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Last hitch rack question, I promise

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Last hitch rack question, I promise

Old 02-18-21, 12:11 AM
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MAK
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Last hitch rack question, I promise

l know that cars differ regarding the location of rear backup cameras. I plan to have a hitch installed and will either get a hanging or a tray hitch rack. I have bikes with and without fenders so a rack touching the frame is inevitable. I know the feelings of many regarding this, so please just address my question.

I expect to leave the rack on the car most, if not all, of the time and I know that the rear camera view will be largely blocked when bikes are mounted, however; when the racks are folded, do you find that the rear backup cameras are still blocked to the point of being rendered useless?

On my car, a 2021 Subaru Crosstrek, the placement of the rear braking sensors don't look like theyll be blocked, so that shouldn't be an issue.

Thank you.
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Old 02-18-21, 06:47 AM
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blakcloud
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On my Toyota Camry Hybrid the camera is not completely blocked but is next to useless.The rear parking assist constantly beeps and if not shut off it will actually stop my car from reversing. This is one of the reasons I won't keep the rack on my car all the time. The Cross Traffic sensors are fine.

The rack goes on the car, I then shut off Parking Assist and drive away. Of course there is the issue of a blocked licence plate that rarely gets mentioned. 1UP is one of the few racks that address this problem. Depending on your jurisdiction and the mood of the law enforcement officer who pulled you over you may or may not get a citation.

These are the small details that the people at the rack store never tell you. Still love my rack even with these medium sized quibbles.
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Old 02-18-21, 10:39 AM
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Elvo
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If you have a 2 or more bike hitch rack it is very likely there will be significant blind spots on your backup camera as well as your rear parking/radar sensors sending off a lot of false positives.
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Old 02-18-21, 11:45 AM
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The backup camera on our Subaru Outback is partly blocked by our Thule tray rack when it is folded up. When that happens, I do what I did all my life prior to a few years ago and I look both ways to see if its clear for me to back up.
The sensor has never gone off regardless of if the rack is up, down, 4 bike configured, or 2 bike configured.
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Old 02-20-21, 10:52 AM
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On my Rav4 with a Kuat rack, the view is not blocked. The backup warning indicator is falsely activated constitutively, which means it always beeps thinking there is something in the path of reversal.
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Old 03-20-21, 06:22 PM
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Fyi, not sure how well it would work with fenders, but the 1up rack folds in half and would fit into a trunk:


It's also made from aluminum so it won't rust like steel does. And this pic is silver but it comes in black.

I don't think anyine here could tell you if the backup camera and rack will interfere with each other because every car size and camera position is different. Might be fine on one car and block it on another.
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