Car Bike Racks. Roof? Hitch?

[LD92599]

Does anyone have a roof mounted system for bikes? On a minivan? Feedback? Looking at the thule racks that'll go on the Sienna cross bars.

[KrisM]

We went with a hitch mount. I imagined that someday would come that we'd forget they were on top and drive into the garage...Also we weren't sure either of us could get them up there easily enough without having to bring a ladder.

[mom_hanna]

We had a Sienna until last year and had a hitch rack. I am the cyclist in the family and it's usually me taking/picking up the kids and their bikes, so there is no way I could get a bike on top of the van because I had to stand on the seat just to reach the crossbars. And I am 5'6". Along with the fact that both my BIL and my brother's good friend have driven into their garages with their bikes on top and proceeded to do great harm to very expensive bikes. Not that you would ever do that. : )

[niccig]

Hitch - I can put the rack and the bikes on by myself. No way I could lift our bikes onto the roof of the car without a step ladder and another person to help. I'm 5'3". DH could do it, but the back of the car is just easier.

[cckwmh]

We have a hitch mount on our odyssey. There is No way I would lift the bikes above by myself. DD and I will often drive to a bike trail. We just upgraded from a rack that folds down to one that swings out. We bring our bikes and our dogs on road trips and when we have the dogs crated in back and stop for bathroom breaks, we would have to remove the bikes to get the dogs out. Now the rack swings out enough to give us access to the dogs.

[newnana]

if you don't have a hitch, they are easy to have installed. Places like U-haul do it all the time for much less than the dealership. You can go to the U-Haul website to find a location near you that does it, enter your year/make/model of car and price out how much it would be.

I don't like to lift a bike higher than the hitch because of my shoulder. Good luck!

[urquie]

if you don't have a hitch, they are easy to have installed. Places like U-haul do it all the time for much less than the dealership. You can go to the U-Haul website to find a location near you that does it, enter your year/make/model of car and price out how much it would be.
Good luck!

that's great info to have, thanks!

[hillview]

sienna, hitch. I looked at both roof and hitch and the hitch was about the same cost and seemed more manageable.

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

We have a hitch rack on a mini convertible. :p It works really well. I use it for my triathalons and have no problem managing the bikes myself. DH uses it for his mountain biking.