Kuat(5.1cm , Pearl) - Racks Sherpa 2.0 -2 Bike Rack, Pearl, 5.1cm

I just assembled the rack. The instructions say to torque the 2 large bolts to a max of 15 lbs. I purchased a torque wrench to do just that and the bracket split in half. I wasn't at 10 lbs yet. I contacted Kuat support and they said they would send me a replacement. Will keep you posted as to the result. Be careful assembling the rack the bracket is made out of cast and is extremely brittle.

I got the Kuat Sherpa 2.0 rack for a 2" receiver hitch in the pearl color. It works great on our 2013 Toyota Highlander and matches the pearl color of the vehicle. I originally got a Thule T2 Pro bike rack but this didn't work on the Highlander because the distance between the hitch pin (center) and the end of the hitch was only 1"; Thule requires a minimum of 1.5". This Kuat Sherpa 2.0 rack is elegantly designed and beautifully fabricated. It's constructed of aluminum and is much lighter than the Thule T2 Pro rack. I use it with two Trek road bikes (Domane and Silque) and it positions them far enough apart that nothing interferes. No need to reposition the seat, etc. The rack folds down to let you open the rear hatch of the vehicle without unloading bikes; this works great on the Highlander. It has fold-out wheel positioners that close up to minimize the height of the rack when no bikes are mounted; the rack then folds up behind the rear hatch to minimize total length; this allows me to get the vehicle in the garage with the rack on. I've looked at a number of premium racks and this is the best for my purposes. It's hard to imagine anything that could be improved on this rack.

This is an excellent rack (I have used one that a relative owns a few times) but I now have purchased two in the past week and had to return each. The assembly process looks (and probably is) simple and there are more than a few good YouTube videos to make that process even easier. However, in the two that I purchased, there were flaws in the build quality that prevented me from getting past the first step. The long bolts simply would not engage in the rear rail no matter what I tried. In the first one, neither bolt would engage. When the replacement came, one side would engage and the other just would not take the bolt. This was an exercise in frustration that will eventually cost me nothing but a headache but I am out over $1300 while waiting the week or so for both returns to process. Sad. It earned top reviews on Wirecutter and it is very clear as to why. Maybe you'll have better luck??

This rack is about 10 to 15 pounds lighter than a number of other similar hitch mounted tray type racks. But it seems just as sturdy as my neighbor's Thule which is quite a bit heavier. We use the 2 inch version on a Subaru Outback with a factory hitch. Our bikes are medium weight aluminum frames that are held securely; heavier bikes such as e-bikes may be too heavy so check the specs before buying. The rack is very easy to mount as well as lift up onto some hooks on our garage wall for storage. There has been some discussion of a bolt alignment issue during assembly. All that you need to do is loosely assemble the rack before tightening any bolts (there are only a few) and it goes together with no issues.

Great quality materials, and straightforward instructions to mount. I had it put together and on my vehicle in around half an hour. In addition to the noticeably good quality, I really liked the small details like the three keys for the locks, the bottle opener keychain :), and the fact that the L-end wrench tool for assembling is also the locking pin to attach to the hitch. It takes around 10 seconds to get my bike on and off, and when not in use, folds up very nicely. I also have a white care and that fact that this rack was available in white is another big bonus - looks great. Really happy with this purchase.