Recommendation for a 2013 Honda Crosstour to Allow Use of Yakima 4-Bike Hitch Rack

Question:

I have a Yakima Roc 4 that I used on my old car and want to use it with the 2013 Honda Crosstour that I just purchased. It uses a 2inch receiver opening. Can I install the C11002 hitch, use a hitch adapter to change the size from 1 1/4 to 2inch and have it work? Where would I install the strap given the hatchback design of the Crosstour? I really dont want to resort to roof mount given the additional expense and the work to get 4 bikes onto the roof. Please let me know my options or if I am out of luck. Thanks very much.

asked by: Peter T

Expert Reply:

The hitches offered for your 2013 Honda Crosstour are limited to the light-duty Class I variety, one of which is the Curt # C11002. A Class I hitch bike rack - any of them - is limited to carrying 2 bikes and no more. An adapter will not help in this instance; use of ANY hitch adapter has the unfortunate side-effect of reducing the hitch's capacity by 50-percent. This would mean your 200-lb-rated hitch suddenly drops to a 100-lb rating, which is not nearly enough for the weight of a rack plus the four bikes. It is not an ideal solution, but you could put two bikes on the rack and use an adapter like # HTAD. If you go this route I urge you to load your two lightest bikes and use the support strap # 18050 which is required by Curt in any case.

Trunk mount racks are offered for your car, but only up to a 3-bike capacity maximum. This is due to the weight carrying limits of the rear hatch. Since you cannot use both a trunk and hitch rack at the same time, the only option for your car to transport 4 bikes at one time is to use a combination of a 2-bike hitch rack (or a 2- or 3-bike trunk rack) and individual roof-mount bike carriers. I am sorry there is no solution to allow full use of your Yakima 4-bike carrier on this vehicle.

I have included for you links to our pages for 2-bike Class I hitch racks and also trunk-mount racks.

I also linked you to roof racks for your car. The most cost-effective option by far is the SportRack # SR1002 which fits the Crosstour with a bare roof. On this roof rack you can use one of the compatible roof bike racks shown on the other link, such as the Swagman Upright, part # S64720, which is shown in the linked video.