bikes myself.

 

[AtTheBeach]

I never tow anything so spent the Tow Package money on other goodies for my new 2011 XLT. Now, my daughter says he's like to carry bikes on the weekend.

I see there are aftermarket hitch recepticles available but does anybody know how those would interface with the bumper that's put on the car when no Tow Pkg is factory-ordered? Do the non-tow-package vehicles come with the same hitch cover plate built into the bumper? If not, how could an after-market hitch recepticle look/work when added?

 

[1995E]

It's added below the bumper is what I heard.

 

[jmburrowes]

Does anyone know if there are any trunk bike racks for 4 bikes that will fit the 2011 XLT? We do not have a hitch and don't really want a roof top rack. The only ones I have seen do not guarantee they will fit on cars with spoilers. Please help!!

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! I've moved your thread into the modified 2011 Explorer section.

 

[Mishtar]

You could pick up a after market hitch delivered for around $210 and then ge6t a hitch rack... Just an idea. I used to have a trunk one on my old car but it ruined the paint where the contact points were.

 

[new to ford]

trying to find best roof bike rack for '11 Ex

Hello all,

I am trying to find out the best set-up for a roof mounted bike rack. I have the factory cross bars.
So far I have tried:

1.- Yakima low riders with round bars 58": The set-up fits the factory siderails, but the noise is UNBELIEVABLE!, I am not just talking about wind noise, this is more like roof resonance noise (maybe weak roof?) I have used this same exact set-up in my '05 passat wagon and had minimal wind noise, but on the Ex, this set-up is a definite NO GO!. When I tried it, I did not remove the cross bars, not sure if that could have an influence, I tried removing the cross bars but could only remove the rear one, not the front one, seems like is is wedged pretty hard in there.
2.- Yakima fork lift: I just ordered one of these, it mounts directly onto the factory cross bars, I'll report my findings...

Any one has tried successfully any roof bike racks?

 

[donm527]

you have the tow package? if not ever consider a aftermarket tow kit and buy a hitch connected bike carrier? seems so much more convenient than pushing up on the roof.

I have the tow package and am going to buy a bike carrier... just not sure which is the best for a couple of bikes.

Hello all,

I am trying to find out the best set-up for a roof mounted bike rack. I have the factory cross bars.
So far I have tried:

1.- Yakima low riders with round bars 58": The set-up fits the factory siderails, but the noise is UNBELIEVABLE!, I am not just talking about wind noise, this is more like roof resonance noise (maybe weak roof?) I have used this same exact set-up in my '05 passat wagon and had minimal wind noise, but on the Ex, this set-up is a definite NO GO!. When I tried it, I did not remove the cross bars, not sure if that could have an influence, I tried removing the cross bars but could only remove the rear one, not the front one, seems like is is wedged pretty hard in there.
2.- Yakima fork lift: I just ordered one of these, it mounts directly onto the factory cross bars, I'll report my findings...

Any one has tried successfully any roof bike racks?

 

[new to ford]

I do have the tow package and plan on having a couple bikes on the tow hitch, but still want to get two on the roof!

 

[jt90078]

I've got a Allen Deluxe 4 bike hitch rack. Its the 2" receiver version and works excellent. There is a bolt that goes through the rack/hitch receiver to secure it instead of a normal pin. This is inconvenient because I had a locking hitch pin to make sure it would not be stolen. I have heard of people making the rack holes bigger by drilling them out and then attaching the locking hitch pin. For now the "wobble free" bolt has worked excellent and don't know many criminals to carry wrenches around with them. I would recommend this! It folds while the bikes are loaded on there so you can get in the back hatch and not have to take the bikes off.

http://www.amazon.com/Allen-Deluxe-4-Bike-2-Inch-Receiver/dp/B000ELUXGG

Check your local walmart for a better price. Got mine for $90 but seen them for $110.

 

[Mishtar]

Or if you have a DH bike you may want to look at one of the platform hitch mounted racks such as the SWAGMAN Quad 4. Or something along that lines. You do not have to worry about the cables being crushed then.

http://www.swagman.net/products/platform-racks/quad-4/

 

[muddlermike]

Ford hitch style bike rack

Hey all,

I was looking into a hitch mount bike rack for the new Ex and noticed that the Ford models are well priced. Does anyone have either the 2 bike or 4 bike model and how do you like it? If not, any suggestions on a decent hitch mount rack that won't break the bank?

also, looking for a decent canoe carrier in the future. Any suggestions for that would be helpful too...

 

[rx7rules]

Hitch bike rack

I would seriously consider paying a little for a nicer bike rack. I am getting a "Swing Daddy" from Yakima. sure, it costs more but this rack allows you to open the rear hatch when you have bike's installed on the rack. Check it out.

http://www.yakima.com/shop/bike/hitch/swingdaddy

 

[Joe Dirt]

We have that Yakima rack, and it is indeed nice... You'll never realize how frustrating it is to not be able to get into the back of hte vehicle until you finally get a rack that lets you, and what you put up with before.

 

[michael_jp]

Trunk mount bike rack set-up (is this correct?)

It's my first time to set a trunk mount bike rack, and I installed one (Yakima Quickback 3). I'm wondering if placing the top cable on top of the spoiler cause issue.

I've enclosed the picture of the bike rack set-up and would appreciate very much your advice if this set-up is correct.

Thank you.
http://s977.photobucket.com/albums/ae252/dregz54/2011%20Ford%20Explorer/?action=view&current=carrier.jpg

 

[GertR]

This looks a bit risky for me! The spoiler tip are forced down, never mind that you may pull it off it's mounting alltogether.

Why not go for a Thule hitch mount : http://www.thule.com/en-US/US/Products/Bike-Carriers/Hitch/957-Parkway

I have 2 expensive mountain bikes and use this from Swagman : http://www.swagman.net/products/platform-racks/g2/. No so expensive...

 

[IZwack]

Yeah you really should get either a hitch mount or roof.

 

[donm527]

I just ordered this yesterday...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018TFUHA

 

[michael_jp]

I don't have a hitch and using a roof mount is a bit troublesome because of risk of scratching the car during loading/unloading. Furthermore, I will be using this carrier very seldom (a couple of times a year).

I purchased this rack base on information from etrailer.com and vehicle fit data from yakima website.
http://www.etrailer.com/question-26092.html

And also from Yakima's website I could see some of it's cable running on the top spoiler.
http://assets.yakima.com/image/product/kingjoe-pro-3/size/large/sequence/2

We'll I'm just concern about putting too much pressure on the spoiler that may cause it to break loose as GertR mentioned.
I'll be going out on a bike trip this weekend and hope this rack set-up will work.