jeeper31

Picking up my TL in a few days and don't want to miss any bike time. Been searcning about the options and still confused. First was thinking trunk rack then roof rack then hitch. Still confused and indecided. Thinking about getting different car heh heh.

The question is ...

How difficult is it to get a hitch on the car? Does anybody have any pics? I don't want anything that would ruin the look of the car that's why was thinking a trunk rack but don't want to scratch up car. Roof racks are ugly (despite the guy from the bike shop telling me that it "inhances" the look of the car and some buy the rack just because it looks cool)> It seems the only thing wold be a hitch but that is permanent. Still so confused.... Thinking about giving up biking.

An before you guys suggest that I get a truck to caddy bikes around I already have another car and my wife wouldn't let me have 3.


Thanks in advance for all your help.

Dan

PS: Would love to see some pictures of some bike setups.

Thanks again.

Phillyboi

Whatever you do don't give up biking . I have an Xterra I use to go biking with but it's at my parents house, I don't have enough driveway space. I have a Saris Bones bike rack I have used many times. Unfortunatly I am afraid to put anything on my new TL. Do you have a spoiler? if not you'll be ok with this bike rack. It has nice rubber feet to keep in place. It uses straps with metal clips (i cover these with something soft, so no scratches to paint). I don't know about any hitches for the TL. I wanted to purchase a roof rack but to much money and it looks ugly on the TL.

Good luck and sorry no pics.

jeeper31

bump

tl-lvr

I took the leap and had a 1 1/4" hitch professionally installed on my TL. $240.00 for the hitch and install. $235.00 for a www.Yakima.com "Kingpin 4" 4-bike rack and rack lock.

The hitch is comprised of the normal 1 1/4" square receptacle joined to an approximately 1/4" thick plate of steel that extends to the rear axle and is welded in three places to the underside of the trunk. The three weld points are crucial for spreading the weight of the rack and bikes.

The hitch is visible but hardly noticeable. It's small, set back under the rear bumper a bit and black in color so its not screaming 'my TL wants to be a truck'.

So far, nothing has fallen off :-) Even with three bikes on the rack doing over 60 mph. Sure, the bikes giggle around somewhat but that's to be expected as there is naturally some play in the hitch/bike rack fitting and some flexing in the bike rack.

I'm very happy with the results.

The greatest benefit is the freedom of being able to finally take along all my favorite things - my TL, my bike, my g/f and her kids.

Another added benefit is now I can tow a small sail boat or jet ski!!

It's cooling down here in So Cal - gotta go ride - at the beach...

jeeper31

Thanks so much. Just the response I was looking for. I am going crazy as I have not gotten the car yet and an very leary of how to attach my bikes. (Was thinking of keeping truck instead of trading it in although my wife would kill me).

Is there any way you can get me a pic of what it looks like. I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks


ps. Hope the ride was good.

giant_tcr

I just take both wheels off and put the bike in the trunk. Actually, it's still in there now (too lazy to take it out after my ride today.

jeeper31

Just found this old thread and decided to update it. I went with a hitch and a hitch rqack and it is awesome. Can take it on an doff in minutes, leaves the car looking clean and bikes are nowhere near the car to scratch it up.

silver05tl

here ya go, greatest addition to the tl besides the all weather mats and trunk tray.

1995hoo

If those are snow skis, don't they get all schmecked up when you drive in the snow to go skiing?




--------------

TLover

I purchased a Thule roof rack. I had one on my previous car and it left NO marks or scuffs. I can't get a hitch because I have the RonJon bumpers, which hang much lower.

jeeper31

How does the roof rack look? Any pics?

06AM6MT

Can you post a pic of the hitch without the rack on it so we can see what it looks like when you are not carrying your other rides?

jeeper31

Not a problem. Will try to do it when i go home. If not, in the light tomorrow.

leedogg

Also please post all the details - what you bought, where, cost, and a url if possible

thx

gurneyeagle

I had a hitch installed on my TL. I couldn't get my trunk rack to fit properly without putting pressure on the plastic license plate surround.

My hitch is barely noticeable.

leedogg

Would love to see pics with just the hitch and no rack also, would it get in the way of a rear lower body spoiler? Any aspec body kits out there with a hitch??

chusteveb

I went with a hitch also. Looks fine to me and none of my friends even noticed it. I have a full yakima roof set up but yakima hasn't made clips for the TL yet. Thule is all I know about that has clips for the TL.

Naidu

Silver05TL (I've one too), what kind of that rack is that? Does it hold the bike firmly without jiggling all over? And, most important question, where/how/who installed the hitch on the TL?

Thanks in advance for your answers!

w1n78

i checked Thule and Yakima back in November and couldn't find a roof rack to fit the 3rd gen TL. can you provide the part number pls

silver05tl

it's a schwinn rack. it holds upto 4 bikes and does a great job. no jiggling. It also doubles as a ski rack, although it doesn't hold snowboards. (trying to come up with something to fix that.)

I fisrt saw the rack at Costco for $100. when I wanted to buy it they changed their inventory so I found it on ebay. just do a search with (schwinn, hitch) it should come up.

silver05tl

sorry I don't know about the aspec bumper (wish I did)

subinf

2004 Acura TL Thule rack part numbers
Feet: 400xt (what mounts up with the fit kit to go on the roof) 129.00 dollars
Fit Kit: 2138 (designed specifically for the 3rd gen TL) 50.00 dollars
SRA: 477 (short roof adapter, rec. for more bar space) 105.00 dollars
Bars: LB50 (the load bars) 50.00 dollars

These have been avaliable since March of 2004...Thule raised their prices end of last year so the ones I have listed are not current.

subinf

Oh yeah, distance between load bars without the SRA is 16", with the SRA its 26" though I remember another member posting that they had no problems without installing the SRA and hauling road bikes.

silver05tl

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...0&page=2&pp=25

Older post with some more pics.

I went with the "draw tite" hitch and the "hidden hitch" light converter. I installed it myself. not too hard. took about an hour for each (hitch and light converter)

I got the parts online, along with a few different accesories. I can't think of the website right now, but they were great. Very knowledgable.

Naidu

So it just bolts on to the body frame? No welding and stuff needed? I'll do an online search, but if you remember the website name, please let us know. Thanks!

w1n78

i was at a local REI store last november and none of their brochures had them. thanks for the info, i owe you rep pts for xmas

subinf

thats really weird, REI usually gets the Thule updates the same time as all the other stores. Thule isnt the greatest with sending out new updates, though. In any event, hopefully you get a rack that works out for you, I've only dealt with Thule and have nothing but nice things to say about that, I'm sure Yakima is the same as well. Do you like round or square better? Thats about the only difference between the two (load bar shape)

silver05tl

this should make it a little easier
the website is etrailer.com
Cliff,

Thank you for your interest in our web site.

All of the hitches we carry include the instructions and the hardware you would need to install them on a vehicle. You can use the HitchHunter ® at http://www.etrailer.com/fitguide.htm to find the available trailer hitches for your vehicle. The Hidden Hitch and Da'Lan hitches offered (the Da'Lan is for the Sedan 2.5 and 3.2 models only) include the drawbar, pin, and clip. The drawbar for the Draw-Tite model would be a separate purchase (part number 3594).

You can view the balls we carry that will work with the Class I hitches and drawbars offered for your vehicle online at http://etrailer.com/p.asp?B34

There is not currently a plug in wiring harness offered for your vehicle. For a trailer with 2 standard taillights and no additional lighting, item 18187 with item 18151 is the most popular combination for your vehicle. If the trailer has additional tail or clearance lights, item 18146 with item 18151 is recommended.

http://etrailer.com/p.asp?18187
http://etrailer.com/p.asp?18151
http://etrailer.com/p.asp?18146

If you need further assistance, please contact our customer service team at 1-800-298-8924.

Thanks,

Leah B.
cs@etrailer.com

Online at http://etrailer.com

subinf

i'd double check that wiring, i thought the drawtite part number was 18130 for all new cars. it comes with the modulite to separate all the wires out for the 4 flat plug

Naidu

I had stumbled on the etrailer.com site myself and they did look to be well organised. Your email just confirms that.

By the way, is this the Schwinn Hitch Rack you're using: Schwinn Traveller 3?

Thanks!

silver05tl

Bingo!

JSMajzun

We have a hitch receiver mounted on our TL. It also has the lower rear spoiler as well. Don't have a problem at all.

www.etrailer.com had it for under $100. Took less than 30 min to mount w/o any welding involved. They also have the bike rack for around $ 130. Holds 2 bikes by the wheels. I have 2 recumbents (Rans V-Rex, Rocket & the wifes upright Jamis Hy-Bred).

Never posted a photo, but I'll send a few shots to anybody who wants to see it or post it for me:

JSMajzun1@earthlink.net
Atlanta, GA

bluenose

To those who have a hitch installed, was it necessary to remove the plastic panel from the underside of the vehicle?

gurneyeagle

Yes, the installer was afraid to cut it, so he left it in my trunk. You can not tell that it is not there, though.

silver05tl

you do have to take it off, but I cut out around it and put it back on

Before:


After:

gi-jr

I just bought a new model of hitch from Curt Manufacturing (www.hitch-web.com part 11321). It mounts to the bumper beam and the tow hook and is an easy installation. The good news is that it doesn't require any cutting of the plastic cover below the spare tire well and the mounting arms are behind the bumper facia so that all you see is the actual hitch. I haven't posted pictures yet...so let's see if this works posting the pictures of the hitch[IMG]c:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\My Pictures\Acura TL\p1000220.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]c:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\My Pictures\Acura TL\P1000222.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]c:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\My Pictures\Acura TL\P1000223.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]c:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\My Pictures\Acura TL\P1000224.jpg[/IMG]

torxteer

I realize this is a couple years later, but I'd be very interested in seeing those pictures! I'm considering this hitch too.

One other question: does installation require any cutting the bottom of the bumper facia? It looks like it would ...

xen-cuts

As an added bonus, it looks like carrying a bike obscures your license plate from redlight cameras...

chitoe

If you're still out there, what is the hitch model you are using? Sounds like exactly what I need.

I know this thread is getting really old, but I've recently run into a problem with my new hitch-mount bike carrier. I installed the Draw-Tite Hidden Hitch from etrailer.com. I thought everything was within spec. I loaded 2 adult bikes and a kids bike and drove about 350 miles. Not more than halfway through the trip, the hitch was at a downward angle. The back of the hitch that attaches to the spare tire pan is bent up to the extent that the spare tire pushes the cargo deck up about 3/4".

Long story short, I made it home with all the bikes, but now my hitch is useless. I would think that there would be way to weld this hitch to some part of the car such that it is stable and I can carry four bikes. I hate to think I need to buy an SUV or minivan to be able to go bike riding with the family.

I looked at the Curt hitch linked above. Without seeing pics of the hitch installed, it still appears that there is no attachment point forward on the vehicle that could tolerate the leveraged weight that the bikes would put on the front of the hitch.