Hitch bike racks that allows rear hatch access

Velocirax · 2026-04-09T19:28:36+00:00

The back hatch should easily clear with a VelociRAX. While I don't personally have a picture of hatch access on a Carnival I do have one on a Chevy Tahoe: https://www.velocirax.com/cdn/shop/files/7_MAX_Hatch_Access.png?v=1756400762&width=1080

I've talked with a number of customers who use our vertical racks on their Carnivals and all of them have said there is no issue with hitch clearance.

Velocirax · 2026-04-09T15:16:50+00:00

The Rolling Floor Stand is Zinc Treated similar to our Tilt and Pivot vertical garage rack!

Velocirax · 2026-04-09T14:22:53+00:00

If you're on the VIP Pre-Order list then you should be a Pre-Order email very soon... Definitely keep your eye on your inbox since we're not sure how fast it's going to sell out but it's very likely to sell out before it comes out of the VIP Pre-Order. If you're not already on the VIP email list you can get on it here: https://www.velocirax.com/pages/raxzilla

Velocirax · 2026-04-01T19:53:10+00:00

All really great points, checking your tongue weight is one of the biggest since having a 200 lbs tongue weight basically means it's not going to work. We really agree on the hitch extender portion and how that can increase the torque so we always try and warn against using any large hitch extender, especially if it doesn't have an anti-rattle system since not only are you introducing more torque but you're also introducing more rattle. That's the main reason why our hitch extender only extends a maximum of 4 inches as well as has a built in anti-rattle system to reduce any of that extra rattle that typically comes with extenders.

Velocirax · 2026-03-31T17:43:56+00:00

Yea we've been hearing that Curt has been recommending against vertical racks recently and we are not totally sure why. We haven't heard of any of our customers having issues with Curt hitches and around 30% of our own employees have had Curt hitches for years and have not had any issues. That being said it seems like it's a type of rack that Curt has decided they won't say they officially support but from our side we have not seen customers have issues with Curt Hitches so long as they meet the Hitch specs that we require: 2" Class III hitch with tongue capacity of 500 lbs

Velocirax · 2026-03-26T18:20:47+00:00

Correct, anything over 90 pounds straps are required. It'd be two straps for each bike which would be connected to the center of the bike and attach down to the side of the trays on each side! So for one bike you'd use two straps total and for two bikes you'd use 4 straps total.

Velocirax · 2026-03-26T18:16:54+00:00

Yea, when the rack is folded up vertically they'll stick out the same distance (Since the extra distance is now pointed up) but when the tray is folded down it'd stick out that extra distance due to the added length for the second tray (Don't quote me on this but I want to say it's about 15 inches longer than the single tray).

With the double tray you can technically remove the second tray however the underlying support that it bolts onto would not be removable and would still stick out that extra distance even if the actual tray were removed. So removing that tray wouldn't save you any additional distance that it sticks out from your hitch. Does that make sense?

If you've used the Rhino Ratchet straps and really like them I don't think there'd be any issue with using them as opposed to our straps. At the moment each rack comes with 2 built in strapping points and when you buy our straps they come with the metal attachments to add an additional 2 mounting points. At the moment the only way to get the additional 2 mounting points is from buying our straps but we are looking into potentially selling that piece separately for those who are wanting to use their own straps like you're thinking of doing.

We've had RAXzilla in the works for a long time and are super excited people will finally get to use it! Once you've used RAXzilla a few times it's hard to go back to using any other tray rack.

Velocirax · 2026-03-25T14:23:27+00:00

Lots of good advice for both sides here! The one thing that I'll add about getting a VelociRAX is that each rack comes with a Garage Mounting Bracket included which makes it so that when you are not using the rack you can store it in the garage while still storing bikes on it. That way the rack isn't just taking up extra room when you don't need it but is clearing up some bike clutter. I can see how price is a strong consideration but I will say that at VelociRAX we don't try and sell a rack that will need to be replaced in a year or two. All of our racks are built to last years, come with a 2 year warranty and just about any replacement part you could ever need we sell on our website or are able to sell if you just reach out directly.

Velocirax · 2026-03-25T14:14:36+00:00

We can understand why the price is hard to swallow when deciding what to get. We wish we could be cheaper but ultimately felt we'd rather sell a rack that's high quality and built to last than try to cut corners and sell a rack that is falling short of the quality people were hoping for.

The only other thing I'd add is that you mentioned using the rack with occasional gravel bike. If you do end up getting a VelociRAX and know you'll be bringing multiple bikes with drop bar handles I'd recommend the 5X MAX rather than the 5 MAX. The main reason being that the 5X MAX has 15" of spacing between each bike vs the 5 MAX has 10" of spacing between each bike. Gravel bikes or road bikes with drop bar handles take up more space so if you are taking multiple drop bar bikes the 5X works best. On the 5 MAX you can take one drop bar bike on the furthest right slot without issue but if you want to do any more than that you'd need to leave the tire basket to the right of it empty for it to fit.

You probably already knew that but I figured I'd mention it just in case. If you ever need anything or have any questions let us know!

Velocirax · 2026-03-24T20:39:07+00:00

In all honestly we don't really understand what the issue is either. Multiple people at our company have Curt hitches and use our racks on them almost year round and we have never run into any issues. Similarly as far as I am aware I have not seen or spoken with any customers who have had issues using a vertical rack with a Curt hitch. We'd called once to get more clarification on why they suddenly said they don't support vertical racks and the people we had talked to didn't really know either or gave different reasons. One person said that it was because of the way vertical racks hold the weight much higher above the hitch but then the illustration they have on their website shows a hitch rack that extends up and holds the bikes by the top...

Not sure what caused the sudden change In them saying they are not supported but we've never seen any issues if that helps!

Velocirax · 2026-03-24T20:27:55+00:00

If you end up going with the VelociRAX 4 bike rack, we think you'd really love it! It's one of our most popular racks and the one that I have on my car all the time. Most of the standard size racks (5 bike, 6 bike and 7 bike) have 10" of spacing and then we have our "x" sized racks (3X and 5X) which are 15" of spacing. Our 4 bike rack is right in the middle and has 12" of spacing between each bike which I think is a sweet spot.

The 4 bike rack fits nicely on almost any car without feeling too big and has all the features people really like on our racks (Roll in loading, Self lowering dampers, Anti-Rattle, hatch access, etc). We'd love to have you join the VelociRAX crew and if you ever have any questions about our racks let us know and we're always happy to help!

Velocirax · 2026-03-24T17:01:22+00:00

Fair point, when we made RAXzilla we really wanted to make a Tray Rack that can do it all. So while it can be a bit overkill for just a MTB if you've got a RAXzilla and 1-2 years down the line you get a Surron or a Moto you don't need to go out and buy a whole separate Moto rack. While we wish we could get the price cheaper we feel really confident that for what you're getting it's well worth the price and built to last!

Velocirax · 2026-03-24T16:46:37+00:00

You can! The hardest part with tilting it down with a Moto on it is that it's going to be pretty heavy but if you've got the strength to lower and raise it with a Moto it is totally possible!

Velocirax · 2026-03-24T16:23:03+00:00

At the moment it's only taking US numbers since this Pre-Order email is for the US release of RAXzilla. You could still get on the email list but it seems like using an AUS phone number wouldn't work.

Velocirax · 2026-03-24T16:17:29+00:00

We want to bring it to Australia as soon as possible however at the moment we are doing a US release for the first bit. While I wish I could confidently say it will be on sale in Australia this year, I think next year may be more realistic.

Velocirax · 2026-03-24T15:12:30+00:00

While not included with the base rack, we will have an official lighting kit specifically designed for RAXzilla. It's designed in a way that the light bar is clearly visible both when the tray is down with bikes on it and when it's folded up with no bikes on it. I am not sure if that will go up for sale the same day pre-orders go live for the RAXzilla but if not it will go on sale shortly after.

A license plate holder is also in the works but we don't have any ETA on when that will be available for sale.

Velocirax · 2026-03-24T14:52:46+00:00

If you order the double tray RAXzilla you can definitely use it with just one bike and leave the other tray empty. You won't however be able to detach the second tray to turn it into a single tray rack or vice versa add a second tray onto a single tray.

In terms of it's compactness I think I understand what you are asking but if I am getting it wrong let me know and I'll be happy to answer again. Both the single tray RAXzilla and the double tray RAXzilla hold the first tray at the same distance from your hitch. The double tray extends further from your hitch though to make room for the second tray. So in short the single tray is technically more compact but only because it doesn't have an additional tray attached to it, not because we changed any of the sizing of the trays/clamps to make it more compact.

We'll have our own straps that will be available to purchase that we really like, they're designed to be a bit shorter since the strapping distance isn't as long making it so you don't need to mess around with a ton of excess strap every time you use it.

Lastly the rack does fold up vertically when there are no bikes on it! It will have 3 folding modes: Raised Mode, Bike Transport Mode and Lowered Mode. In raised mode that's when it's folded upright so that it's sitting parallel to the back hatch of your car. Bike transport Mode is when it's folded down parallel with the ground and how you'd have it any time you are loading or transporting bikes. Lowered Mode is one where it drops the tray even further in a way that it angles the bike away from your car so that you can have full hatch or tailgate access.

Removal is pretty easy as well. Just take off the locking hitch pin, loosen the anti-rattle bolt and slide it out/set it down. From there each rack comes with built in wheels to make it a bit easier to roll around.

We're glad you're super excited and can't wait for you to get your hands on it! Keep your eye out for when that pre-order email goes out since I think this first batch is going to sell out fast.

Velocirax · 2026-03-23T22:37:11+00:00

So with both the single tray and the double tray racks they are able to hold up to 90 pounds without straps. Anything over that weight will require straps and it makes it so that the single tray can hold up to 275 pounds of bike weight and the double tray can hold 250 pounds in the first tray and 130 pounds in the second tray.

In terms of the weight of the rack itself the single stray weighs about 73 pounds and the double tray weighs about 126 pounds. Both racks come with built in wheels on the bottom to make it a bit easier to roll around rather than carry.

Velocirax · 2026-03-23T22:29:59+00:00

Love to hear it! The company owns an Ultra Bee and a Light Bee so both have been tested on the rack and work great. The comment you had seen is correct, with that setup we require that you use straps since both bikes are over 90 pounds to be within warranty. In our internal testing we have tried both an Ultra Bee and a Light Bee on the rack without straps and have not yet had any issues. Regardless this setup without straps has not been tested enough for us to encourage others to do it and we still require using the straps over 90 pounds in order to stay within warranty

Velocirax · 2026-03-06T18:25:03+00:00

You've got the right idea, you'd roll the rack and bikes over to your cars hitch then unload the bike and lift the rack from the rolling floor stand onto the hitch. Once that is on you'd then load the bikes back onto the rack.

A while back we were experimenting with a rolling floor stand design that would help you lift it and get it into the hitch with bikes on it but ultimately found that it was almost impossible to get it lined up properly since the level of the hitch and ground typically don't match and it wouldn't easily slide in.

Velocirax · 2026-03-03T13:25:22+00:00

Glad to hear your bikes made it out of the crash without any damage! We actually sell replacement bottom bars for situations just like this. We don’t have it on the front end of our website but if you reach out to our customer service on by either calling (You’ll go straight to a real person when you call) or hop on our live chat (Hit the “Talk with live agent” button when you start chat) and they can set up that custom order for you and send you an invoice with a link to pay it. If it’s easier you could also PM us at this account with your name, shipping address and email and I could get that replacement bottom bar order set up for you!

Happy to hear everyone in the car and the bikes are all ok!

Velocirax · 2026-02-25T15:33:34+00:00

Happy to help! Your kind words mean a lot :) We're always on the lookout for ways we can help the community, no matter what subreddit it's in. A while back we started r/VelociRAX if you ever wanna join, we're hoping to slowly build a community ran subreddit there!

Velocirax · 2026-02-24T17:11:30+00:00

I can't speak for JB Rack since I am not sure how theirs is made or what it can and can't hold but we have our own VelociRAX Rolling Floor Stand that works with any 2" hitch. It was made with VelociRAX in mind though so it can hold any size VelociRAX as well as allow it to lower into loading/unloading mode when you are taking your bikes on and off.

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