Hitch and Bike Rack Recommendations for a 2006 Lexus ES 330 and 2014 Volkswagen Passat TDI

Question:

I am looking for a thule bike mount that will fit my car and my husbands car both. Neither has a trailer hitch. We are triathletes and usually go together to races. We recently damaged a derailler on both of our tri bikes by loading them into to back of our cars. Time for a good preforming hitch. We prefer to be able to get in through th back of the lift up trunk for both vehicles. And.... If we install trailer hitches will the bike mount be more stable and have a safer ride? Thanks.

asked by: Peg

Expert Reply:

Trailer hitch mounted bike racks are basically superior to trunk mounts in every way. They provide a much more stable attachment point, they don't touch any vehicle painted surfaces, they are much easier to install/remove, and they don't necessarily prevent the rear door from being able to be opened.

Lets start with a hitch for both vehicles. For the 2006 Lexus ES 330 you would want the Draw Tite hitch part # 36336, and then for the 2014 Volkswagen Passat TDI the Draw Tite hitch part # 24880. I attached install videos for you to check out as well.

Since the hitch for your Passat is a Class I hitch there are no swing away racks that will work as they are only for use on Class II hitches and up.

The nicest Thule rack we offer that I would recommend for you would be the Thule T2 Pro XTR bike rack part # TH69XT. This will fit both vehicle hitches, only contacts bikes at the tires, and can tilt away from the rear of a vehicle to give at least partial access to the trunk/hatch area. It can be set up to carry 2 or 4 bikes as needed.

expert reply by: Jameson C