Yakima FourTimer Hitch Bike Rack

The quality is great as expected from Yakima. The installation is relatively straightforward but needs to be done whilst hooked on to the car. There is some adjustments that need to be made when placing the bikes which take some time but once done the settings can be left for future use. The only con is that this rack is hell as heavy once all built.

Does everything that it claims to do. I have used it numerous times now, both with just the first section carrying two bikes and the extension, carrying 3 MTB's. Holds the bikes solidly and doesn't bounce around unnecessarily.Great fit and finish. Great instructions. Just good quality all round.

Good rack with a few design issues

We've had this rack for 9 months and used it to haul 4 mountain bikes on ~4k miles of road trips. This rack is sturdy and steady but had a could of design issues. The first is minor issue of using a fragile plastic retainer screw for the Grey Pull Pin. This is a minor issue, but resulted in us losing the Grey Pull Pin. YAKIMA, WHAT IS THE SCREW SIZE FOR THIS SCREW??? I WOULD LIKE TO REPLACE WITH A PERMANENT METAL SCREW. The other issue may not be addressable, but the size and weight of this rack requires 2 people to install and remove. Even raising and lowering the rack once mounted is difficult for my 5'10" wife to do alone, but I'm able to manage with a little additional reach distance since I'm 6'2". Overall, I'm happy with the rack but annoyed that my upcoming ... MoreWe've had this rack for 9 months and used it to haul 4 mountain bikes on ~4k miles of road trips. This rack is sturdy and steady but had a could of design issues. The first is minor issue of using a fragile plastic retainer screw for the Grey Pull Pin. This is a minor issue, but resulted in us losing the Grey Pull Pin. YAKIMA, WHAT IS THE SCREW SIZE FOR THIS SCREW??? I WOULD LIKE TO REPLACE WITH A PERMANENT METAL SCREW. The other issue may not be addressable, but the size and weight of this rack requires 2 people to install and remove. Even raising and lowering the rack once mounted is difficult for my 5'10" wife to do alone, but I'm able to manage with a little additional reach distance since I'm 6'2". Overall, I'm happy with the rack but annoyed that my upcoming bike trip is delayed since I can't find a replacement Grey Pull Pin and don't want to load 4 nice bikes without the right side pin locking in place.

Great Rack, Good Quality

Can you put 4-adult bikes on this and head out on a week long road trip? Yes. The rack is rugged, well built and gives confidence that it isn't going anywhere. Yes, its heavy. It is designed to carry 4 bikes bouncing on the back of a trailer hitch. Yes, it takes a bit to arrange each bike just so to get them to fit. Do this once, make sure you give yourself 2-3X the amount of time you think it will take, then it will be second nature for the rest of the trip. This thing is a beast, but it is also very functional. I like the fact that it breaks down to hold just 2 bikes. Perfect to haul the solo 29er when its just me.

I would buy again and have recommended it to others

Easy to install. Easy to get four bikes on including two kids bikes. Have to spend a few minutes adjusting wheel supports the first time I loaded the bikes, but now that is set, it takes seconds to load a bike.Very sturdy, yet not too heavy. Very secure No bouncing while driving. No sagging. I appreciate the hitch pin key lock so I don't have to worry about the rack getting stolen from the car. Zip bands to secure the wheels to the rack are very convenient.The screw that kept the removable locking pin attached to the rack when the pin was not engaged (via a thin metal cable) may have been plastic and broke after two uses of the rack. It's okay because it isn't needed to operate the rack, and just forces me to put it back in after changing the rack position ... MoreEasy to install. Easy to get four bikes on including two kids bikes. Have to spend a few minutes adjusting wheel supports the first time I loaded the bikes, but now that is set, it takes seconds to load a bike.Very sturdy, yet not too heavy. Very secure No bouncing while driving. No sagging. I appreciate the hitch pin key lock so I don't have to worry about the rack getting stolen from the car. Zip bands to secure the wheels to the rack are very convenient.The screw that kept the removable locking pin attached to the rack when the pin was not engaged (via a thin metal cable) may have been plastic and broke after two uses of the rack. It's okay because it isn't needed to operate the rack, and just forces me to put it back in after changing the rack position (folded up or extended out for use), which is a good thing to not forget to so anyways.

Nice rack

Agree with JQ. Grey pull pin is a disaster. I've ended up losing it. As I live in China, I've searched taobao and found good replacement. Part number is BLP16-30[VCN120-16-30], 16mm diameter and 30mm length. It has nice button to ease installation.

Really good but not great.

I have had this rack for a few weeks now and I have loaded with 1 bike, 2 bikes and 4 bikes. I've had it out maybe 15 times in the last few weeks. So far I really, really like it! It is sturdy and I feel comfortable loading our bikes and driving with them back there. We all have mountain bikes, two 24" kids bikes with suspension, one 27.5 size small womens mountain bike with front suspension and one full susp mens small 29er. I was about an hour and a half to unbox, install and mess around with it so that all bikes fit well. Yes it's heavy but that wasn't a surprise, most reviews mention that and to carry that much bike safely, I think requires some weight. Everything about this is very good with the exception of the wheel straps. The wheel straps are garbage and ... MoreI have had this rack for a few weeks now and I have loaded with 1 bike, 2 bikes and 4 bikes. I've had it out maybe 15 times in the last few weeks. So far I really, really like it! It is sturdy and I feel comfortable loading our bikes and driving with them back there. We all have mountain bikes, two 24" kids bikes with suspension, one 27.5 size small womens mountain bike with front suspension and one full susp mens small 29er. I was about an hour and a half to unbox, install and mess around with it so that all bikes fit well. Yes it's heavy but that wasn't a surprise, most reviews mention that and to carry that much bike safely, I think requires some weight. Everything about this is very good with the exception of the wheel straps. The wheel straps are garbage and honestly I can't believe Yakima uses such a low quality item on this product. I would expect it on a $200-$300 garbage product but not from Yakima. The material is a hard plastic that in my case cracked the fist time I bent it out of the way to load my bike. I live in Ottawa, Canada and as soon as the fall is here and I'm loading bikes in cold weather I expect all of these to shatter and be useless. I have started to search for a replacement already in anticipation of this. I would give this rack 5 stars if it weren't for how low quality these straps are. If Yakima can find a way to improve this, it would be fantastic!

Reviews Are Spot On... Mostly

I bought the FourTimer after several hours of research and I have to say that the research all proved to be correct.Pros: Price, it's basically 1/3 to 1/2 less expensive as the next closest hitch mounted tray rack. Once its set up, it's pretty simple to use. One of my favorite parts is that you split the rack in half and use only a two mount. The trunk opens easily with this option in any position and as I'm mostly the only family member who bikes regularly, it's nice to have the less cumbersome hitch mount, vs. old school hatch mount.Cons: It's a freakin pain in the butt to set up. Install isn't bad, but as many other reviews suggest, making sure you can get all of the family bikes loaded will take you a lot of time and swearing. Another con is that I can ... MoreI bought the FourTimer after several hours of research and I have to say that the research all proved to be correct.Pros: Price, it's basically 1/3 to 1/2 less expensive as the next closest hitch mounted tray rack. Once its set up, it's pretty simple to use. One of my favorite parts is that you split the rack in half and use only a two mount. The trunk opens easily with this option in any position and as I'm mostly the only family member who bikes regularly, it's nice to have the less cumbersome hitch mount, vs. old school hatch mount.Cons: It's a freakin pain in the butt to set up. Install isn't bad, but as many other reviews suggest, making sure you can get all of the family bikes loaded will take you a lot of time and swearing. Another con is that I can already see rust on some parts. This does not bode well.In my opinion, this unit is worth the money if you're transporting a family worth of odd shaped bikes once or twice a month, and otherwise you're only using it for one or two bikes. That being said, if you ride four bikes regularly, I might suggest something with a static tray and over tire mount. Sure, they are extremely expensive, but the ease of use is probably worth the extra.

So easy to use!

We just used this for our first road trip with our bikes and it held up great! Bikes were snug. Able to fit kids bikes 16” and 24” and 2 adult mountain bikes. So easy to adjust to for different wheel sizes and heights. I was disappointed that one of the pins is attached by a cable with a plastic washer. That washer busted day 1 of using the rack. I expected considering the price and brand’s reputation that they would use better quality parts to put this bike rack together. Overall we are happy with our purchase.

Sturdy Rack but Heavy

I recently bought my Yakima rack and took a 300 miles trip. PROS: The bikes stay in place through all the bumps in the road. Easy to adjust from 4 bikes to 2 bikes set up. Easy to put together. CONS: Very very heavy, over 70 lbs. The design is off, difficult to load/unload the bike by yourself. The middle poles that hold the bikes are in the way when loading and unloading. No lock or cable, have to provide your own (at this price point, should come with it). Attaching to the hitch requires a wrench. Black screw that holds wire to the pin came off before I even assembled it. Screw needs to be a metal one, not plastic. I contact customer support and they said it's not an option. They gave me the screw size and said to go buy your own.