YAKIMA HoldUp Hitch Mount Tray Rack

I was initially planning to return the Holdup 2 but luckily I didn’t before trying out my second consideration: the Kuat NV.

Here’s my review comparing the Kuat NV and the Yakima Holdup 2:

Hitch connection: Both are well-built and fit securely without any movement. I like how there’s no wrench required on the Kuat to attach it to the hitch receiver: slip in and lock the pin and then hand-tighten the ball with a knob to secure the mount to the hitch and keep it from moving around. On the other hand, while the hitch pin just slips in and locks, it’s free to rattle around. (I added some tape to make it more snug.) On the Yakima, the hitch pin screws into place with a wrench. It’s very secure but it’s not very convenient to put on or remove – and I’m not one to leave the rack on when I’m not using it.

Tray Design: Both are tray designs and can carry a wide range of bike sizes and styles. Both can be extended to carry up to four bikes. Yakima’s is easier to assemble but that’s just a one-time thing. However, Yakima has a strong advantage here in that the individual trays can be adjusted left and right to avoid conflicts between handlebars and seats. In addition, Kuat advertises that you get 13″ spacing between your bikes but that’s only true if you don’t add on the extra rack for two more bikes. You have to disassemble one set of arms and reattach them at a 9″ spacing to accommodate the two bike add-on. And this isn’t something you can do easily – you’re not going to want to switch this back and forth. Even without the squeeze down to 9″, I find that our two mountain bikes make hard contact with each other between seats and handlebars and shifters. This doesn’t happen at all on the Yakima. Even in the tray’s center positions, the bikes are offset from each other and the seats and bars don’t touch at all. Plus, you can move the trays on the Yakima if need be.

Lock cables: Both have built-in cable locks and a locking hitch pin with shared keys. Kuat’s cables are beefier but Kuat’s cables are so short I can just barely get it to pass through the frames of two mtn bikes – and not even both rear wheels (never mind the front wheels). The Yakima design is different and each cable locks separately and can easily include the frame and front wheel (but not the backs).

Door clearance: On the Yakima, you can’t open the RAV4’s rear swing door very far (it opens left to right) without hitting the rear wheel basket. However, if you lift up on the swing door while you open it, you can squeeze over this and get it open about 3-4 feet. Not all the way, but it’s enough to provide easy access to the back of the vehicle. On the other hand, the Kuat design has a low enough profile when fully lowered that the RAV4’s door will only just barely touch the rack but allows it to open fully.

Extras: The Kuat NV comes with a repair stand to lift your bike up via its seat post. The Yakima Holdup 2 Plus add-on comes with a spring loaded warning flag and two battery-operated warning blinkers.

Aesthetics: It’s subjective, but I think the Kuat looks nicer/sharper than the Yakima, but the Yakima doesn’t look bad, just plain.

I am going to stay with the Yakima Holdup 2 just because of how easily the bikes fit in and don’t rub or cut into each other and how the trays are adjustable to avoid handlebar/seat conflicts with other people’s bikes. The need to use a wrench to screw on and off the hitch pin on the Yakima might get annoying over time – but I normally put my bikes inside my vehicle anyway. Much safer and secure back there. I just want the rack for when there’s more than two of us or I need to fill the vehicle with other gear (camping, etc).

First off, I am very pleased with the rack. It holds my e-bike securely and is easy to load. I hope to get many years of use from the product. My problem is Yakima’s customer service. While installing the rack I ran into a problem with the instructions. Whether the instructions are incorrect or one of the attachment points had been put in backwards at the factory, I’m not sure. Either way, I could not attach the rack to my hitch. I followed Yakima’s instructions to not return the rack to the seller but to contact their customer service. I called their 800 number and sat on hold for an hour with no response before I gave up. I then sent an email to their customer service address. I got an almost immediate response to the effect that they were very busy and I would hear from them in 4-6 weeks! A month later and still nothing. Fortunately some time spent on Google solved my problem and I was able to successfully attach my rack. The moral of this story is: if you have a problem with the rack that a Google search won’t fix, send it back to Amazon. You will never hear from Yakima.

I did a lot of research before I decided to purchase the Yakima HoldUp Tray Style Bike Rack.

During my research phase I happened to be in Summit County in the mountains of Colorado. The local buses has bike racks for riders and all the buses have tray style mounts. It made me shift from a hanging style rack to tray. If buses choose try style given the endless variations of bikes there must be a reason.

I studied the physics of bike carriers and realized the hanging style racks that connect via 2″ or 1.25″ hitch mount put a lot of stress on the rack and trailer hitch. Certainly they are engineered for the stress, but why put needless stress into the equation in the first place.

I also noticed the tray style racks actively manage the sway and inter-play between bikes. The hanging style allow bikes to sway and potentially knock into each other. They require bungie cords or straps to hold the front tires in place. Tray mounts on the other hand actively hold the bikes preventing swaying and knocking into each other.

The final reason I chose a tray mount was visibility. All the hanging mounts obstruct the rear windows of the vehicle. This obstruction is guaranteed when bikes are mounted. The tray style does not obstruct the window and in many cases the bikes don’t raise the the level of obstructing the rear windows.

This obstruction or lack thereof does have a downside for tray style. They are not visible when backing up creating an increased risk of backing into something.

After all my research it came down to two choices; 1) YAKIMA 2) THULE. Both offer “Systems” that enhance the synergy of purchasing bike rack, roof cargo carriers and kayak holders. Things like universal keying (one key for all locks) and common tools which is convenient. Both have excellent quality reputations.

What swayed my decision was two things:
1) Quantity of bikes – the Yakima tray system allows up to four bikes
2) Bike, Cargo and Kayak systems – we plan to purchase all three mounting systems and strongly desire the ability to key them all the same

YAKIMA
The HoldUp Tray Bike Rack is extremely well made. From the gauge of steel to the paint to the securing mechanisms everything is high quality. This quality comes at the cost of weight. The rack is rather heavy and that is especially the case when you add the additional 2 bike attachment (allowing 4 bikes to be carried).

Assembly was straightforward and the instructions clear and easy to follow. It took me about 60~90 minutes to assemble. I took my time first unpacking all the parts, reading through the instructions twice and slowly assembling the unit. It could easily be assembled in approximately 45~30 minutes if you have two people.

Mounting is obviously easy simply inserting the bike rack into the trailer hitch. It can be cumbersome given the weight. The mounting pin (inserts through the rack and trailer hitch) is threaded and screws in easily. The final tightening can be tedious because there is little space between the pin/bolt, the mounting rack and the hitch mounting apparatus.

The mechanism to swing the loaded tray mount down to access the rear vehicle doors is very very nice. It is easy given the squeeze clip-n-pin. Of course swinging the rack back up into place loaded with bikes requires significant strength (you are lifting bikes and the heavy gauge tray mount after all).

The mechanism to fold the rack up up against the vehicle is nice when not carrying bikes. It interfered with my SUV’s backup sensors so I was force to toggle those off when I had the empty tray mount folded upwards.

SUGGESTIONS
After mounting and unmounting the rack several times I made a changes to make it much easier.

A) I purchased separate ratchet wrench (not socket but ratcheted wrench) making it much much easier to thread and tighten/untighten the mounting pin. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND purchasing a ratcheting wrench.

B) I bought a Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Marker Medium Point Silver and once I had the rack inserted properly into the hitch I drew a line with the marker on the hitch and mount. This line allows me to single handedly insert the rack into the hitch exactly the right depth without having to stop, check, and push/pull the rack to align the mounting hole. Given the marker was permanent and a bit “runny” I chose to surround the areas I was drawing on with masking tape. This kept excess marker ink from bleeding all over the metal around where I was drawing. I like my stuff to look good.

If these two changes are not clearly described simply respond and I’ll get a couple photos uploaded. These changes makes the process of solo installing and uninstalling much easier and faster. Yes they involve a $6 permanent paint marker and a $20 wrench, but well worth the investment.

easy to assemble and use