Tow Tuff 62-Inch Steel Cargo Carrier with Bike Rack, 500 lb Capacity, Black - 2-in-1 Rear Hitch Mount for Car, Truck or SUV with 2-Inch Receiver, Hauls Up to 4 Bikes, Tie-Down Strap Included

May 23, 2021 Tow Tuff TTF-2762KR Steel Cargo Carrier with Bike RackThis was one of those things I needed and got. I had to get a hitch put on my car first before I spent this kind of money. The hitch I got put on my car from UHAUL which was a miracle in itself. I drive a KIA station wagon. The reasoning behind buying this item was because we were going to be a full car and we had no room for luggage but yet we needed to have luggage with us. So when the item came it took a few videos to help us figure it out but honestly I got pretty good at installing it all by myself. The luggage rack works really well on long trips. But the cool thing about it is also allows you to put bikes on there too. It's a pretty simple change and we've done it a couple times. You have to stop and think though about using the trunk though. I had our bikes on there and had it rub against the back of the car and that spot is still there!? Oops. But this trusty thing works well and it simply stored in the garage till the next time you need it!

I purchased this from Amazon 2 years ago and waited to give a review until I'd used it some. Only a couple of times for bikes; mostly for travel.Its been from Iowa to North Carolina and back multiple times and has held up well. I've noticed a lot of complaints (assembly, size etc) that I will give my 2 Cents about.1. Its heavy. I'm a 60 something 5 foot 6 inch overweight female. Yeah its heavy - its huge and metal. Which is what I wanted. I can move it around without any problems and here is how I attach it to my CRV by myself: I lift up the tongue and lean the bottom of the tongue against the bottom opening of the hitch receiver. Then I go around to the back - lift it up and slide it in. Easy-peasy. I did have some problems getting the holes to line up until I had some practice. - I put a mark on the tongue where it needs to be to line up and then found it works best to "jiggle" it until the holes line up.2. Its hard to assemble. I took 15 minutes to read thru all instructions and lay out all the parts. It was very helpful to note in other reviews that 2 sizes of bolts were not labeled with different part numbers so that helped. After that it took me about 45 minutes to put it together by myself. (Did I mention I'm a 60 something year old female?) I grew up on a farm in Iowa and admit I am handy with tools - but this is really a basic assembly.3. The reflectors break when storing on its end. I just replaced the nuts with wing nuts and remove them during storage. Id been putting them in the glove box but I saw in a recent review that someone puts them on the inside - great idea! And what I'll do in the future. After someone almost backed into the side of it one night I added reflective tape around the sides and on the back.4. During one early car trip I noticed when stopping for gas that one cotter pin holding the bar for the bike rack part had gone missing and the bar was sliding out. Fortunately nothing was lost but could have been. I added 4 zip ties (one on each end of the 2 bars) and no problems since5. If I recall correctly, its rated for 500 lbs. I never put any where close to that much. Like my 11 year old grandson said when he saw it for the first time he said "if you put too much weight on it, your front ties might lift up"I've only used it for bikes a couple of times but has worked very well for that.

I now need to regularly transport 4 bikes and with the design of down tubes on bikes nowadays, the more traditional would not work properly. I wanted a carrier like this which would be able to fit 4 bikes, mount them securely, and not require disassembling the bikes in any way. For these requirements, this carrier works great. It easily fits 4 bikes. There is no need to take wheels off to mount the bikes, and after all the Velcro and straps are in place, the bikes are very secure.However, assembly of this rack was very difficult. the instructions include only 1 very tiny picture of the entire carrier and from this picture it is very difficult to distinguish parts because they are not labeled. The assembly instructions are text only; no pictorial instructions for anything. Worse, the instructions and the 1 very tiny picture you are given are on opposite sides of the paper so you constantly have be switching back and forth while trying to work out what the instructions mean. I eventually had to make a photo copy of the picture because going back and forth got so annoying. There are different length bolts for assembly, however, the instructions do not distinguish which bolts to use. So I tried to lay out everything on the floor without assembly to make sure I got everything correct. That only goes so far though and eventually you need to start putting the thing together. Unfortunately, because the instructions are not clear, I guessed wrong and had to take the whole thing apart and start over a few times.But, after getting it assembled, putting it onto the car hitch is not much of a problem for me. It is heavy, but to carry 4 bikes I'd expect it to be. Mounting the bikes on the rack took a bit of trial and error though. The additional pieces to go over the wheels are nice and work very well. However, they are not sturdy enough to hold the bike securely. To my surprise, the carrier did come with a ratchet strap for securing the bikes further. This was very nice addition and I didn't expect it. Unfortunately, I never used a ratchet strap before and the carrier came with no instructions on how to use it. So I had to consult YouTube to figure out how to use it. Once I had the mechanics down, I then needed to know how to actually use the strap to secure the bikes effectively. Again, the carrier did not come with any instructions or hints on how best to use the strap to secure the bikes. This too took a bunch of trial and error before I was happy that the way I used the straps held the bikes securely.Overall, for it's price this is a very good buy, especially if you are transporting bikes. A few tips:1. Give yourself a lot of time for assembly and expect to start over a few times.2. It is heavy, so you may need help to put it on the hitch.3. Practice, practice, practice putting your bikes on the rack and securing them. Do this *days* before you want to use the rack for real. Trust me, you'll save yourself a lot of frustration having practiced and knowing how to secure the bikes.4. Do a test drive. While you are practicing putting the bikes on the rack, also take them out for a test drive. I was a bit nervous about them falling off but a test drive quickly alleviates those fears.