1Up bike rack, Kuat Pivot, Curt hitch - Sasquatch

[Lonestar777]

My Curt hitch finally showed up so I was able to get it installed and get the bike rack setup. I bought the Curt hitch receiver from RealTruck.com. This is the 1Up Heavy Duty 2" rack. With the Sasquatch and the 1Up rack you need some kind of extender. In my case I chose the Kuat Pivot. This way I can fully pivot the bikes out of the way to access the tailgate. 1Up also offers the RakAttach pivot, but I like the Kuat version better. First, the Kuat opens 120 degrees and the RakAttach only 90. Second, the Kuat has a similar expanding wedge to the 1Up rack to take the slack and wobble out of the hitch. RakAttach has something as well, but I didn't like their implementation. For the Kuat Pivot I chose driver side opening. There has been some debate about which is best. I prefer the driver side because the tailgate opens really wide, and I don't want anything to restrict the opening there. You can see from the pictures there is plenty of room when the tailgate is open all the way and the bike is swung all the way open. Because there is some adjustment in the 1Up rack you can fit it around the spare tire perfectly. You can also see that there is just barely enough room between the bottom of the spare and the top of the Pivot - you really can't do much of a bigger tire with this setup, which is fine for me. I had been just throwing my bike in the back of the Bronco, which doesn't work great with the soft top. It's hard to finagle the bike in since the back doesn't open up very tall, and it was getting a lot of dirt inside. I'm really excited to have the bike rack setup now.

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[Ranbronc]

How stable is the rack with the bikes on the back??

 

[Lonestar777]

How stable is the rack with the bikes on the back??

The rack is extremely solid. Both the Pivot and the 1Up have expanding wedges that take up any slack in the receiver. Once you get 2 bikes on there that’s a decent amount of weight levered off the back, so they move a tiny bit if going over a big bump. It’s very good, though. I wanted something where I could take it up some rough roads in Bug Bend, Colorado, etc and it seems like it will work great for that.

 

[BRNCONOW!]

Sweet Stoic! I have the same one as well as a Neuron. Great bikes. Now I just need my Bronco. Getting built week of Jan. 31. Can't wait. Happy trails.

 

[Shoresy]

Now you just need to make sure you have 3 or 4 parking spaces at your trailhead!

Ive got the same Curt, a straight extension, and Thule T2 rack(which tilts down only). Doubt I will be able to fully swing gate when bikes are on.

You have a big advantage with the pivot mount!

 

[ATLBronco75]

Are the police going to accept that completely covered license plate? Lol

 

[MDH Bronco]

The rack is extremely solid. Both the Pivot and the 1Up have expanding wedges that take up any slack in the receiver. Once you get 2 bikes on there that’s a decent amount of weight levered off the back, so they move a tiny bit if going over a big bump. It’s very good, though. I wanted something where I could take it up some rough roads in Bug Bend, Colorado, etc and it seems like it will work great for that.

How close to the rear window are the handlebars?

 

[da_jokker]

I was just trying to research these pivot hitches myself. Seems like they not only fix the issue with the opening tailgate, but also space everything out a bit to clear the spare tire. (For both on my current Jeep and my future Bronco)

I know there's a latching mechanism that keeps it from pivoting until you want it to. Does the spare tire make it hard to get to any of that mechanism?

Also, I didn't know they had a driver side one. I like the idea of that better, but in I don't know if swinging stuff out wide on both sides works very well In reality. Parking spaces, etc....let us know.

 

[Lonestar777]

Are the police going to accept that completely covered license plate? Lol

I meant to put something about that in my original post. That’s definitely a drawback. I’m on the hunt for a way to mount to the spare tire now. I’ve seen a few solutions for Jeeps but they seem expensive for how simple they are, so I may just make one myself. 1Up makes a license plate relocation bracket into their rack, but I’m not looking to keep the rack on all the time.

 

[Lonestar777]

I was just trying to research these pivot hitches myself. Seems like they not only fix the issue with the opening tailgate, but also space everything out a bit to clear the spare tire. (For both on my current Jeep and my future Bronco)

I know there's a latching mechanism that keeps it from pivoting until you want it to. Does the spare tire make it hard to get to any of that mechanism?

Also, I didn't know they had a driver side one. I like the idea of that better, but in I don't know if swinging stuff out wide on both sides works very well In reality. Parking spaces, etc....let us know.

Yes, it’s a great point about the mechanism. On the Pivot there is a locking handle on the passenger side of the hitch. The important thing is that it releases down, so there is no interference with the spare. Then on the driver side of the hitch is the release lever. With the bike on the rack I didn’t really have any issues getting to both levers from the passenger side.

Right now my plan is to only have the rack on when I’m actually going riding, so I won’t have to deal with swinging everything open to load groceries or anything like that.

One thing I also didn’t say is that this system is fully modular, so I can just use the pieces I need. If I’m going for a more local trip and it’s just me, I could use the 1Up rack without the pivot and just use the bike in the outer most tray.

 

[Lonestar777]

How close to the rear window are the handlebars?

That’s a great question! I didn’t take a picture from that angle, but it goes to the middle of the spare. I have 780 mm wide bars, so they are pretty wide.

 

[MDH Bronco]

That’s a great question! I didn’t take a picture from that angle, but it goes to the middle of the spare. I have 780 mm wide bars, so they are pretty wide.

Thank you

 

[BroncoAZ]

I meant to put something about that in my original post. That’s definitely a drawback. I’m on the hunt for a way to mount to the spare tire now. I’ve seen a few solutions for Jeeps but they seem expensive for how simple they are, so I may just make one myself. 1Up makes a license plate relocation bracket into their rack, but I’m not looking to keep the rack on all the time.

I have a 1up rack as well, not much else out there for fat tire bikes like my Surly.

Baja Designs makes a light mount with rear plate mount for the tire.

https://www.bajadesigns.com/products/Ford-Bronco-Reverse-Kits.asp

 

[Lonestar777]

I have a 1up rack as well, not much else out there for fat tire bikes like my Surly.

Baja Designs makes a light mount with rear plate mount for the tire.

https://www.bajadesigns.com/products/Ford-Bronco-Reverse-Kits.asp

I spent all my money on the bike rack! I love this solution, it’s just more than I’m looking to spend. Maybe I’ll do something cheap for now and work up to this long term.

 

[mountainbronco]

I have also have 1UP Rackattach pivot hitch in black, and the 1UP bike rack in bronze. Same setup as you, swing out to the drivers side, tailgate out to the passenger side, BAM and you have instant access to the rear without a lot of hassle.

Your setup looks amazingly beautiful, fits perfect and your aluminum rack is way lighter than my steel one!

Love it!

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