Rocky Mounts may not be the first rack that comes to mind when you think hitch racks, but the new Split Rail may change that and is a fantastic offering from a company well known for its colorful roof top trays. The Split Rail addresses several issues extremely well that plague other hitch racks. The most annoying of these issues is the required bodily contortions to tilt the bikes and rack down in order to access the back of the vehicle. There is also the issue of wiggle and play of the entire set up when the bikes are installed on the rack. The Rocky Mounts Split Rail addresses those concerns into a great lightweight and expandable alternative.
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Split Rail Details – MSRP: $499 -Available to fit 2″ and 1.25″ – Add on trays $220 each
Thumbs Up:
- First, the way that the rack tightens into the receiver hitch is awesome and eliminates rack wiggle on your vehicle. All you do is simply put the pin through your receiver and hitch and use the knob on the back of the rack to tighten the rack into the receiver.
- Very easy to reach lever that allows the rack to fold up or lower down out of the way for easy access to the back of your vehicle.
- The quality of this rack definitely stands out. Everthing fits together well and operation is smooth and quiet.
- Integrated lock mechanism is includied in each arm, not that I would rely on this alone, but a nice added feature. Proper beefy locks are still preferred while leaving the bike alone for any lenght of time.
- One or two additional bike attachments can be added as long as total bike weight doesn’t exceed 120lbs
- Storage mount is included for your garage wall when you want to take the rack off your vehicle.
Thumbs Down:
- Fat bikes don’t fit in the deep trays, but plus bikes do.
- Instructions for putting the rack together aren’t the easiest to follow. After building, we realized there were some things backwards. Luckily they were easily remedied.
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If you take your rack on and off your car a lot the lighter weight and simple mechanism to tighten the rack in your hitch is really nice. The convenience of having the lever to lower the rack on the top is brilliant. My 70-year-old father even commented on how much easier this rack is to use than his Kuat Sherpa or older generation Thule T2. I can highly recommend the Split Rail due to the refined build quality and attention to detail that addresses my complaints about other racks.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]