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Is a 4-bike rack for Model X doable?

Discussion in 'Model X' started by greenboy, Jul 2, 2020.

  1. luvacoustic

    luvacoustic Member

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    Location:
    Greenville SC
    I’ve used the 1up tray system and Yakima FullTilt for up to 5 bikes. The 1up system is very long and I felt so uncomfortable with 5 bikes on it after 10 miles that I pulled over and put the 20in kids bike and removed the tray and put them both inside the car. After we got home that evening, I ordered the Yakima FullTilt which is much lighter and the weight is much closer to the hitch rather than several feet out. We’ve gone 1,800 miles with 4-5 bikes on the Yakima and I’ve never felt uncomfortable with it (4 bikes and the rack weigh 132lbs and the 20in bike goes in the trunk).
    The 1up with 3 or more trays felt heavy and really changed the weight distribution of the car - even with 6 people inside. Also, I averaged close to 400w/m over about 40miles before I took it off vs 345w/m with the Yakima.
    Bonus with the Yakima, you can open the trunk without removing the bikes or even tilting the rack down - there’s two inches of clearance when it’s fully loaded.
    My vote is a lighter system like the Yakima that also doesn’t stick out so far - it’ll put less torque and stress on the hitch and also not use as much wattage. Perhaps due to aerodynamics?
     

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  2. greenboy

    greenboy Member

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    That's really helpful. Is that a 4-bike or a 5-bike Yakima?
     
  3. luvacoustic

    luvacoustic Member

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    It’s a Yakima FullTilt 5 that holds up to 5. If you use 5, I’d aim for as close to 20lbs each as you can get, heaviest closest to the car.
     
  4. greenboy

    greenboy Member

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    Thanks. Only 4 bikes here but heard it could get pretty tight on 4-bike rack with 4 bikes.
     
  5. MorrisonHiker

    MorrisonHiker S 100D 2021.4.11

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    Yeah, we had the Yakima FullSwing 4 for a couple weeks. It was a nice rack but with our large e-bike, we were barely able to fit 2 bikes on it. We changed to the Thule T2 Pro XT 2 and got the T2 Pro XT Add-on. This lets you have a 2 bike rack or extend it to be a 4 bike rack. It's definitely a lot larger than the Yakima but is so much easier to load and there's no problem fitting 4 bikes. With the Yakima, it took us several minutes to load the e-bike and required the purchase of an additional part (TubeTop). With the Thule, we can load a bike in less than 15 seconds.

    [​IMG]
     
  6. gigawatt1010

    gigawatt1010 Member

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    Hey Erik, any concerns on the tongue weight that's been talked about on the other thread?
     
  7. MorrisonHiker

    MorrisonHiker S 100D 2021.4.11

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    Good news is that the Model Y tow hitch information was updated to show 350 pound tongue weight and 3500 pound tow weight, no matter what wheel size. I'm surprised the Model X information hasn't been updated yet as I would think it would have a 500
    pound tongue weight instead of 120 pounds as mentioned previously in this thread.

    BTW, this is actually David, not Erik. ;)
     
    • Like x 1
  8. greenboy

    greenboy Member

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    I suspect the Model X vertical weight constraint comes from hitch set up. On the X the hitch receiver is an accessory that attaches vertically into the car. On the Y the receiver is more traditionally mounted directly unto the frame.
     
  9. gigawatt1010

    gigawatt1010 Member

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    Ha! Thanks, here I am pretending like I know. :) I enjoy your vids - please keep up the great work!
     
  10. JAM3S

    JAM3S Member

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    Ottawa
    Hi,
    Any updates on this setup since last year?
    Seems well in excess of the bizarre Tesla hitch specifications. But it inline with the Yakima HoldUp EVO 4 bike platform rack I already own and used with my X5.

    cheers
     
  11. snorp

    snorp Member

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    Oct 1, 2019
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    Location:
    Atlanta
    I use the Allen 4 bike rack mentioned in a previous post. It weighs 20-22 lbs, I forget, but I did weigh it on a scale. Easily hauled 4 kid bikes and stayed under/at 120 lbs.

    An added benefit is I was able to back into every supercharger stall with this rack loaded with 4 bikes and never had a problem with clearance. I did have the wife get out and wave me back as far as I could go. Stopped a couple inches from the signs and no stress on the supercharger cable.
     
    • Informative x 1
  12. Jlindo

    Jlindo Member

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    I also have the Yakima SwingDaddy on my X. I will say that I really struggle to get 4 bikes on there, though. Three is doable, four requires a good amount of finagling....

    I've been looking at the Kuat, but that is a beast. :)
     
  13. Zorg

    Zorg Active Member

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    The top tube holders are usually awkward and can easily damage the bikes as they dangle close to each other. They also mostly don't work too well for full suspension MTBs. I only use a tray style rack (one up USA).
     

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