| jimmymac |
Does anybody have any advice/recommendations concerning a rear-mounted bike rack for the Murano? I don't really want the expense of adding a hitch and I think roof-mounted would be too high.
Thanks,
jimmymac |
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| mgthe3 |
mmmmmmmmm
there is a hitch on ebay for like $80 that has a 2 inch receiver that would hold the hitch mount rack. Looks like you might spend an hour turning about 6 bolts, that's nuthin.
I have one of those racks that hang off the back of a vehicle.....I did that on my van, but I wouldn't dare do it to the MO. One of these has severely dented one of my friend's Maxima trunk lid and bumper cover. Course, we carry 4 bikes, it shouldn't do that with just one or even two light bikes. Just use the lower shelf of the license plate indent for supporting the lower arm, that way it won't cause deflection of your bumper cover. Like THIS. Put down terry cloth hand towels under the contact points for no scratches. I am a verticle caver and pay particular attention to stitch patterns on webbing. The X pattern is only good for 30% of the webbing tensile. The X with a square is good for ~60%. The multi pass back and forth stitching in the direction of pull is worth 100%. I have never seen any manufacturer for straps on these racks go more than 60% which was a worry to me, their choice of webbing was pretty sad as well.
For multiple bikes (3 or more), the hitch mount is the only way to go, IMHO.
:) |
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| VooDoo__K |
If you are looking for a sturdy bike rack for a 2" hitch a highly recommend the "sportworks" bike rack.
holds two to four bikes in a track. folds down to allow access to hatch.
really sturdy with bolt in lock.
will not touch MO
if anyone is interested in photos i'll post as soon as i install my hitch on my MURANO.
Here is link to rack:
http://sportworks.com/sttra.asp |
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| jaak |
I think the cost of the hitch is a lot less than the cost of the damage done by other styles of bike racks...
The ones that strap on the back, usually mess up something and the roof mounted ones, only take one bike to slip once, and you've got a dent, or scratches or both.
What's a hitch? $150 US? Don't be cheap and regret it later... The hitch mount rack, you'll use for years. I'm still using one I bought 11 years ago. |
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| Stoker |
I to had a rear hatch mounted bike rack on my 92 caravan and were the supports touched the hatch, the paint was scatched. I was already towing a trailer and bought a small extension to mount on to my 2" hitch and then mounted the hitch ball right after it. It extended my total rig by 12" but it kept my 4 bikes off of the rear hatch.
I still use this set up on the Mo, but now I only need two bikes mounted instead of 4.:2: :2: |
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| TheGymKid |
quote:
Originally posted by jimmymac
Does anybody have any advice/recommendations concerning a rear-mounted bike rack for the Murano? I don't really want the expense of adding a hitch and I think roof-mounted would be too high.
Thanks,
jimmymac
Here's an idea... open the hatch and put the back seats down, the bike should fit !!
:2: |
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| KSmurano |
Pay now or pay later.
When hauling bikes I like the Yakima King Pin - I carry 4 mountain bikes.
The rack is very sturdy & the bikes set about 1' out so there is never any chance for damage to the MO! :D |
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| jaak |
quote:
Originally posted by TheGymKid
Here's an idea... open the hatch and put the back seats down, the bike should fit !!
:2:
You wouldn't want my bike in your Murano, after a ride... Neither do I! |
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| TheGymKid |
quote:
Originally posted by jaak
You wouldn't want my bike in your Murano, after a ride... Neither do I!
I was just joking. :( |
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| nitely |
| Got my '04 Murano with the 2" tow hitch reciever and then recently bought the Sportworks bike rack - Transport T2 model for 3 bikes. It cost a little more than the others but its the best in loading and unloading bikes. Very stable in freeway speed and bumps. Just like voodoos rack. Check out mtbr.com/reviews/Bike_Rack/ for reviews. Just a bit heavy but it'll last you forever. I like it very much. |
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| ADV |
| I think the most practical place to carry a bike is on the roof. I'm 5'8" and use a thule velo vise fork mount with no problems. You'll thank yourself for having purchased crossbars aswell. |
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| Corin |
Getting a little bit away from the original question, since we're now talking about hitch receiver racks, but wanted to put in a plug for the SoftRide rack:
http://www.softride.com/product.asp?p=39
My dad had one of these for YEARS and loved it. Folds down nicely to let you into the back.
I was looking around at different racks recently, and almost all of them fold down to make room for the hatch to open, but the SoftRide seems to be the ONLY one that keeps the rack arms level as it bends down. Makes it much easier to use and load/unload bikes.
Thankfully all my brothers are out of my parents' house now, so they had no reason to keep theirs. Saved me $250! ;)
Tried it out for the first time last weekend, and it worked great. Very solid, held the bikes well, easy to use, PLENTY of room to open the hatch when folded down. Mine is an older model that has foam pads you put between the bikes to keep them from smacking into each other. I think the newer models have a better system. |
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| mgthe3 |
That is a nice hitch rack, but, expensive.
I got my utility trailer I had been lusting for the other weekend so I am on probation spending money on Mo.
I have almost bought two nice ones from ebay that were used, too bad I am on probation.....
heh heh
:2: |
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| cschmidt |
Folks,
We bought a bike rack for 4 bikes.. don't remember the brand but it worked ok on standard config bikes that have a triangle shaped frame. The rack has a flat bar you lay the bikes on and then a second flat plate that screws on over the horizontal bar going from the handle bars to the seat. So far so good.
My 2 daughters got older and got fancy new mountain bikes that don't have a top rail and the rail from the handlebars to the sprocket is an oval shape and about 2" wide. This type of rack is tough to configure with these type of bikes and traditional bikes at the same time.
Chuck |
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| gseepes |
I got a 2in hitch from ebay for around $100 (easy install).
I went with a Thule 996 Expressway 4 Bike 2in, $224 delivered from Agee's Bicycle Company, Inc. ( www.agees.com ).
Very strong, and nicely padded cradles for the bikes. No regrets.
So, for just north of $300, I know my $1,500 worth of bikes are traveling a nicely as I am. |
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| cschmidt |
KS Murano,
Thanks, I didn't know these things existed.
Chuck |
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