Swagman Okanagan 200 Bike Rack for 2 Bikes - 2" Hitches - Wheel Mount

Video Transcript for Swagman Okanagan 200 Bike Rack Installation - 2023 Kia Seltos

Hey, everyone. It's Evangeline here at etrailer. Today we have the Swagman TWo-Bike Okanagan. This is gonna be an open design bike rack, and we're gonna take a look at how it fits here on our 2023 Kia Seltos. The Kia Seltos has two hitch receiver options, an inch and a quarter, which is what you'll see a lot on the road, or the two-inch hitch receiver. Well, the Okanagan also has two options.

If you have an inch and a quarter hitch on your Seltos, I highly recommend taking a look at the inch and a quarter version of the Okanagan. It's gonna be a great bike rack for those smaller hitch receivers. We currently have the two-inch shank version here on our vehicle today. The features though are gonna be the exact same whether you get the inch and a quarter version or the two-inch version. It just depends on what hitch you have.

That's how you get the bike rack to match. Another thing with the Seltos is that the hitch receiver sits pretty low to the ground. So if you've tried something like the Kuat Transfer and you've noticed that the tilt doesn't seem too far on that rack, well, the Okanagan has a very deep tilt. It is accessed in the back by a handle. If you come up to the back of the bike rack and you pull that handle, you'll then be able to drop the rack away from you down to the ground.

Now, most situations, it is gonna make contact with the ground, but that's okay. It can just sit there while you open up your hatch and grab cargo from in here. If you need to sit in your hatch and switch out your shoes, this is the perfect time to do so. You can do all of that without having to take your bikes off. And when you need to bring it back into the drive position, just hold the rack ideally by its base and not buy your bikes.

Lift up (lock clicking) and it snaps into place. Now, you're ready to drive. What types of bikes can you carry with this rack Well, it does have a 40 pound weight capacity for two bikes, which isn't that impressive for a two-bike platform rack. But for its light and compact design, it is useful for most types of bikes. Heavy electric bikes, maybe not. It is a front wheel mount rack. Meaning, it holds your bike by the front as well as the rear wheel. There is zero frame contact. Something else it does is it secures that front wheel with a lock. Rather than a cable lock you'll have to remove once you start driving, this one can lock in place driving or parked. That secures your front wheel up by the fork, making for a more secure and easier to use fit. Taking the bike off, you start at the rear strap. This has an extra long strap because this can carry bike tires of up to five inches wide. It also has a rounded rear cradle for those different wheel bases. So, rather than something that tilts and moves around, this one is going to be fixed. The maximum wheel base you can carry with this rack is gonna be up to 50 inches. The open goalpost design means that as you take your bikes off, you can step into the rack making it easier to get to the bike. So, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna hold the bike frame with one hand as I press that lock we looked at earlier with the other hand lift up on the cradle. And that pushes out. Now, I can grab the bike and hit the trail. With the bikes off, we can take a closer look at some measurements here on our Seltos. The first one I like to look at is the length this adds to the back of our vehicle. So, measuring from the bumper to the end of the rack, I have it about 37 inches, which is actually on the longer side for a two-bike platform rack. Still, your Seltos is a bit smaller, so you do have some space to work with. The next measurement's gonna be ground clearance. So end of the rack to the ground, I have it at 18 1/2 inches. Compare that to our hitch, and that shake sits 8 1/2 inches off the ground. So you do have this 10-inch rise, which makes it great for clearance if you go up steep inclines like your driveways or your hills. If you're not taking your bikes out and about though, you can make this a bit more compact. Remember that lever we pulled to tilt the rack away Well, pull it again, but this time lift up on the rack, and then it should snap in your compact position. On our Seltos, we have some really good clearance and measurements we get to look at. The first measurement is gonna be how close (strap ratcheting) does it get to the back of the car. So, the closest point is gonna be from that hook to our plastic bumper. And that's about 2 1/4 inches away. The next measurement is how much length does it now add So from where we measured earlier, we're then going to measure to the end of the rack, and that's gonna be about nine inches. So, big difference compared to when this was folded down. You'll have it in this position when you're just driving around town and you're not planning on taking your bikes out. But you also wanna take your entire rack off. With that open design, look how visible our license plate and our backup camera is. It's almost like the bike rack isn't even there. You still have visibility of your taillights while it covers it a little bit. You have the side taillights to see and your rear window is completely unblocked, which is great because then as you're driving around, if you are backing up, you'll be able to see if there's any vehicles or people behind you. The one downside to the compact position is if you needed to open up your hatch, you are gonna have to lower the rack to the ground. So, remember that handle we had to pull in order to tilt the rack away When it's in that compact position, instead of pulling, you step on this lever and then you can bring the rack down with one hand. Helpful if you have groceries or your bike in the other hand. As you install this into your hitch receiver, you are gonna have an anti-rattle bolt. I use a 15/16 socket wrench in order to tighten that bolt down. And I keep an extra one in the car to make sure it is always secure before I drive. The end of that bolt is gonna have a clip and not a lock. If you do want to lock it, that is sold separately. Another thing you might notice here on our rack is this right at the bottom. Now, you are gonna use an Allen key to tighten that. That will push a bolt up through the bike rack and into your hitch receiver. Personally, though, I've tried it. Haven't noticed as much of a difference in terms of wobble and movement when I tighten this down or keep it loose. So, that is up to you to activate if you notice there's a lot of movement from your bikes. You just saw the Swagman Okanagan Two-Bike Platform Rack on the 2023 Kia Seltos.