Bike Rack Suggestion for '04 Disco?

[eric]

Any recommendations? Looking for a simple, low-profile 2-bike rack.

I bought the Thule T2 which is the new "style" of racks: it's hitch mounted, the bikes sit in cradles and it drops down to allow access to tailgate. Only problem, it does NEITHER with the '04 Disco's full size spare and right-swing tailgate... This seems to have been overlooked by Thule.

Land Rover's own "swing away" stand looks fantastic, but it's sold for the LR3 and Sport. In the photos it looks like it'd clear the spare, but there's now to know unless it's been tested.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[smrover1]

I have a Thule swing down rack and kinda wish I would of got the swing away one. It always seems like I need to get something out of the back and you just cant open the door enough with the fold down one.

 

[MUSKYMAN]

I bought a land rover sport rack from Brian here on disco web and it works perfect on my D1 but I have the same issues as you mentioned on my DII.

the easy fix was to buy a extension to slide into the reciever then mount the rack into the extension.

lets face it most people dont need departure angle when they are hauling bikes.

 

[AMCM Disco]

Not sure which one it is but the one's on the Mobil Drive Around the World Disco's looked like they worked well - it holds the bikes up further (mounted on the spare tire) and at an angle....

http://www.odysseyshow.com/photos.htmlhttp://http://www.odysseyshow.com/images/pg_carload.jpg

 

[Onionman]

I bought a land rover sport rack from Brian here on disco web and it works perfect on my D1 but I have the same issues as you mentioned on my DII.

the easy fix was to buy a extension to slide into the reciever then mount the rack into the extension.

lets face it most people dont need departure angle when they are hauling bikes.

I am facing the same problem. The bike rack I got with the DI when purchased new in 1996 does not work on my 2004 DII due to the hitch receiver being so far inset under the bumper. I am in the process of adding an extra length of 2" square tubing to the rack. Would have bought one of those extensions if I had seen it before starting this process.

Oh well!

 

[brianhoberg]

I'd love to get a swing out version, but will probably look for one that can hitch around the spare tire for now.

 

[gmookher]

I use the thule swing out on my rover
http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-964-revolver.asp and the new lever equipped roadway on the wagon
http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-954-ridgeline.asp
; thule rocks over yakima.

I saw a 'badger rack' on a members rig, it was sweet too, just googled it and no dice...

 

[jackp]

FYI - Thule's newly designed hitch mounted racks (912, 914, 915, and 964 Revolver (swing-a-way) will NOT fit the D2 or D1.

The newer racks feature a quick release lever, which is convenient, but the back side of the rack head was also re-designed and now will not clear even the OEM spare tire when the rack head is folded down.

T2's will not fit a D2.

IMHO the Thule Spare-Me (#963) is the best solution. Even then, I would not recommend carrying anything too heavy (DH bikes for example) especially for an extended time - or you'll have issues with your rear door hinges. My bike are pretty light, and I usually just have one which I move closest to the spare. So far, no issues in 6 years.



Not sure what Yakima offers, they might have a rack that will clear the spare.

The other option, which I've had customers use is to install a 20" receiver extender. Northern Tool and probably Wal-Mart carry these. The downside is that you can't use a bolt to snug them down, and a basic receiver pin allows some side-to-side wobble. You could use a bolt, it would just take some "engineering"....this would work with the T2 or any of the above Thule receiver mounted racks.

 

[jackp]

I use the thule swing out on my rover
http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-964-revolver.asp and the new lever equipped roadway on the wagon
http://www.rackattack.com/product-pages/thule-954-ridgeline.asp
; thule rocks over yakima.

I saw a 'badger rack' on a members rig, it was sweet too, just googled it and no dice...

Gem -

Have you installed the Revolver rack on your D2? My old Thule swing-away worked well (kinda) but the newer head on the 964 will not clear the spare in my experience.

Jack

 

[gmookher]

Gem -

Have you installed the Revolver rack on your D2? My old Thule swing-away worked well (kinda) but the newer head on the 964 will not clear the spare in my experience.

Jack

My swing away is actually the older model and it fit fine...even with my RTE spacer.
I think they called it something else, but same basic design; also I am not using the stock rover hitch receiver-sorry I am not of much use in helping you with this.

 

[jackp]

Yeah, the older Thule's would work, even with larger than stock spare. The newer design will not...

Just wanted to make sure that I didn't miss anything.

I've had several issues installing Thule recently, where the Fit Guide called it a fit and in fact the rack did not fit:banghead:

 

[gmookher]

this is the rack i own, sorry for the prior erronous link!
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/spo/744629486.html
http://www.thuleracks.com/recall.asp

 

[DiscoIIman]

This is very similiar to what I have. It doesn't swing away or down, but with only 2 bikes it's not that hard to take it off when it's loaded.

http://www.hollywoodracks.com/hitch-racks/prorider-hitch-rack.htm

Here is a pic. I wish is was better, I dont' usually take pics of the rear of the
truck.

David

 

[leeawalden]

you could just get a factory bike rack that was sold by dealers and that way you know it would work fine. Search on craigslist there are always a bunch on there. Just go to google and search "Land Rover bike site:craigslist.org" As a matter of fact there is one for $50 bucks in hilton head SC.

 

[Slappy]

I use a yakima rook rack. The RTE nerf sliders work really great as a step to get the bike up.

 

[Greg B]

IMHO the Thule Spare-Me (#963) is the best solution.

I used to use the 'Spare-Me' rack and it worked great. It uses a multi-fitment base to attach to the spare wheel mount and pass through the center bore. However, at that time I was using the stock steel wheel as my spare. Given the larger center bore, it didn't take much to make it fit.

 

[flyfisher11]

For streamlined I prefer the open the back door, fold down the seat and stuff it in there. Will also keep you from tearing it to hell totin' it on a trail.

Cheers,

Mike

 

[gmookher]

For streamlined I prefer the open the back door, fold down the seat and stuff it in there. Will also keep you from tearing it to hell totin' it on a trail.

Cheers,

Mike

LOL...that is not a recommendation for a bike rack which is what OP seeks, reducing seating and cargo space are the key reasons for one to not use the CB method of carrying ones bike. ..

 

[Tempest]

I use the Thule Spare me tire rack... no issues so far either... use it for both mine and my wife's bike.

 

[bmohan55]

I have a Surco OSI Swing away bike mount with the extender...works perfectly, allows full access to tailgate
http://www.autoanything.com/bike-racks/69A1361A0A0.aspx

I bought it from Atlantic British but don't see it online any more