Kuat Transfer V2 Bike Rack for 4 Bikes - 2" Hitches - Wheel Mount

This is a solid product. Easy to assemble and simple to operate. A couple of issues make it less than ideal.
First, because it is built to fit 1 1/4 and 2" hitches, the hitch pin holes do not line up correctly in a standard 2" trailer hitch. This means that you cannot use a 5/8" hitch pin. You can use the smaller pin, but you get the kind of fit you would expect -- it's loose and it rattles. If the cam system fails, the smaller hitch pin isn't going to help much. This is a huge design flaw in my opinion. Note that if you order the hitch pin lock that they say you need for this particular rack (HL2), it comes with a 5/8" pin that won't fit. Just dumb.
My rack didn't come with the cable, so I contacted etrailer and after alot of back and forth, they said they would reach out to Kuat. That was a month ago.
There is not a cap to snap over the cable lock, so when the rack is folded in the upright position, water leaks into the hollow bar behind the lock. It will sit in there forever unless you pull the rack and turn it upside down. I put a piece of duct tape over it -- the lock is no use to me since etrailer and Kuat can't seem to provide me with the missing cable.1633330

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This rack came very well packaged with easy instructions to follow. It took about 1 hour to put it together. It is a very high quality product. We have it on our Subaru Crosstrek and it doesn't interfere with opening the back hatch when the rack is in the down position. The bikes are a breeze to load and unload. I highly recommend this bike rack.1376024

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My husband and I are in our 60's and had no problem putting this together as per instructions. It's a good solid rack, no wobble even with my big 35 pound 29'er. It easily clears our steep curb on the back of our Subaru Outback. The hatch clears the bike and there's plenty of room to move between the car and bike in that tilt position. We loaded our car for vacation with the bike on the rack. It's a bonus to be able to leave it all on the car in our garage. We also bought the Drawtite 2" hitch from etrailer.com. We're very happy with this setup!1600477

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We love this bike rack. We bought a couple ebikes and needed something we could use behind our travel trailer when camping and the truck when we just want to drive to some trails. When we were looki g, many can't be used behind travel trailers. We absolutely love the way its built - its sturdy, high quality, pretty easy to put together - good instructions. Love the tilting feature - use one foot - very easy. Love that it comes with the cable lock for the bikes, It is very adjustable for a wide range of bikes. We have step throughs. We did buy a hitch lock for extra security. We would recommend this rack to anyone.1449733

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This bike rack is great. Two things: it folds up to a pretty slim profile and it’s well made. That said I had trouble getting the first front wheel holder to go on. The inside and outside holes in the frame were not aligned so you couldn’t get the bolt to pass through so I ended up enlarging the outside hole enough to allow the bolt to go through straight and the rest was painless! Another nice point are the tools: they’re actually good enough to keep! This is my second Kuat bike rack and they really handle bikes well. The tilt works great, too. Overall, it’s great pick!1290303

Received in a wel packaged box yesterday afternoon and quickly assembled following excellent step by step instructions. Rack to be mounted to my truck 2 inch hitch later this afternoon, then will size each of the three bikes on each platform. Want to thank e- trailer from order to delivery, great support. Next step based on excellent recommendation from Kyle S back on 18 Feb is to add a swing out capability with the Yakima back swing swing away hitch extender later this Fall, one step at a time. More to follow, Thanks!1347495

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Great so far. I haven't taken the rack on a long road trip yet but if I have any problems or suggestions I will let you know. I was impressed with the quality & strength of this bike rack. Also, I wanted a rack that was easy to set up, load. fold down and store. I'll include photos of the rack with 2 bikes and one showing how I store the rack in my garage when not mounted on my vehicle.1536634

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It was easy to put together. It is light enough for me to to put on my car.
If one more feature could be added…… a way to “drop” the rack down for loading. I have a hybrid e-bike and it is a little heavy to lift onto the rack.1382924

I've mounted this rack on a 2018 Fiat 500 Abarth, & it's perfect for my needs -- carrying 2 mountain bikes with a longer wheelbase (47+ inches), weighing between 32-35lbs each. The rack was relatively easy to assemble, & its overall weight is manageable (I will be taking it off of the car after biking ventures). I'm pleased with how stable the bikes are while mounted on the rack. In Seattle, our roads are VERY bumpy. Furthermore, I like the fact that the open frame allows you to get close to the innermost bike when taking it off of the rack. This allows for better body mechanics when dismounting heavy bikes. Though the hitch receiver sits pretty low on my Fiat Abarth, I haven't had any ground clearance issues, as long as I take it slow on steeper driveways. Likewise, I've had zero clearance issues between the bikes & the vehicle, & with the rack folded up. My only minor issue is that I've found the J-arm to be a bit 'sticky' when trying to disengage it from the front wheel of the mountain bike. However, I'm guessing this will likely get easier over time. Overall, I think this is a solidly built rack for an affordable price.1651538

by: M.C.08/06/2023

This review is after a year. Overall this is a good bike rack.
Pros:
-price is fair
-Ease of use
-Bikes remain secure in transit.

Cons.
-Some parts are made of plastic that would be better as aluminum.
-The locking cord is annoying. One time in transit, it got wrapped around the derailleur. On moving the bikes down to open the hatch, the derailleur was damaged when the cord pulled on it, so I needed a new one. I’m not sure why Kuat would not choose to put the lock on the hook that secures the bicycle tire. That would eliminate the need for an annoying cable.
-It would be nice to have a torque wrench included so you are confident you are not over tightening the hex bolt that attaches the rack to the car. You are warned not to over-tighten, so you are left wondering.
-When the rack is pivoted down, Honda CRV 2020 hatchback cannot clear the handlebars on my mountain bike. It is possible to access storage, but the trunk cannot fully open.

Overalll, the low cost and overall quality and ease of use make this a good choice. Some minor tweaks to the design would make this a stellar product. Be carful how you use the cord.1640182

Great little rack! My wife uses it to carry my son's bike to school and drop it off with him. I like that it is smaller and lighter than other racks, with sturdy construction and ability to install the add-on when two of us want to ride. Affordability is also good!1683250

by: Srinivas10/13/2022

The product is great in the beginning. But over time, the spring at the lower end shank is not working and I am having to manually pull and push the gear into the socket when I lower or higher the rack. This is a pain for now but not sure if it will turn into a safety issue.1448190

The quality of the engineering of every single part of the bike rack was perfect. Every part fit together perfectly. No wiggling or forcing things together.I’m 78 years old. It took me about 30 minutes to put it together. Easy to use and to load the bikes.1361304

Driven over 3,000 miles with these. The product performs without flaws. I never think about me bikes anymore and used to have to get out and adjust them on the rack every hour.1359338

I have to question some of the overly positive reviews. Maybe this is their first rack so they had nothing to compare. This is my second Kuat rack. My decision to stay with Kuat was based on the quality of my dual-bike Sherpa rack. Unfortunately, this single rack is not of the same quality. Assembly required more effort. Specifically, attaching the Arm Puck and End Caps. The Hook Arm Assembly/Tire Hook that secures the bike is the weak link, it has a cheap plastic feel. If transporting a heavy Ebike you may want to add additional protection. I would have returned the rack but it would be a pain to disassemble and I would have to foot the cost. The Kuat name, in my opinion, is no longer synonymous with quality.1646946

by: George 10/05/2023

I really like this bike rack. It was easy to assemble for the most part.
The price was reasonable. It is easy to put on and take off.
The bikes are very stable when fastened correctly.
I would recommend it to anybody with a non E bike type of bicycle.
We no longer have to put our bikes in the rear of our suv.1677216

I purchased the Kuat Transfer V2 after trying and returning the less expensive and frustrating Thule Apex XT 4 which would have needed the additional cross supports to properly transport the three hardtail mountain bikes we own. After about 40 minutes of assembly of the V2 with a good set of instructions, I was able to install the rack on the back of our vehicle quickly and get the bikes loaded in no time. Bike loading with the split mast design was easy and I was able to reach the foot pivot to lower the rack for access into the rear of the vehicle with the bikes loaded easily. The bikes sat in the support cradles securely and the handlebars did not interfere with each other. The rear tire ratchet straps were easy to secure and did not interfere with the wheel cradles while loading the bikes which I liked. The bike lock is easy to access and the cable secured to the rack easily. Overall I’m very pleased with the purchase and glad I sprung a bit more for a platform rack.1262337

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by: John 07/15/2023

This rack works great! I wish i would have bought it five years ago! Although it is the cheapest of the kuat racks it does everything I need. I considered other racks that didn’t tilt and it is worth the higher cost to go with a tilting rack to get into the back of the SUV. The U shape of the rack is also great ergonomically loading the bikes so there is no bending or stretching to load the first bike. I highly recommend this bike rack it will make your life easier!1624523

Super easy to put together, all tools included, nice burlap sack to store tools in glove box or at home, functions as expected, bike secure at 80mph with high winds, nice and light to put on and remove if necessary. Wish it tilted one more notch/down to the ground as the tailgate of my trail boss will not open all the way. Not a show stopper, but it would be nice to still have bikes secured on the rack while I overland in the back.1634252

by: Allen 08/19/2023

I have been using this hitch for both our E bikes for the last year and love it. It is each to use and really secures the bikes in. Also has a built-in lock. Just took them to Bozeman Montana from Minnesota and it worked great for the long haul.1650477

Love this hitch. Was easy to put together and it is easy to use. Our bikes ride solid and steady. Switched it from the car to the 5th wheel camper for our trip. It fit perfectly and bikes traveled the same with no issues. The price was great for this unit, arrived promptly and in good shape. Will definiy purchase from etrailer again1612347

Bike rack works perfectly and has lots of handy features - pivoting arm so you can open your trunk with the bikes on, cable lock embedded in the rack, adjustable cradles etc. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is the instructions weren't completely clear. I had to reach out to Kuat support because I thought the cradles I was sent didn't line up with the bolt holes. It turns out I was trying to rotate the cradles outside of the rack body, but you can only turn them when they are mounted on the rack arms. I let them know they should improve that aspect of the user manual1602816

At over $500 Kuat should preassemble these racks vs. all the compartments of unlabeled bolts, nuts, spacers, tools, straps etc…. Yes, it’s good to know how it all fits together for future tightening and repairs, but very time consuming when parts roll around… I got out a centimeter ruler lat one point. As for the rack, darn solid for a 1.25 inch hitch and first go I like the ball tightening screw and needing a wrench to listen ads a bit of security vs. earlier handled models. On a Prius C I need to tilt down 6”to open the hatch.

Long term the ball tightener may be a point of failure. Lock is higher quality than I expected and appropriate for vintage hard tail bikes.1605055

This is the second Transfer rack I have purchased. I converted the first one to a single place rack for on my Miata. This one was for my son's car. Easy to assemble, very easy to use and secure. I only wish Kuat would make a single tray Sherpa rack! (aluminum, it's lighter)1651623

I've just installed my Kuat Transfer V2 and the fact I can easily access the back of my Dodge Caravan with the goal post design, which I think very clever is awesome. The cam lever when tightened with the special allen wrench makes for a very solid fit into the receiver hitch of my van. It looks and feels solid and is easy to use.1279934