YAKIMA BACKSWING 8002483 and TRIMAX RMBR4 HITCH MOUNT BIKE TRAY are a match made in heaven!

REVIEW: YAKIMA BACKSWING 8002483 HITCH RACK SWING AWAY ADAPTER

YAKIMA BACKSWING 8002483 and TRIMAX RMBR4 HITCH MOUNT BIKE TRAY are a match made in heaven!

OVERALL

This YAKIMA BACKSWING 8002483 HITCH RACK SWING AWAY ADAPTER will make my biking and camping with bikes so much easier.   I used to have a super heavy hanging hitch mount bike rack and I recently switched to the TRIMAX RMBR4 4 POSITION HITCH MOUNT BIKE TRAY / RACK.  My old hanging rack weight about 80lbs and with 4 mountain bikes on it trying to dead lift it into “towing position” vs “loading position” took 2 people.   [See my full review of TRIMAX RMBR4 (here)]  Especially for camping, I hated having to remove all the bikes and the hitch mount just to get to the back of my truck.  The YAKIMA BACKSWING 8002483 HITCH RACK SWING AWAY ADAPTER solves the problem.  Know that it pushes the whole bike rack back about 20 inches.  However, I can now open the truck bed gate without problems.  But more importantly, I can also easily swing all the bikes out of the way to gain full access to the rear of the truck for loading and unloading gear, firewood, rafts, etc.

An obvious question is, why did I also not get the YAKIMA bike tray instead of TRIMAX?  Basically, cost is the answer.  The YAKIMA rack was 2X the cost of the TRIMAX and for just the price of the YAKIMA rack, I was able to afford both a rack and a swing out adapter.  Time will tell if this was a good decision or not.

The build quality of the YAKIMA BACKSWING 8002483 HITCH RACK SWING AWAY ADAPTER, durability, and style are great.  It even includes a hitch pin lock.

PRO’s

-              Pretty good Instructions

-              Very Heavy Duty Material

-              Everything fit well, there was no bending or forcing of parts to assemble

-              Assembly was easy (basically install 2 bolts)

The hitch lock seems to be light duty, I suspect it would come off easily with a hit from a hammer, but it is a visual deterrent anyway.   Tools are not included. 

 

ASSEMBLY

The YAKIMA BACKSWING 8002483 HITCH RACK SWING AWAY ADAPTER was quick and easy to assemble (maybe 5 minutes).  (See video) everything fit the way it was supposed to.  No missing parts.  Easy to follow instructions.   The paper instructions show you building it on the hitch of your vehicle.  But today it was 20 degrees Fahrenheit, so I built it on the basement floor and carried it already built to the truck for testing. I suggest a 1 inch and ¾ inch socket wrench and a pair of pliers to force on the clipping lock washer.

USAGE

I don’t have my bikes yet, I will pick them up in a few weeks from being upgraded, but I needed the rack and swing adapter first anyway.   I’ll update these reviews once I have the bikes on the racks and few trips behind me.   Still, it was super easy for me to mount the YAKIMA swing adapter by myself to the truck, then mount the TRIMAX bike rack to the adapter and test it out.   I don’t think I could move them both attached on my own (about 100 lbs) but the two parts separately no problem.   My general intent is to leave both parts permanently attached to the truck since the TRIMAX folds up out of the way.

The addition of the YAKIMA to the hitch pushes everything out about +20 inches over and above how far out the TRIMAX was on its own.  Fully extended (bike rack open) the whole setup ends about 52 inches from the bumper to the outside edge of the bike rack.

It is incredibly easy to unlock the swing bar and move everything out of the way.   I saw some reviews that said the swing bar sagged a little to the right.  But if you have the screw in hitch bolt properly tightened it was perfectly level for me.    We took the YAKIMA and TRIMAX for a drive over bumpy roads, and we never heard a single rattle.

Before getting the YAKIMA BACKSWING 8002483 HITCH RACK SWING AWAY ADAPTER, placing the first bike (closest to the truck) was a bit of a hassle.  Now I can swing everything out of the way and have unlimited space to load and maneuver that first bike onto the rack.

 

SUMMARY / CONCLUSION / RECOMMENDATION

I have a feeling the YAKIMA BACKSWING 8002483 HITCH RACK SWING AWAY ADAPTER is going to be one of those “where have been all my life” purchases.  If I think back to all those family camping trips and the hassle of loading and unloading the bike 10 times per trip to remove the bike rack, this would have been a lifesaver, mood saver, time saver.   In a week-long camping trip (we did 3 per year).  We would have to unload the bikes and the rack before we could set up camp.  Then after camp was setup, put everything back on the rack and drive to the trailhead to bike.  Then take it all off again to load rafts and such to go to the beach or to go get firewood, on and off again over and over 30-60 minutes per switch over.   Now I can load it one time and leave it on the entire time (with proper locks of course).

I have high hopes for the YAKIMA BACKSWING 8002483 HITCH RACK SWING AWAY ADAPTER.