Last Updated on May 3, 2023 by Will Sabel
A hitch bike rack is quite helpful when you think about carrying your bike from one place to another place. Whether you are migrating to a new place or planning to go on a trip, you can easily carry your bike with the help of a hitch bike rack.
The installation process of a hitch bike rack is relatively easy. It will take a few minutes to get your job done. If you are planning to get a hitch bike rack installed in your vehicle, give my guide a quick check.
This guide will tell you how you can easily install your hitch bike rack.
How To Install A Hitch Mounted Bike Rack – 5 Steps
Step 1:
In the very first step, you need to check whether you have a hitch receiver installed in your vehicle or not. There are a lot of vehicles that come with a hitch receiver. If your vehicle does not have a hitch receiver installed, you have to get an aftermarket one and install it on your vehicle.
Step 2:
At this time, you are supposed to find the hitch receiver is already installed in your vehicle. Now, you have to find out your hitch receiver size. Basically, the size of the receivers is indicated using “class.” There are 5 different classes for hitch receivers. Class 1 and class 2 hitch receivers have 1.25″ openings. Then, class 3 and class 4 have 2″ openings. Lastly, the class 5 receiver is for commercial purposes only.
If your hitch receiver is too wide for your hitch bike rack, you can bring an adapter for increasing your bike rack shank size that goes to the hitch receiver.
Step 3:
Now, you have to get the accurate bike rack and assemble it to the hitch receiver. First, you need to pick up your bike rack and load it into the receiver. Here, you may take help from anyone if you need to lift the bike rack. It will also protect you from back injuries as the weight of a bike rack is close to 50 pounds.
Step 4:
After that, you should find out the bolt holes lined up from the rack and receiver first. Then, insert the bolt that comes with your hitch bike rack and make them tighten with the help of a wrench. You are supposed to find some lock washers included with the bolt. Some rack manufacturers provide “cotter pins” though. You have to insert the lock washer or cotter pin on the other end of the bolt from its head.
Step 5:
You are in the last step now. Here, you need to make adjustments to your racks before you load your bike into the bike rack. Go through the adjustment as required. Make sure that you are not doing any harm to your vehicle or car while loading bikes.
After that, secure your bike using clamps and straps over the wheels or frames. Finally, give everything a quick check if you have installed the hitch bike rack properly and secured your bike on it. That’s it.
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