Review on 🚲 Allen Sports Premier Spare Tire Rack for 2 Bikes (Model S302) by David Vargas

We have this bike rack for our 2008 Toyota RAV4 to take our bikes to Florida on an 800 mile train ride and then continue the 5 hour drive. I read a lot of reviews before settling on the "premium" version for a few bucks more - mostly because I wanted the convenience of rubber straps, which are easier to put on and take off than nylon straps, which are easier to put on and take off need to thread through plastic clips that come with a cheaper rack. All in all, this is a very solid bike rack that served our ride very well. Read a few things that disappointed me: The instructions are clear enough, but it took me a few extra minutes to figure out how to attach the bottom rail to the rack. You will need two 7/16 wrenches/ratchets for this. I took some close-ups to show you how it's done. Even after a few extra minutes reading the instructions a few times, I still put the bottom bar back and had to take it off and redo it. The instructions state that before installing the bike carrier, all outer casings should be removed from the tire. as you may damage this cover. The downside is that we either have to leave the tire at home or make room for it in the (packed) car. I didn't realize that until I bought the bike rack. I was disappointed that the bike rack straps were not securely fastened to the underside of our RAV4's tailgate, allowing us to leave the rack in place and still open/close the door. . But certainly only attached to the underside of the bumper. This meant we had to make sure we'd fully packed the car before setting up the trunk (and not having to access the back of the packed car while driving). back door. It took us a few tries to get the bikes right. We have two women's bikes - because they have beveled handlebars, they worked best with the top handlebars in one tote bag and the bottom handlebars in the other - allowing the bike to lay flatter on the rack. The instructions say to mount the second bike in the opposite direction and then use additional straps to secure the front wheels. I used 3 short bungee cords for this. We were NOT able to operate the rear wiper with this bike rack because one of the top brackets on the bike rack was interfering with the wiper. We checked this before we drove off so we knew not to turn on the rear wiper. Overall this is an amazing bike rack. It's very solid, does its job well and when installed properly the bikes don't move at all. I write honest reviews to help others make informed purchases because I read reviews myself and know how helpful they can be. I hope my review helped you!