Options for Carrying 4 Bikes with a 2010 Nissan Altima with a Class I Hitch

Question

Question:

My car will apparently only accept a Cat 1 1-1/4 hitch. Thats fine for my 2 bike rack, but my 4 bike rack will only fit a 2inch receiver. Would it cause damage to adapt the 1-1/4 hitch to 2inch so that I can use the 4 bike rack on the car? If it matters, its a 2010 Nissan Altima.

asked by: Greg S

0

Expert Reply:

I believe I have an option for carrying 4 bikes with your Altima, but the thing about using a hitch adapter is that they cut the capacity of the hitch in half due to the increased leverage and movement the adapter creates.

Since the hitch on your 2010 Nissan Altima is most likely a Class I hitch with a 200 lb tongue capacity and using a hitch adapter would reduce that down to 100 lbs, you would not have enough capacity for the weight of your rack plus 4 bikes.

Also, Class I hitches are not rated to carry more than 2 bikes because of the lower capacity of the rack.

An option you have to carry 4 bikes would be to get a roof rack and then two bike racks for the other two bikes.

I attached a link to a page that has all the different roof racks available for your vehicle. If you have a 4 door model I would go with the following products to complete your roof rack:

Thule SquareBars # TH712400
Thule Rapid Traverse Foot Pack # TH480R
Thule Fit Kit # THKIT1580

For bike racks you could get the Thule UpRide Wheel Mount Rack # TH599000. This is a great wheel mounted roof rack that should work well for you. I attached a review video for this rack also.