Stromberg CarlsonBC-204 Heavy Duty Platform Mount Bike Rack – Folding Hitch Carrier for 4 Bikes, Fits 2" Hitch Receiver, Durable Transport Solution, Compatible with Cars, SUVs, Truck and Trailer

I bought this this over 3 yrs ago. Here's my honest opinion and experience. I have read several 1 star reviews and have noticed that the most complaints have to do with this rack being weak/wobbly/quick to rust/velcro straps are not good and other similar complaints. I do understand their frustration. However, if you're looking into a bike rackthat will not have these minor problems then don't search for anything under $400.With that said, if you're in a budget or like me just don't want to spend a lot of money on a bike rack then this is a great buy.Mine is over 3 yrs old and most of the time it carries 4 bikes. Here's how I use mine.Just a lot of common sense. 3 bikes are at 30-32 lbs of weight. One is just over 40 lbs. The lightest one sits at the far back and the heaviest one closest to the vehicle. The velcro straps are still good and sticky becuase I don't let them sit dirty and or leave them in the sun when not in use. The rack ONLY is used when carrying the bikes, I never just drive around with this thing or leave it hooked up over night. If it gets dirty I clean it and store it. If it gets wet I blow dry it before storing it. I store it on top of a 2x6 so it doesn't sit on the floor. When I use it I ALWAYS use the threaded pin it comes with and tighten it very much a d the tack is nice and sturdy. I dont try to jiggle/wobble or shake the rack while its empty, it's not ment to be used empty, yet while it is in use with all 4 bikes and all is nicely secured and adjusted the rack is very sturdy. No need to over tighten the plastic wing nuts and break them. Just nice and tight and snug not OVERTIGHTENED. Sturdy on the highway at 75 mph. No wobble, not for me as I set ut up the same way each time. I've usedit as a two bike set up and its simple to convert and works great, but have not used it this way much. I've been almost 4 hrs on a one way trip and its been solid for me. The pics are at current date of this review.After 3 1/2 yrs mine is still performing greatly. Very sturdy while in use and solid. It does have some surface rust as it is not the greatest paint finish but again, for the price you can't expect more. I will be lightly sandi g a d touching it up with rust protecting paint before it goes from surface rust to any worst. As for me, a little common sense in how to use it and care goes a long way. I HIGHLY recommend this product for a budget buy!

It’s heavy and the material looks sturdy. Used it a couple of times. I was able to juggle around 4 bikes (29,24 and 2 20”) and position the arms to hold the bikes. Everything is adjustable which is great. The initial setting up for the hikes took a while but once set it’s easy to get the bikes off/ on. The locking mechanism on the hooks is neat. Folds easily to desired position while mounted on the car and while stores in the garage for minimal footprint. Next time will tell how well if holds. I decided to leave it on the car hitch as it’s heavy and not easy to take on/ off the hitch. I did use a hitch tighener to reduce the wobble. The wobble is inevitable so the hitch tightener is highly recommended. Be careful going over bumps. A good buy for the price!!

Seemed sturdy and well made and fairly easy to assembly, having only one or two bolts that were annoying to tighten, requiring large wrenches on both sides to tighten it. Unfortunately, ours came with a manufacturing defect. The Short Support Base Assembly has 3 pairs of quarter circle cuts in it to allow the horizontal arms and the vertical arm to be positioned either horizontally or vertically, which is important when you want to fold it up for storage or fold it against the vehicle while attached to the hitch but not carrying bikes. The rack is kind of a pain to connect and disconnect to the hitch because the bolt used to secure it to the hitch is VERY long (requiring you to screw and screw and screw to fully tighten it) and the rack itself is VERY heavy. So you do not want to have to be removing and reinstalling the rack on the hitch more times than are absolutely necessary. On ours, one of the pairs of quarter circle cuts were going in opposite directions, which meant that the vertical arm could not be folded down to the horizontal position, and the rack could not be folded up against the car for when there are no bikes on the rack. That was a deal breaker for us, so despite having fully assembled it before I realized the problem, I went to the trouble of fully disassembling it and putting it back into the box. We are currently awaiting a replacement unit, which hopefully will not have any similar manufacturing issues. I will check more carefully this time for that same issue before going to the trouble of fully assembling it. Will update after we get the replacement unit.Since we already had it assembled, we tested out the returned unit. We put 4 bikes on it and drove it to the trail. Putting the end bikes on is pretty easy. Putting on the first middle bike is also easy. Putting on the second middle bike can be a challenge. There is not quite enough space to easily fit another bike on once you already have a bike in one of the middle positions. I will have to look at the other reviews to see if there is some trick to getting the second middle bike on. I managed it, but it was inelegant. I had to take care not to tear at cables or damage spokes in the process.Edit: now we have used it forore than a year. My bike is too heavy (80 lbs.) The screws are all badly corroding. They went cheap on the screws.

This well worth it. I carry 4 bikes most of the time and I just got back from about a 450 mile trip and couldn’t be more happier with this rack. It’s secure, you can lock the bikes up if you need to leave them and did I mention it is solid.The initial set up was pretty easy. I did it myself in about an hour or so. It does fold up if you want to keep it on your vehicle. The hooks that keep your bikes secure also has a locking feature. You can be sure you bikes won’t get stolen if you need to leave them in there for a bit. My insecure self still puts a cable chain on all of them.I have a 2016 GMC Acadia and I used a regular 4 bike rack that holds the bikes suspended with the top bar but I always got nervous when driving around with bikes on it. It would move and bounce like crazy. I wasn’t a fan of the rubber straps that companies used to tie down the bikes.This platform rack by Stromberg Carlson is awesome and is half the price of other similar racks on the market, but is as durable and useful as them. I would definitely recommend this to everyone I know!

I initially purchased this bike rack after hours of comparing bike racks and ultimately settled on purchasing this one due to its reviews, price, and capabilities. At first I was impressed by its modularity and locking capabilities. I liked how easy it was to lock the bikes in place and only required a bit of thinking in order to fit bikes of different sizes in the bike rack. I thought it was versatile and reliable. That was my mistake. And a costly one at that. One day, I had 2 bikes on this racks without its additional add on. I secured the bikes as always and made sure to lock them as much and as tight as possible on the top tube. I always make sure to make sure it's tight and secure. I began my trip and after driving for 5 minutes I turned onto an adjacent street and since I always check my mirrors to make sure the bikes are OK, I saw that one of my bikes were missing. I drove back to the intersection and it was gone. After reviewing my dashcam footage, it became clear that my $4000 full suspension mountain bike had somehow slipped out of the bike top tube holder and landed in the middle of the intersection where it was then stolen after seeing that it did indeed land there and checking everywhere unable to find it. My bike wouldn't have never been stolen if the bike rack actually functioned as intended. Please steer clear from this bike rack unless you want your bikes to fall off it.