SURCO BT300

We sought a spare tire bike rack to use with our '05 Honda CRV and this rack fits the bill par excellence! This rack works great. It's solid, easy to install, and includes lock-down security which is a real plus. The rear gate also readily opens and closes when bikes are on the rack. Security is two-fold: 1) the bike rack itself can be locked down (using the padlock of your choice - we use a secure, hard-to-cut padlock) and 2) the bikes can be locked onto the rack with the supplied locking bolt. (Only 1 key is included for the locking bolt, which I thought was an error so called Surco who'll send a spare at $5 each; we opted to get a 2nd one made through a locksmith - which also cost $5.) This rack installed with no problem and is SOLID -- the bikes don't budge once tightened down into the rubber-padded wedges between two plates. While the two bolts do take a while to fully tighten or loosen to remove the top plate - it's also possible (if only 1 or 2 bikes are on the rack) to just loosen the bolts enough to slip the bike frame to or from the inner or outer wedges, and lift the bike through and off of the bike rack. I also like that the rack is easy to remove while keeping the rack plate bolted behind the tire AND the spare tire cover fits (without having to remove that plate bolted behind tire). Lastly, because CRV spare tire is off-center, when loading 2 or 3 large bikes, one or two may extend past the side of the car a bit, but that hasn't been a problem (other than maybe causing some drag, but not bad). Most important is that the bikes are SOLID and SECURE. We highly recommend this bike rack.

The parts didn't screw together when I received them. The seller was responsive but not too courteous nor professional because being in Canada posed an issue for him and recommended trying to fix the part with a razor blade myself. I do appreciate acknowledging the problem and frank attempt at a solution; however, mostly lucky that I know someone with the right tools to file and re-thread (both parts had complications).

It was tough to find a model for an older car, as ours is now 11 years old. It fit, works well and we are happy with it. Being new to travelling with bikes we were nervous but after 1 hour on the road, the worries were gone. It also can much faster than anticipated and that was likely the best part.

I am giving this one star because the info is not correct about this fitting on a RAV4. It may fit on some RAV's, but it definitely did not fit our 2009 RAV4 Limited. The lug nut pattern on our spare tire rack in back did not match the plate the bike rack mounts to the car upon. Pay close attention to the picture of the spare tire rack on the RAV4 pictured with this item before ordering it. This rack has been shipped back to Amazon! Had this item fit on our car, I would have rated it 5 stars as we really liked the quality, the features, especially the mounting features for the bikes and the built in lock complete with keys on this rack!! I was so looking forward to being able to have a sturdy rack with no wobble that we could actually open our cargo door while having the rack with the bikes mounted on the car. Was unable to find anything else similar to this rack that would mount in the same way and had to buy from another company not on Amazon another type of bike rack that goes in our trailer hitch. This means that now we have to take the bikes off the rack first and remove the empty bike rack to open the cargo door.....so disappointed that this product did not work for us!!

I had to remove my Honda CRV's spare tire cover. I was able to assemble it with not much problem, but my wife would not have been able to put it on alone. It is very stable. (You do have to add your own lock. It won't function without, safetly at least.) When not in use, I remove the top portion with the knobs and keep it in my truck area. (I am scared that rain/dirt will rust away the lock.) Since I am scared of rust, I bought two screws and rubber washers to place in the mechanism so that rain won't get down into it. I have had no issues with the lock and I have used it dozens of times over the past 6 months. (It came with two keys.) I have read the issues with the locks, but it works very smoothly for me. I prefer the screw down knobs that this one has. I chose this over bike holders that use straps. The screw down knobs can be tightened very securely. The rubber on the clamp is quality and will not tear anytime soon. It also does not scratch my bikes. My bikes do not move or rub against one another. My bikes have a normal top tube. (Note, this holder might not work on bikes with oversized top-tubes, such as an electric bike or some beach cruisers.) I am able to fit a 29 inch tire bike with my two kids 16 inch bikes no problem. I can also fit my female bike fine, which has a lower top tube. I think it would be a bit of a stretch to fit 3 adult bikes. It can fit two easily, but 3 would probably have the bikes touching one another. I have to alternate how I align 3 bikes so that the handles don't hit each other, etc. (I could see some people to being interested in solving the puzzle each time you load bikes, but you pay for what you get. If you want a really nice one, buy a name brand and pay more for it.) This bike carrier works well for my needs.