Customer Reviews

Allen Deluxe Swing Away 4-Bike Hitch Mount Rack (2-Inch Receiver)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The 740RR (MSRP: $400) is a swing-away hitch-mount bike carrier that permits access to the rear of a vehicle without first dismounting the rack or its load of bikes, a convenience that you'll wonder how you ever got along without. The 740RR folding design is unique from other competing swing-away bike carriers, admittedly very cool to see in action though it provides no obvious advantages. An animated video of the 740RR movement is available on the manufacturer's website.

However, the 740RR seems to suffer from a few design flaws that quickly become apparent during typical use, raise concerns about the product's safety, and may eventually render the rack unusable. My observations after using the 740RR:

1) Unnecessarily complicated swing-arm.
The 740RR folding swing-arm requires more component hardware and pivot points than competing single-hinge swing-away carriers. More pivot points mean over a half-dozen lubrication spots, more mechanical points of failure, and several exposed and potentially serious pinch hazards.

2) Swing-arm flex.
The 740RR swing-arm flexes considerably when it is swung out from the vehicle under a full load of bikes. The flex can cause permanent misalignment of the locking mechanisms that hold the rack safely closed. When this happens, the 740RR is unusable.

3) Poorly designed locking and safety mechanism.
The locking mechanism is the most significant problem with the rack. The 740RR clicks closed by use of a spring-pin. However, this pin does not secure the carrier to the vehicle. Instead, the owner must subsequently hand-tighten an ordinary threaded bolt before the rack is safe for transport. Forget to tighten that bolt and the carrier will swing away from the rear of the vehicle at the first bump regardless if the rack is empty or carrying bikes, an unnerving thing to experience.

Note that securing the rack with a threaded bolt appears to be a typical safety feature of most swing-away bike carriers. However, the 740RR's implementation seems poorly applied:
- The long threaded bolt must be tightened from the front of the swing-arm, access to which is difficult and awkward when the rack is loaded with bicycles;
- The bolt threads become stripped under normal use and eventually can no longer be tightened, making the rack unusable;
- Neither the spring-pin or the bolt will engage if the swing-arm is misaligned, again rendering the rack unusable.

4) Significant weight.
The 740RR is heavy and cumbersome to attach/remove from the receiver hitch, and awkward and bulky to move when detached. The carrier does not stand up on its own when not mounted. As an alternative to hefting the thing up onto wall hooks, the manufacturer sells a stand which allows upright storage of the 740RR.

5) Instructions contain errors.
The 740RR design has apparently changed since the instructions were last updated. A few images do not match actual rack components, and some parts are mislabeled.

Great Warranty.
The manufacturer warrants their products as such: "If one of our products fails to function properly due to defect in materials or workmanship over the lifetime of the original purchaser, return the product and we will repair it or replace it free of charge." Indeed, to my satisfaction, the manufacturer replaced my first problematic 740RR (on which this review is based) without any hassle and free of charge including shipping. The replacement rack has lasted longer than its predecessor, but the threaded bolt again shows signs of eminent failure.

Buying a Used 740RR.
It is probably a very bad idea to purchase the 740RR used. The original owner may be unburdening themselves of a rack afflicted with one of the many inherent problems I mentioned above. Also, you would loose the protection of the manufacturer's warranty.

This is a great rack and the price is even greater. Super heavy duty construction. Easy to operate. Great design. The only negative thing is it's heavy because it's made from such heavy gauge steel. That's the only reason for 4 stars. If it was lighter I would give it 5 stars.
I have an Expedition which is very wide. I was concerned that when the rack swings to the side it may not swing out wide enough and the bikes may hit the truck. Not a problem. The rack swings out plenty wide to clear the truck.
I usually buy Thule racks but I'm tired of the high prices and the quality keeps getting worse & worse. I am very happy with this Allen rack. Not only do I get exercise riding my bike. I get a work out carrying the rack as well ;-)

Starting with the good. The rack was very easy to assemble & is very sturdy. The rack will hold securely 4 different style of bikes if you alternate handlebars. It locks and unlocks easily with the push of a lever & twist of a heavy duty, rubber coated wingnut. It does swing & lock out allowing access to a tailgate or lift gate. I can also access my liftgate glass while the rack is not swung out. The bike mounting arm (which I have used as a surfboard platform at the beach while changing)can be collapsed when not in use.

Now the downside. The rack fits a standard 2" receiver but I had to enlarge the hole on the rack hitchpost to accept my locking bolt for my hitch. The rack is very heavy. When not mounted, the rack has to be laid down, it will not stand up by itself. I would buy this item again but I would do a more thorough search for a swing out rack that allows you to place the wheels of the bikes on a mounting platform in wheel racks.

We bought this type of swing out rack for easier access to the rear hatch of our SUV. Once attached the rack works very well, although we have not used it yet fully loaded with 4 bikes. We have only had this rack a few weeks so it has not been extensively tested by us. The rack swings out easily under load and locks in place as it should. Everything seems heavily constructed and very solid. For small frame mountain bikes you may want to buy an adjustable bar in place of the existing top bar since it can be hard to get small frame mountain bikes on the the rack. The bikes seem to be held securely on the rack and with everything anchored they do not swing around.

Cons -- the heavy construction makes for a very heavy rack. If you have back issues or other problems carrying a heavy load you might want to leave the rack on your car. It is also not an easy load to get a hold of when moving it. While the overall construction was very good, two of the holes that should allow the mounting bolts to fold into the swing arm were misaligned slightly. A little grinding on the holes brought everything into alignment.

Overall a very good rack for the price and it seems solid enough to provide years of service.

I am very happy with this bike rack. We have a van, and it swings away from the doors very nicely. Neither the rack or the bikes when loaded ever touch the van doors, so no scratches! The rack is very solid when mounted, and our bikes, when attached with extra strap (or bungee cords) are solid also. My only complaint is that it is too heavy for me to lift and mount to the van by myself. My husband has no trouble by himself. We have already traveled over 2000 miles with the bikes on this rack, and are really pleased with it!

Once the bikes were on the rack, it didn't close easily. Also the item came rusty and got further rusted in the first rainstorm. I wouldn't recommend this for the difference in price the Yakima or Thule are much better.

First of all, BicycleSourceUS sent a defective item. After a long assembly it did not stand upright, and it did not extend straight out from my 4-Runner. It looked awful.

Even if this particular item was not defective, the design is horrible. The carrier is VERY heavy, and really doesn't need to be that heavy. One strong man can not lift this item easily. It is difficult to assemble. It took two guys to assemble it with a lot of tools. Once it is on the vehicle it really has to stay there because taking it off requires loosening a heavy bolt, and lifting it, which is very hard to do. When it is on my SUV, to open the SUV hatch, I had to use a knob to unscrew the swing arm, then move the swing arm out, which doesn't slide easily. I didn't even have bikes on it yet. This is probably one of the worst designs I have seen. I actually had to laugh at how complicated this carrier is. It is hard to assemble, hard to use, difficult to remove from the vehicle, difficult to open the hatchback, and didn't look right.

Apart from the design, BicycleSourceUS refused to accept the item back when I told them it arrived defective. Their policy apparently says that if you take it out of the package, it can not be returned. But obviously you have to take it out of the package to see if it is defective and all the parts are there. After a few disappointing emails with BicycleSourceUS I finally got Amazon to make them accept the return. in the end I had to pay for shipping BOTH ways, and a 15% restocking fee. I paid over $140 after all was said and done. I would not buy this item, and would recommend you work with a seller that has a reasonable return policy and some guarantee that they will send a item that isn't defective.

After much research I purchased this bike rack in need of a "swing-away" in order to access the trunk without removing all the bikes. I was skeptical of what quality I would be getting for such a relatively low price. But I must admit, I am impressed with the sturdiness and high grade construction of this rack. This is a heavy duty rack, and a well-engineered rack to boot.

The rack is very sturdy when driving loaded up with bikes. It fits extremely snug and tight (no wabble whatsoever) into the hitch receiver - very sturdy.

To be mindful of:
1) There are a few hinges and moving parts, as inherent to the design allowing the swinging movement. But the bolts and hinges seem very durable and secure.

2) When attaching the rack into the hitch, you need a wrench set to make the snug fit. It's not a quick release pin/bolt or anything like that. The nut/bolt must be wrenched on tight. However, that nut/bolt set does provide a VERY secure mount.

3) This is a relatively heavy rack - approx 55 lbs. It's probably not difficult to mount for most people, but just be mindful, it's not light. Again, that weight adds to the sturdiness and durability of the rack.

Even given those things, I cannot see why else this rack doesn't deserve 5 stars. If you're looking for a "swing away" design and don't want to have to take off the bikes every time you access the cargo area of your SUV, then this is the rack for you. I cannot see any sacrifice in quality for the relatively low price tag compared to the more commonly sought Thule or Yakima.

I just took my out of the box and installed it. It is fantastic. The swing out works great. The arms seem to be a little wide which requires some ingenuity to place my kids bikes on the rack.

Having owned another Allen hitch rack, I wanted to get one of their racks that would allow me to access the back of my SUV without having to remove my bicycles from the rack. Although took a little bit of assembly, once it was put together the 740 worked awesome. The rack locks in both the open and closed positions, and it has a couple of arms that rotate your bicycles for you while it's opening. Definitely a great swing-away design!