RossRoss

I'm shopping for a hitch bike rack and so far I found Thule Helium Pro to have most of the features I need. It is attached and removed from the hitch with ease very quickly without tools and is very light to be carried away. However the specifications say using of the tilting feature for SUV back door access is not recommended with bikes on but not explaining why. I checked many reviews with images and videos but didn't find and explanation and wonder what would be the problem tilting the racks with bikes on. I will greatly appreciate if someone who knows this rack give some input and also If anyone knows alternative rack with these features

soyabean

Plenty.

I easily searched and looking a few on my screen right now.

Broctoon

I wonder why the hanging bike design is preferred here. Not saying there are no valid reasons for getting one. Sometimes the reason is simply that you like that type.

In my experience, the only advantage of a hanging as opposed to tray style rack would be for bikes with fenders. I could list multiple advantages of trays for every other bike.

Again, that's just my preference.

MikeWMass

Is this what you mean?

2021 Toyota 4Runner TRD PRO with Thule Helium Pro 3 bike rack - Bing video

RossRoss

I will greatly appreciate if you share the links, I can't find any. All racks that tilt with bikes mounted are platform (tray) based not hanging racks.

RossRoss

I want a bike rack that is very easy to install and uninstall on the car and easy to carry for storage. I live in an apartment building with an outside double but small garage that is shared with a neighbor. There is not much space around the parked car in the garage, With two bikes and some other stuff kept at back wall of the garage I don't have space to keep the bike rack on the car and close the garage door. In fact I don't even have storage space for the rack in the garage, I have to remove it from the car and carry it to my apartment. If I didn't have these problems I would have preferred a platform rack but they are 30-40kg this Thule rack is 9kg. And its storage space is much less.

RossRoss

Yes, that's the old version of the rack but the function is the same. In that video the guy tilted the rack without bikes on it and said "the bikes will sit there nicely" but this is exactly what Thule is recommending not to do and I'm trying to imagine what the problem would be. I asked this question on etrailer dot com (sorry, I can't insert link because I don't have enough posts) but got this answer there
Well it would have been great if someone had demonstrated the problem with a video because what I'm imagining doesn't seem to be a big problem but I might be wrong. I think the last bike will touch the ground and will hold the rack leaning on it.

Polaris OBark

Check out the Kuat Sherpa 2.0. It is "reasonably" light-weight for a platform rack, folds close to the car, and tilts down as well. I bought it with the idea that I would need to take it off of the car a lot, but I very seldom bother. The One-UP is a bit heavier but very robust and popular, and is even better at folding flat.

Ironfish653

If you really want the hanging rack style, a Swing-Away like this THULE Apex might be what you’re looking for.

I also had one of these Hollywood Sportrider platform racks. Mine was the basic model that didn’t have the tilt-away, but the arms on these fold up butterfly style, so they don’t take up a lot of room for storage.

I think the reason they don’t recommend tilting your rack with the bikes on, is that once you tilt far enough, the bikes aren’t really resting on the rack, as they are hanging from the rubber tie-down straps, which aren’t really meant for that, and you could potentially drop the bikes.

bfuser29831039

This is the rack we just bought. We like it alot and its light and easy to move around. It ends up staying on the 4Runner alot, the only change I made was used a standard locking hitch pin and not the tiny one they provide.(4Runner has a 2" hitch)

MRBoston

There are a couple of reasons for advising against using the tilt feature with bikes loaded on the rack, I would speculate. The manufacturer is a.) advising stoopid buyers that they can't protect them from stoopid behavior like unlatching a rack full of bikes and letting the whole show flop down against whatever stopping point there is, likely breaking something as a result, and b.) advising the more technically savvy that this is a very lightweight design, and that unlatching the rack with a load of bikes needs to be done very carefully. I imagine that in the manual/instructions with the rack there are several warnings about this and how Thule accepts no legal liability for results of this behavior.

At 9kg weight for the entire thing, I would assume it's all fairly thin-wall aluminum extrusion and plastic, and if you let the bike load go free to smack down against its stop, something either at the pivot joint, or maybe worse, at the hitch insertion point, is going to be under a LOT of stress.

Fredo76

Before buying a hitch-mount rack, make sure your existing hitch comes out!

Mojo31

Another vote for the Kuat Sherpa. Get the dock as well which makes it easy to store.

Kapusta

I think the rational behind many manufacturers recommending against tilting with the bikes on is not due to THEIR particular design, but of the general nature of hanging racks. Unless there is some way to secure the bottom end of the bikes in place, they are going the slide against each other as you lower it and one bike becomes higher than the other, while at the same time the bikes get closer together.

It should be OK if the bikes are well secured so as not to shift, but most people don’t secure them very well.

Kapusta

They are generally cheaper and lighter.

Hvac

My elderly Thule swings out to the right and away from the rear gate or door. Let me know if you want to purchase it as I currently have two.

squirtdad

just to note, if you have a carbon frame, hanging racks are not recommended. below is thule's take and more than one bike manufacturer says the same

https://help.thule.com/s/article/Can...%20bike%20rack.

Pop N Wood

The low buck Allen Sport racks all tilt with the bikes on.

Amazon.com : Allen Sports Deluxe 2-Bike Hitch Mount Rack , Silver/Black (522RR) : Sports & Outdoors

I keep a 3 bike unit in the trunk of my car. Have used it for several years, never a problem.

I keep velcro straps in the trunk as well to secure the lower part of the bike to the rack. Not hard to hold the bikes by hand when tilting. The tilt mechanism has a pin with retaining clip that is easy to remove. The top unpins as well to take up less room in the trunk