Will Thule OutWay 3-Bike Rack Fit 2016 Toyota RAV4

Question:

Can this be used with my 2016 Toyota RAV4 Limited? I have an old Saris and when I put it on the new vehicle, it seems like with the weight of bikes, it could put too much stress on the spoiler. Also wondering about using the power liftgate with weight of even just one bike?! Ive been researching for days now and need to figure out what to do for a solution. I have an Electra Townie, daughter has a Trek and hub has mountain - been a pain in the neck with our Saris to get them all on, even with the removable bars we put on two of the bikes.

asked by: Suzy L

Expert Reply:

The Thule OutWay 3-Bike Rack # TH56BV that you referenced has been confirmed as a fit for your 2016 Toyota RAV4. I have attached a review video of the 2 bike OutWay on a similar vehicle as yours for you to see the rack installed. Saris has not confirmed any of their trunk mount racks as a fit for the 2016 RAV4.

We do not recommend opening the rear hatch to access the cargo area while the rack is installed, with or without a bike loaded. The main reason for this being that the gas struts that hold up the rear hatch are only designed to hold the weight of the door itself, not the additional weight of the rack or bikes. This additional weight could cause the door the come down on the person standing under the door.

The OutWay has arms that are adjustable, in and out, to allow you to bring the rack's arms closer together. The closer the arms are to each other, the easier it can be to load the bikes. The bike adapter bars you mentioned are also designed to help make loading bikes easier. Even with the adapter bar, it can still sometimes be difficult to load an adult bike onto a hanging rack.

The easiest style bike rack to load bikes on is a hitch mounted platform bike rack. The platform rack will prevent you from having to work the bikes down the arms of the hanging rack. With this style rack, the bikes will rest in the wheel cradles and be secured by a ratcheting arm and a ratcheting strap at the rear wheel. To carry a platform bike rack, like # KU24FR, this would require a hitch, # e98864, but would avoid all contact with your rear hatch and the spoiler. I also recommend the Kuat Transfer V2 # KU24FR because it will allow you to tilt the bikes away from the vehicle when they are loaded to gain access to the rear cargo area.