Saris MHS Platform Rack Base for 2 Bikes and Accessory - 2" Hitches - Tilting

Video Transcript for Saris MHS Platform Rack Base Review SAR98MR

Hey, everyone. It's Evangeline here at erailer, and today we have the Saris MHS 2+1 Base. This base is going to be the foundation. You need to be using any MHS accessories. So whether you wanna carry around a bike rack or an MHS cargo basket, this or the other base sizes is where you need to start. There are different base sizes available for you.

There's a 1+1, the 2+3, or the 3+1. The 2+1 is going to be your most versatile option. Great for your mid-size to smaller SUVs, and perfectly fine for your trucks and your larger vehicles too. You do require a two inch hitch receiver at minimum, to be able to use this base, but this allows you to carry all of the different types of accessories that MHS has. So I actually recommend the 2+1 over the 3+1 sometimes because the 2+1 gives you a little bit more versatility with different types of hitch receivers and vehicles.

The maximum weight capacity for this is gonna be 195 pounds, which can be a lot. And if you want to fully load your MHS space, you do have to be mindful of things like tongue weight or how much sag will this add to the back of your vehicle, will you even be able to take advantage of its full tilt away Things like that. So that's why I always recommend this for your mid-size SUVs. If in doubt, go with a 2+1. This has two slots for your trays.

So you can carry either one cargo basket and an add-on, or two bike trays and an add-on. Here we have our bike tray. We're gonna fit this collar around our base. Notice how it fits and settles into that slot. Fit the collar around the base, push that into the tab, and then we're gonna secure it with our security wrench.

So notice here how this is really just an Allen key with a hole cut out, but you are going to need this in order to tighten down on those bolts. This process does take a little bit of effort just to get that tool aligned up, and then everything fully tightened down, but that's okay because then it has a super sturdy and stable fit around your base. For your add-on, you are going to have to remove the cap on the end. I used a little Phillips head screwdriver just to lift off the corners to get access to these four holes. Put your add-on on and then drop the four bolts to hold it in place. Get your plate, and that is what your bolts will thread to as you use your security wrench to tighten down from above. With the MHS, you really do trade modularity for stability, which means that it does take a little bit extra effort in order to attach the accessories, but then you have a very sturdy system compared to other modular systems. But you also may have to do a little bit more configuration. For example, when we added on the add-on tray, I did notice that it's facing the exact same way as our other tray. So now I would have to switch these trays around to get the best fit for my bike, which is a little bit more effort than I would prefer so it will take more initial time. But once you figure out what works best for you, then you're solid. What scenarios and what accessories are you planning on using this for We have our bike rack loaded up so that you can see how if you needed to open up the hatch or open up the trunk or lower the tailgate of your vehicle, that might be a little tricky to do with a bike on there. But the base does tilt away no matter what type of cargo or accessory you have on there. This involves pulling a lever and laying this drop down to a tilt. Now, remember how I said 195 pounds weight capacity That can be a lot of weight dropping down. By the way, if you have a hitch clearance of at least 10 inches of ground clearance, you'll be able to fully tilt your rack away. But tilting allows you to get access into your hatch, into your cargo area, and in some cases, lower your tailgate. So if you do have this fully weighted down with bikes, then I do recommend having someone help you out to lift this back up. Once you line it up, it snaps into place, and just like that you're ready to drive again. How much space does the 2+1 take up behind your vehicle Are you gonna have space inside your garage, or if you need to park into a tight parking spot So what I do is I measure from the center of the hitch pin hole to the handle. I'm gonna ignore our add-on here because not everyone will have the add-on at all times. That measurement is going to be 40 inches, and that will help you figure out if you have that space for wherever you are. Now another thing you can do with this is just like a bike rack, you can pull that handle. But this time, instead of letting it tilt down, you can push up against the vehicle. This has two positions. There's your angled position for if you have, let's say, a spare tire behind you. For some vehicles, you're able to open up the hatch, or if maybe you have a recessed hitch and just don't have that much clearance, or you can push this up to the complete compact position. Let's take some more measurements. I like to measure, again, from that center of the hitch pin hole to the base and that's going to be 16 inches. That's gonna be this spot right here. Big difference compared to when this was folded down. And depending on your accessories, that will change your experience with how much bulk this will take up behind your vehicle. Right off the bat, the duo trays, which is what we have here, usually cover up the most behind your car. So speaking of different accessories, let's go ahead and switch these out. I traded out the two bike racks for a cargo basket, and this is the perfect time to clarify weight capacity. Because when you look at the individual components, you might get confused by what weight capacity they say they have when the base's capacity, 2+1, is a maximum of 195 pounds. So when you look at the cargo basket, for example, it says a 200 pound weight capacity. But in reality, when it's on this space and you pair it with an add-on, this add-on can carry a 35 pound bike. So 195-35, you're down to 160 pounds weight capacity for the basket. That, or two 80 pound bikes. So when in doubt, double check your base weight capacity. But also the most important weight capacity is your car's tongue weight capacity. Here we have our hitch receiver. You see this fits into our two inch hitch. And then this is secured by an anti-rattle bolt and a lock. With your base, you are going to get three separate lock cores. That way for your different add-ons, you can change out the locks there and make sure that they all match your base lock. The MHS 2+1 Base is what I think as just a really good foundation for the MHS line, because no matter what type of vehicle you have, this is gonna be more likely to fit it when it comes to the weight as well as the size. And you're still able to use all the different components in the MHS line. For example, we have our cargo basket and we have our bike rack add-on. Now you can only go up to three slots, so if you really need to use all the extra things, that's when you look at the 3+1. Or if you have a smaller vehicle with an inch and a quarter hitch receiver, that's when you go down to the 1+1 base instead. So hopefully this video will just help you show, or help you see how this whole system works together for the base, and from the base, you can then add on, and you can find all those add-ons right here on our website. But right here, right now, this was a look at the Saris MHS 2+1 Base, and you saw it at etrailer.com.