Swagman 3 bike rack installs 11.5 inches from my bumper, not a good fit
I have been meaning to get a bike rack for quite a number of years. When the kids were small this was not an issue because they could not ride far anyway, but they are growing. We don’t have a large car, so a bike rack is now a necessity. The Swagman 3 bike hitch bike rack seemed to be the strongest and lightest but well made bike rack I could find. It works very well but the experience of installing it provided some interesting surprises.
A bicycle rack that uses a trailer hitch keeps the bikes off your car's paint
I have been wanting to add a bicycle carrier to my 1997 Nissan Altima car for the longest time. A bike carrier that goes into a trailer hitch receiver allows the bikes to not contact the car, reducing fears of scratched paint and dents. While shopping around for hitch receivers I found the U-Haul hitch receiver (#24999) for $130CAD, cheaper by $40-$50CAD than other brand names. U-Haul wanted an extra $40 for installation, which I could save if I did it myself. There would be unforeseen trade-offs which I will explain.