Trailer Hitch for a 2017 Toyota RAV4 and 4-Bike Platform Style Bike Rack

Question:

Hi I currently drive a 2017 Rav4 XLE and was looking for a hitch to accomodate the Thule T2 Pro I also have the extended 2 bike add on, 4 bike total, will this hitch work with this setup? Do you know if I will have issues coming out or driving into a driveway? Any scraping issues? Also will the etrailer hitch and Thule T2 Pro have any clearance issues from the car bumper and the rack? I believe there is a 3-1/2 inch distance from center of pin hole to the edge of the bumper, not sure if that is sufficient space between bumper and the Thule T2 Pro. I think the Curt C13149 has a 3.5inch measurement, would that work better? Thank you!

asked by: Andrew

Expert Reply:

The etrailer trailer hitch # e98864 is an excellent choice for your 2017 Toyota RAV4 and the Thule T2 Pro XTR bike rack, # TH83JV with 2-bike add on # TH9036XT. Clearance will not be an issue. The hitch has a tongue weight capacity of 525 pounds but you are limited to the capacity of the vehicle as stated in the owner's manual.

I checked the manual and it states the tongue weight should be 9 to 11 percent of the gross trailer weight. Since the gross trailer weight capacity of the vehicle is 1,500 pounds this means that the vehicle max tongue weight is 165 pounds. What this means is that the combined weight of the bike rack and the bikes cannot exceed 165 pounds. The T2 Pro XTR with the 2-bike add on weighs approximately 96 pounds. That would mean the combined weight of the bikes cannot exceed 69 pounds. The average adult bike weighs around 30 pounds.

It seems like because the vehicle has such as low tongue weight capacity you would be better off with a lighter 4-bike rack such as the Saris Freedom Superclamp # SA4026F which weighs 63 pounds. This will leave you with 102 pounds left over for the bikes.

expert reply by: Michael H