I want to carry some bicycles on my Toyota Highlander. I'm ready to start shopping, but this place is a great source of due diligence on all matters.
Fun facts:
Highlander has no trailer hitch, no factory roof rack.
I'm 6'-5" tall.
Please share experiences (pro and con) about both rack types. Thanks
Hitch platform rack all the way. Lifting a bike on the top of my SUV would be such a PITA where as my platform rack, both of the bikes are on in under a minute.
A roof rack works good on a shorter car like a legacy. I used one on a maxima and it worked really good for that but even then it was awkward sometimes to get it in the roof rack every time.
How heavy are the bikes?
Do you want to lift them over your head to the roof rack or just lift them mid-height to rear rack?
Do you have to drive through any relatively low clearance areas? There are a ton of covered bridges where I live, and my Yukon has antennae on the top that constantly get clanked against said bridges- if I put bikes up there they'd never make it to the trails.
JohnRW1621 wrote: How heavy are the bikes? Do you want to lift them over your head to the roof rack or just lift them mid-height to rear rack?
Mountain bikes, road bikes. I don't mind lifting but my wife definitely would. She hates bikes though (would never go ride by herself) and the kids could manage.
What do you do with a hitch rack when you need to open the tailgate ?
Also..
cost for hitch + rack ?
Versus
Roof rack ?
Seems like items you could pick up barely used.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ wrote: Do you have to drive through any relatively low clearance areas? There are a ton of covered bridges where I live, and my Yukon has antennae on the top that constantly get clanked against said bridges- if I put bikes up there they'd never make it to the trails.
Not really. Highlander isn't real tall.
Lifting them up to the roof can suck, they create a lot of wind noise and they get plastered with bugs. For all these reasons I love my hitch mount bike rack.
eastpark wrote: Lifting them up to the roof can suck, they create a lot of wind noise and they get plastered with bugs. For all these reasons I love my hitch mount bike rack.
bugs. I hadn't considered that.
If you get a hitch will you use it for other stuff (towing, motorcycle carrier, etc.)? You can get (or make) hitch racks that swing out of the way so you can open the tailgate. Same goes for roof rack- will you get anything else out of having one (ski rack, kayaks, etc.)?
Looking at hitches fo r my base highlander (4cyl) - the exhaust is in the way. Most fabricators appear to use one of those "tailpipe hoops" - which make me cringe whenever I see them.
Definitely a hitch for nothing heavier than a bike rack.
Been there, tried them all, stayed all night.
I finally found the answer: 1upusa.com. Best. Bike rack. Ever. Not much more money than the usual suspects, absolutely bulletproof, and warrantied forever. They'll even mail you a new one for free if it gets stolen.
And yes, lifting a bike onto your roof after a long ride sucks.
I have a couple roof mounted bike carriers for my WRX. Not too hard to get bikes on/off, but it is not a very high roof. Hitch mounted racks are easier, but don't help when you need to carry a kayak, so that's why I went with roof racks. Tom's rack looks nice, I'm not familiar with those. Definitely get one that allows your tailgate to open.
Check to see if a hitch from a Tacoma will fit a Highlander. I have a brand new Curt hitch that still has tags on it that I'm not using.
Tom - that stuff looks bulletproof and awesome. but very $$$
Anyone have one of these?
https://www.rei.com/product/871149/yakima-ridgeback-4-hitch-rack-4-bike
You mention wife and kids. Does this mean you intend to load 4 bikes at a time?
Most roof racks can only handle 2 bikes.
Woody wrote: Check to see if a hitch from a Tacoma will fit a Highlander. I have a brand new Curt hitch that still has tags on it that I'm not using.
model number?
JohnRW1621 wrote: You mention wife and kids. Does this mean you intend to load 4 bikes at a time? Most roof racks can only handle 2 bikes.
possibly 3 or 4
Looking at the Yakima I just linked.. looks like these are top tube mounted and tight.
What do you put between the bikes to protect them? Swimming pool noodles, maybe?
Reading here.. http://www.bicycleadvisor.com/best-hitch-bike-rack/
Can you cut stuff? I've made two different hitch bike racks- for a class II and III hitch. One I would like to modify to be higher, but both work great.
The design that hangs the bikes from the top tube is incredibly simple.
The ClassIII mounts is mostly aluminum tube that is bolted and bonded together. And they both fold up pretty small.
Seeing the design Tom posted makes me think that can be built, too. Very clever design to not need bent tubes, nor a middle tube to hold the bike up. Great idea.
I carry my bicycle inside my Disco. I cut a sheet of ply to fit the back floor behind the seats. After covering it with black carpet to match, I screwed a Thule' quick release bracket to it. All I need to do is fold up the smaller rear seat behind the driver, remove the front wheel of my bicycle, and wheel it backwards into the disco so that the rear wheel sits between the folded up seat and the door (does not touch either) and lock it into the quick release.
Keeps my bike safe, clean, and bug free
I do a fair amount of biking (used to do a LOT), and have had a roof rack for years. I got the towers for free in a CL car I bought. Added some cross bars and changed the fit kit.
This is on a Saturn though, so its like 15+ inches shorter than your SUV.
On the Saturn, there are a couple of trailer hitch issues:
1) ALL of them are crap. they mount into flimsy floorpan structure (seriously... wtf?), interfere with muffler, etc.
2) They hang way too low. Enter any steep drive, drive off the road anywhere, generally go anywhere near a trail where you might mountain bike and you'll be dragging the hitch on the ground. Hang some bikes off beyond that and you've got bigger problems.
My roof rack is quick and easy. Its also rock solid, unlike most smaller hitch mounts. I do wish I had one where I could leave the wheel on instead of fork-mounted, but I was cheap when I bought it. Have no issues with it other than some wind noise on long trips, which almost never happen in this car. Also the rack on the roof comes in super handy to use as structure to secure other things that don't fit inside the car (wheelbarrow, furniture I bought off craigslist, lumber, etc.)
I've had plans for a while to add a hitch to this car that mounts to where the bumper beam mounts, which would make me consider using a hitch mounted rack.
Oh, and mine is only for 2 bikes, but you could easily put 4 bikes on a roof rack. Most people that do that alternate the tray direction.
We went with the Curt and the Hollywood Racks Sports Rider 4. The rack is heavy at 89 lbs, but works real well for yours truly to load and unload bikes quickly. To stow at home, I hang the rack on a couple of bike hooks.
We have a hitch rack on our (family) Highlander and use a Yakima rack of some kind. It can angle down for opening the back. The hitch we have does have that exhaust loop mentioned earlier. It looks kind of strange, but the hitch has been on there for something like 12 years without problems.
Since the exhaust loop bothers you so much my vote is that you run sidepipes and weld up your own hitch 
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