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.
I need to get under my car to do maintenance on a component. Cars are heavy and if you get under them and they fall on top of you this could cause amputation or death, so it’s best to research and do this carefully. The most obvious and safest way to do this is to go to a garage and have someone else do it, but this is more expensive.
I’m a newby to cars, so I’m going to attempt to summarize the many forum threads on how and where to use jack stands on a 2 gen Nissan Altima 1993-2001. Though it seems simple, the many people that have started forum threads points to some confusion, so I thought I’d try to clear the air.
