Swagman Trailhead 3 Bike Rack for 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Tilting

Bike rack is perfect! I have a 1-1/4 hitch on a compact car and it fits perfectly. Installation is easy and the rack itself is great. Great quality straps that hold well. Highly recommend1021303

Perfiect

AdamD - 04/26/2022

My previous bike rack was a hitch mounted Yakima. It was sturdy but not well suited for my low Subaru Impreza. It stuck out too far and hung too low so that I had to inch my way down the driveway or over speed bumps for fear of it bottoming out. A roof rack or a rear window mounted rack was not suitable since I wanted to be able to also carry two kayaks. First, I tried to modify my rack by shortening the part that sticks out of the hitch. I tried to saw off about 6 inches so it wouldn't stick out so far but the steel was much too hard. I ended up ruining several metal-cutting blades on my power saw before I gave up. I looked for other rack options. There weren't many out there. But eventually, I found something that met my needs. I purchased the "Swagman Trailhead 3 Bike Fold Down Bicycle Hitch Rack" in 2013 from eTrailer.com. The part that enters the hitch curves up to increase clearance from the ground. It is sturdy and sticks out far enough so I can still open my trunk hatch without having to lower the main vertical bar on the hitch (though I could if I wanted to). It isn't often I am really excited about a piece of gear but this hitch rack has made me worry-free when I transport my bicycle(s) via car. The only thing I don't like is that it is advertised as being a 3 bike carrier but it only fits 2 hybrid bikes. Maybe it will fit 3 skinny racing bikes but for the average rider, don't expect to fit on more than 2. But my experience is that is the case for all bicycle racks. 99929

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Utilizing adapter bars will help with bike fitment. Alternative frame bikes, like your hybrids, will end up sitting cock-eyed or uneven on hanging style bike racks. Adding an adapter bar will help the bikes fit much better on the rack and may even allow you to fit 3 on the rack.

-- Patrick B - 09/18/2013

by: Jim K06/21/2020

I used it to transport two bikes from Tn. to Fla. and three on the way back as my wife purchased an ebike while we were down there. The rack is easy to use and works well. I never worried about the bikes while doing 70 on the Hwy. Would recommend this rack Doing business with etrailer was easy and they stand by what they sell. Around 5 stars.818914

Year later and the rack is doing its job. Have made several long trip and no complaints. Good buy.

Jim K - 11/08/2021

Nice heavy duty rack. Putting it together is quite simple if you read the instructions. I like the ability to use both a 2" or 1 1/4" receiver. etrailer is very easy to deal with.589695

Click to Enlarge

Love my Swagmann rack. I will be calling etrailer for an accessory shortly. Good people to do business with.

Jerry S - 12/11/2019

Great Bike Rack (Swagman 3 Bike Rack) + we added extra security with purchasing the Deadbolt 10' Long Cable Lock and the Anti Locking Rattle, would recommend to friends and family. We use it with the family or when I am going for my work out ride. 664634

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

So far my Swagman Trailhead 3 Bike Rack has been great..the tie down straps are nice and thick and hold the bikes down
very nicely. Nice to not have any swaying and rocking like my old rack.
The only issue I have is that it is to tall. I am 6'1 and really have to lift the bikes up to get them on the carrier.479821

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

by: David 12/26/2021

This was an early covid purchase...took up bike riding since we were locked in, and wanted to venture out past the neighborhood. Very easy installation, and easy to hang/store when not in use. The swivel feature is a must for access to the hatchback. e-trailer folks were good about communicating order status proactively. i would order from e-trailer again.1232129

by: Dan03/23/2022

It's a heavy unit, and awkward to store, but it works. Some of the rubber stretch-ties got taken, so I have to make do with straps...1276505

We do have replacement rubber straps available. They are part # P482
Replacement Strap for Swagman Titan or Trailhead Bike Rack
$5.56.

-- Jenny N - 04/02/2022

Super fast ship! Items exactly as described. Just had hitch installed. On the bike rack easy to put together and load the bikes. I really like the strapping choices.495034

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

by: Daniel11/17/2018

My wife and I love this bike rack. We had another bike rack that caused us a lot of problems. But when I found this company’s website I called and spoke to a real person that new everything I needed to know and what I needed to carry my bikes with us on our trips. It was very easy to set up and you can rest assured to know your bikes are safe. If you need a bike rack call them they know what you need. 583644

Click to Enlarge

Draw-tite Sportframe Trailer Hitch Receiver Class I - 1-1/4
Swagman Trailhead 3 Bike Rack - Tilting

The Draw-tite Sportframe class 1 trailer hitch and Swagman Trailhead 3 bike rack were ordered for a 2017 Honda Fit. The online order and shipping went just as expected. The trailer hitch and bike rack are very heavy duty. I recommend watching the trailer hitch install video before installing, whereas the video is very helpful.

The bike rack has triangles that you can rotate to find the best fit for your bicycle's frame. The rubber straps are thick and secure the bicycles when you pull them tight. This bike rack will stay on the vehicle for 6 months each year. The tilt feature and folding arm feature are must haves for a smaller hatchback.

I am pleased with this purchase, it appears to be good quality and good value.844841

Click to Enlarge

Overall I am pleased with my bike rack--
What i didnt know was if your car or truck does not have a hitch on it, you need to have one installed ( this costs extra!)
My rack arrived on the date given ( took 3 days). My rack went on EASILY. It does wobble a bit ,and i was told THIS IS NORMAL-- so I have left it alone, I have hauled my bike on it and run over a few potholes to ensure the rack and bike stayed-- BOTH STAYED!
So far I am pleased with mine.
Oh I forgot to include-- I drive a Chevy spark ( tiny car) 828699

Click to Enlarge

The bike rack is heavy duty, easy to install, and the straps are very secure! Great bike rack! We purchased this for our son for graduation from high school so he could take a couple of friends biking with him. The price was reasonable for the quality.820046

It has been great! It is stable, not wobbly, easy to take off and put on. Fast delivery…all around food experience!

Krista - 06/25/2021

by: Frank 06/10/2021

We've gotten a lot of use out of this bike rack. It fits 3 full sized bikes with no problem. Very well built. It attaches to the car seamlessly and never rocks or bounces as we drive along. It's sn excellent product and I would highly recommend it to anyone. If I were to make one change it would be that the rubber straps be easier to snap into place around the bicycle frame.They are very tight(which is a good thing because they hold the bikes tight to the rack)but as a result they require a man's strength to secure the bikes onto the rack (my wife has difficulty stretching them). You'll be happy you bought it. I am. It's a great bike rack.1061042

It installed nicely. The only issue I had was the push pins kept breaking off since they were brittle. Nothing to do with the hitch. Fit perfectly and the bike holder I got is really nice. Looks of high quality. I've hooked it all up but haven't had time to use it. Hope to take the bikes to the trails this weekend since I sold my truck. Overall I'm very satisfied with my purchase. It was better than I expected for the price.656068

No issues at all. Ive used it to haul a couple of bikes many times to the bike trails. Works great!

Brad - 06/12/2020

Swagman Trailehead bike (x3) hitch rack on a 1987 Disge Ramcharger.
Received quickly. Assembled quickly (about 5-10 minutes--even while I ate spaghetti). Attached to vehicle quickly. Seems durable (only time will surely tell) and stable on vehicle. 251498

Click to Enlarge

I just received my Swagman Trailhead 3 bike carrier. It was very easy to unbox and install it for the first time on my hitch. The instructions were clear. I did a test run with one bicycle and I had no problems.105160

After we sold our SUV our Thule bike rack with a 2 x 2 tongue was no good for the receiver on our new Subaru Outback. I was able to sell the used Thule for the same price of the new Swagman bike rack. The Swagman works just as well as the Thule so I am very happy with the purchase. Thanks for asking.

Bernie - 10/30/2014

by: John m09/05/2016

I am happy I purchased the Swagmann 3 bike hitch bike rack last year. It's everything I hoped it would be. The straps are beefy and easy to lock the bike into. Thhe rack doesn't shake much after it is in the hitch. I can take the bike rack out and put it into the hitch very quickly. I went on a trip recently and had two mountain bikes on it and it was no problem. My only complaint is it is hard to put the pin through the rack when I want to lower or raise the horizontal bar that carries the bikes. The rack isnt too close or too far from the car. I have a Toyota Rav4. Otherwise, very good purchase. Would recommend. 291363

Overall, I like this rack. It's solid and sturdy, with convenient points to thread a bike lock through and a delightful tilt feature. I added reflective tape to make it a little more visible.

However, on its first voyage (2,000-ish miles), I had to tighten the bolt where it attaches to the hitch several times, the tether for the tilt pin broke, and the pin that keeps the arms extended was SO HARD to get in (while I had no problem at all with the tilt pin or the lowered arm position). It was no fun wrestling with that pin in the dark, while being eaten by ravenous mosquitoes. (Moral of the story, put the arms up BEFORE you're trying to break camp at 9pm!) I'm hoping it loosens up a little with age.

All that said, I'd buy this rack again. I like the way it collapses for storage, and the "anti-sway" knob adds another layer of security.

680063

I bought a bike rack and this hitch receiver yesterday and installed them both. The hitch is definitely going to be easier to install with 2 people, as lifting it into place is awkward with this hefty thing. The install will also definitely be easier with a raised vehicle. Of course, I did this without raising the car, and I did it all on my own haha. Obviously, this took me longer as a result. I've very little experience working on cars, so I made a conscious effort not to be daunted by lowering the exhaust- I had never even lowered/removed the spare tire before this. Huge props to etrailer for the install video. It helped SO MUCH. The product's printed instructions for this install were so terrible I would have removed a star, but the vids answered all the questions I had.
If you're concerned about tools: I removed the rubber hangers for the exhaust with my hands for the most part, though the one closest the rear of the vehicle, I employed a screwdriver then wrench to pry it off. I'm convinced I could have done this with my fingers as well. The WD-40 was a nice tip. I think it helped slip those off easier.
I ended up having to jack up the car to re-hang the exhaust, as the newly installed tow rig reduced wiggle room under the car, but this wasn't a big deal. I'm going over all this stuff for those of you looking to do your own installation.
To sum up: Love the hitch. Looks great, and is definitely sturdy. 5 stars for sure, because the cons are vastly outshone by the pros.856165

Click to Enlarge

I just received my Swagman trailhead bike carrier for 3 bikes with the Swagman locking hitch pin. The carrier was pre assembled which was great. Just had to add 1 bolt and that was it.
I am currently carrying two bikes which at first had a hard time figuring out how to mount them on the carrier. The handlebars from one bike would hit the tires of the other or the peddle would go through the spokes of the other bike. I separated the hangers and put the bikes on the 1st and 3rd position which works great. Don't see how to get 3 bikes on there without banging them together. ( this is the only reason for a 4 star rating ). Tilt feature is great but tailgate will not go all the way down. But I got this to carry my bikes so no big deal.
The straps to hold the bikes in place are nice and thick but will order extras just to have on hand.
I used a piece of pipe insulator on the handlebars so it won't mess things up and just tried using zip ties to hold things together. Will get velcro strips for this.
Took a test drive and went over speed bumps at 25 mph and everything worked great. 797472

Swagman Trailhead 3 bike carrier: This is a very good product. Certainly has a lot of features for the money.
Folds up nicely It
Tilts out of the way when opening rear door
Bike attachment system is secure and easy to use
It is very stout and seems to be well made
Assembly is a breeze

Negatives:
Bicycle carrier ares are a little short for carrying 3 bikes
Description of product should have said something like "Stabilizer Straps necessary for use on Class I hitch"
137664

Great bike rack. The item was delivered fully assembled. It was very easy to install and fits great on my SUV. It appears to be very sturdy with no wobble. I am very satisfied. 423748

Thanks for the email. We are very happy with the bike rack we purchased. No issues whatsoever. Thanks for the follow-up

Bill S - 08/23/2018

by: Ken M.04/11/2020

The only problem I have with this is with the threaded pin that is needed to secure it to my hitch assembly. The nut retainer popped out and getting it on now is near impossible. I can't even use a regular hitch pin because the opening is too small (this is a big deal). 777507

Installed the carrier recently and used only once. Seems very solid, minimal movement while driving. Easy to install and remove.284043

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge

Click to Enlarge