Bike Rack for Rav4

So my wife and I are looking for a newer vehicle for her. We have found a ridiculous deal on a 2012 Rav4, but we have a Thule T2 hitch mounted bike rack and I'm worried that it won't fit with the funny mounting of the spare tire. Does anyone else have a Rav4, and if so how do you shuttle bikes? NSR, that swinging Yakima one? Roof rack need not apply for my poor 5' tall wife.

Cheers.

We have an '07. Right now, we're using a Stealth, but had to put a longer insert on for it to clear the spare. I'm looking for a NSR and expect to have to do some modifying again.

Take a look at th swagman jackknife. Not sure on the quality, but probably the coolest system going.

I have a swagman 4 bike and can take 3 big bikes and a kid or bmx size bike on my Rav The spare wheel gets in the way of the inner spot which is where I put my kids bike.

Door can fully open with bikes unloaded but if you like to leave your rack on it doesn't have enough clearance to fold up and lock… Speaking of rack… Nice rack!

I've been wondering the same thing lately. I've been using a simple spare tire single bar rack for our hard tails for a while but I just picked up a Devinci Ollie and it doesn't work with the current rack.

Are there any solutions out there that don't require me installing a hitch or lifting the bastard onto my roof? Honda CRV with the off center spare.

I use a NSR. The downside on the 2012 Rav is that you can't open the rear door fully even with the rack laid down. This is despite the photo on the NSR site of a rack laid flat with a Rav - that one has one of the bolts removed - not a practical solution in my opinion. The other limitation is the inability to carry road bikes (although it can be done apparently). Other than that, the rack itself is great! Well thought out and high quality.

The beauty of the Rav is, if you are going anywhere by yourself (with only one bike) you can fold the rear seats and just stuff the bike in the back. Pretty much anything will fit.

Maybe get the extenstion for the Thule T2 and take out the inner spot as BigHitX suggested?

I have an 2010 Rav 4 with the runflats instead of the spare and its perfect for biking with the T2. I also have a Thule Sidearm for the roof so I can comfortabley drive 3 bikers.

I got a Kuat "Van" that clears my spare tire. Its not the greatest rack out there but so far seems to be holding up pretty well. The good: aluminum (won't rust like my Thule and a bit lighter). The not so good: only available for class 1 hitches (although they supply a piece that allows you to use it with a class 2 hitch but the main support bar is still class 1. Also my hitch sits just about flush with outer edge of rear bumper. This may work for a RAV as well….

I've been wondering the same thing lately. I've been using a simple spare tire single bar rack for our hard tails for a while but I just picked up a Devinci Ollie and it doesn't work with the current rack.

Are there any solutions out there that don't require me installing a hitch or lifting the bastard onto my roof? Honda CRV with the off center spare.

I got a Kuat "Van" that clears my spare tire. Its not the greatest rack out there but so far seems to be holding up pretty well. The good: aluminum (won't rust like my Thule and a bit lighter). The not so good: only available for class 1 hitches (although they supply a piece that allows you to use it with a class 2 hitch but the main support bar is still class 1. Also my hitch sits just about flush with outer edge of rear bumper. This may work for a RAV as well….

I like the looks of that. Does it fold down to allow access to the rear door? Where did you get it?