Recommended 5 Bike Capacity Rack for Rear of a Chevrolet Suburban

Question:

I am in the market for a 5 bike hitch rack. I have a chevy suburban and need to carry 5 bikes, 4 hours on vacation trips. Ages of family members 47, 45, 16, 14, 12. Two adult road bikes specialized sirrius, two teenager fat tire bikes trek, and one trick bike with small wheels 16 year old son pretends to ride. 2 receiver hitch on suburban. Some reviews on 5 bike racks claim that there is no way for rack to hold 5 bikes. Can you recommend a carrier that you all know works?

asked by: Robert C

Expert Reply:

We do offer a few racks that are capable of carrying 5 bikes (see link). All can carry 5 bikes, but the problem is that all bikes have different frame configurations, handle bars and overall sizes.

With 5 bikes it is like a puzzle to figure out the configuration that will accept all of the bikes on the rack. Usually after a bit of trial and error you can figure out how to get the bikes loaded on the carrier and would then have to stick to that order each time you load the bikes.

I have a 4 bike rack, similar to the Swagman XP 5 Bike Folding Rack, item # S64970, that requires a special loading pattern for my mountain bike, two comfort cruisers and a 20 inch bike. I like the rotating frame cradles because the rack can accept many different frame styles without an adapter bar.

The Thule Apex XT, item # TH9026XT, is a great 5-bike rack. This rack does require an adapter like the Yakima Tube Top Bike Adapter Bar, item # Y02531, if a bike with an odd shaped frame is used.

By clicking on the provided links, you can see the install details as well as some product demonstration videos.