rsterman

Howdy All,
I have been inactive on the site since moving to Jupiter, Florida a few years ago. Been really busy. Have been riding my '72 Lejeune TDF all around the surrounding area. Salt air is wreaking havoc on the chrome parts as well as derailleurs, brake parts, and such. The ride is still great however. 🚴‍♂️

I have a problem I’m sure someone can help me solve. I want to add a two-bike Thule carrier to my 2019 Subaru Forester. I’ve heard Uhaul hitches are good and cheaper than other hitches to buy and install. I was wondering has any idea which Uhaul hitch is an appropriate fit for the Subaru? Thanks for any help/advice. 😎

rsterman

WolfgangVerne 

I have a 2016 Subaru Forester and purchased this Curt Class III (2") hitch from e-trailer and installed it myself. Installation was fairly simple and only took me an hour or so. They have easy to follow videos on the site showing you the install process. I know when I purchased this one it was a little cheaper than the option U-haul had. Although U-haul will do the installation for an extra fee if you want to go that route. Hope that helps!

https://www.etrailer.com/hitch-2019_Subaru_Forester.htm

natterberry 

I just bought a hitch mount for my ‘12 Prius. Bought from etrailer.com and installed myself. Any website you shop on for this should allow you to choose your vehicle to filter for an appropriate mount.

kingsting

Here ya go!

https://www.uhaul.com/Trailer-Hitche...eel-Drive/?ddl

Their hitches are inexpensive and some locations will even install them.

I had one on my old Element and it was an easy half hour job to install it while laying on the ground.

My only complaint was that it got rusty pretty quick but I live where there is a lot of road salt in the winter. You shouldn't have an issue like that in Florida...

madpogue 

If it's of interest, most Curt hitches are made in the US. Varies by model, however.

Velo Mule

I have had good luck with Curt hitches. I don't have a Subaru, so I can't make a comment on specifics of fit and price.

If you can find a class III receiver, (it is 2" square), it is bigger and sturdier than a class I or II (1 - 1/4") receiver. I don't know if that is available for your car.

iab

Technically, I'm not supposed to have a hitch on my car, u-haul didn't offer anything at the time I got my hitch. Curt had one though. Bought it, brought it to my local mechanic, he installed. All in, cheaper than what I paid u-haul for our other car we did years earlier.

Coppi 50K 02 by iabisdb, on Flickr

nlerner

Sorry to hijack, but along with hitches, any recommendations on racks?

The Golden Boy 

We had one of the Saris "Bones" strap on racks- it was awesome, but it wouldn't work on either of our new cars. When I was looking at racks- I decided I'd get a hitch. I knew Saris was made in Wisconsin. I'd seen all kinds of Saris racks and my decision was pretty much made. Then I started seeing recommendations and reviews for 1Up racks. After seeing plenty of reviews and videos and stuff, I still decided to go with Saris- because it was made in WI. I've had that thing for a year- it's great. But I just found out last month or so that 1UP is made in WI as well. Not that I don't like the Saris- but I think I would have chosen the 1Up if I'd known it was made in WI.

I don't think you'd go wrong with either brand.

BTW- I have a Saris Freedom EX II.

(I need to take some pix of the rack with the bikes on my car- but here's the stock ones)

The Golden Boy 

I have a Curt hitch that I had installed from a local 'automotive accessories' place. My car is an Acura- when I asked them about it- I was referred there.

Hitch 1 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

Hitch 2 by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

Narhay

It depends on the car, too. The uhaul hitch was going to hang down like the car above but I ended up going to a local truck store and they had a hitch that was essentially hidden other than the square for the ball insertion. Similar price.

SwimmerMike 

I've installed Curt 2" hitches on 2 Acura MDX's, a Cayenne, and an Infinity QX60. I would recommend the 2" it gives you way more options they are generally mounted more securely also. As for rack's I really like my Kuat. I keep it as a 2 bike carrier, but can add the extension on if I need to carry up to 4 bike.

Mike

iab

As pictured on my car, the Kuat Sherpa.

tricky 

I like my Yakima Hold Up rear rack.

shoff535

I got a Curt for my Outback. I tried to order it from etrailer, but their stock was out at the time. I ended up saving ~50 bucks and got it from amazon.

In regards to the type of rack, I have a 1UP rack which is manufactured in Wisconsin, the saris rack is similar to the 1UP, IIRC, 1UP is the original "no contact" bike rack.
One of the nice options with the 1UP is that if you can add "rack add-ons" if you need to carry more than one bike. IIRC the subarus have a fairly low "tongue" weight limit so you might not be able to carry 4 ebikes on the Forester

nlerner

Seems that the mini-boom for bikes is also affecting the rack sellers. From the 1UP site: All racks and add-ons are out of stock until Aug 26th without the option for backorder.

malcala622

Uhaul quoted me 285 + install for my 13" G37 sedan back in 2015. No way did I pay that.

I found one on etrailer for $90 and installed it myself.

Bought a Thule rack

Velo Mule

Racks are in short supply right now. I prefer racks with tire trays rather than hanging bikes from the top tube. Kuat, Yakima, Thule, 1-up and Saris all make nice racks. If money was not an issue, the Kuat would be my choice. Money is always an issue and now availability is the other issue.

I have a much less expensive rack made by a company called MaxHaul. It is built like an erector set, it is not as elegant as the brands listed above, but it works perfectly. I have fenders on most of my bikes so this holding system works well for the bikes I carry.

This seems to be the same one. Walmart Hitch mount bike rack

Pompiere

The Walmart rack looks exactly like the one I got from Nashbar, pre-bankruptcy. Nashbar called it the Shadow rack. It's not fancy, but it gets the job done and it wasn't very expensive. If it was a few inches longer, it would fit a tandem.

natterberry 

I have this Rola rack on the way. I need one that can secure with the frame for fendered bikes. Option to add a second holder if I feel the need.


Also, it was in stock.

rjhammett

I bought a hitch at U-Haul a couple months ago for my 2020 Honda CR-V. It was by far the cheapest place at $189 installed. I purchased a used Yakima 4 bike rack for $80. Pretty inexpensive for the whole setup.

RandolphCarter

Wife and I had a Draw-Tite 2" hitch put on our Grand Caravan. If you don't have a vehicle lift, you need to take off the rear bumper cover to install the hitch. I didn't want to deal with that so we paid a mechanic to do the install. We have a Thule 4 bike rack that uses stretchy band straps across the top tubes to hold the bikes in cradles on the rack. Super easy to pop the rack in to the hitch and load up the bikes.

grayEZrider

Had a 2" Draw-tite with a Specialized Dolce Al Elite hanging on a $90 Harbor Freight 4-bike hanger. Drove onto a steep bank and down through a deep ditch (and back up and out) after clipping a car turning right from the left lane. Did not roll it, but the Subaru was a total loss while the bike is just fine. And I still haul the bike on the same hanger from my Jeep's 2" Draw-tite hitch.

natterberry 

I’m happy with this. Doesn’t block my license plate or lights when folded up, and holds the bike in place very securely. Able to secure by wheel or frame with the moveable arm.

Andy_K 

I love my Kόat NV rack. If you've got a hitch, I recommend it.



It has an integrated cable lock for quick stops, and an integrated workstand. I can put the rack on the car, tools free, in about a minute. Bikes are also easy to put on and off. Service is also good. After about a year and a half I had a problem with the lock seizing. I wrote to their customer service for advice and they sent me a replacement. My only complain is that the rack bounces a little going over speed bumps. If you forget to secure the rear wheel (which I do pretty often) the rear wheel can jump off the rack. So far, the front wheel hold has kept the bike on the vehicle, but I've got some chainring gashes on the rack from this kind of incident. Mine is over 5 years old. They may have improved it since then.