Bike Rack on New MIC OBX Bronco

[RealDeahl]

My OBX was released from Purgatory on Dirt Mountain on October 8 (July 22 Blend) and I picked it up from Palmetto Ford on October 21 at the agreed-upon MSRP. Its a great car. I've had a great time playing with the three MIC panels as I drive it around.

There are so many tire, wheel & suspension posts, I thought I'd share my experience about something I know, namely fitting the Bronco with a bike rack that will carrying two bikes for trail and Beach riding in Charleston SC

At Palmetto Ford, Charleston with Tom Slawson, salesman. My son is holding a 1994 photo of us on the Race Point, Cape Cod beach in my 1986ish Bronco (see my profile). We'll be driving the Eastern Seaboard beaches ASAP in the OBX.

A Bike Rack will not fit (photo above) without an extender, because the spare tire is in the way, so I used A Kuaat Pivot as an extender for the Kuaat rack, so that the entire assembly swings out of the way when i want to open the back door. Kuat is very well built and reliable, but the two together are about $1,100. This was previously on my F150. In bike racks, you get what you pay for.

The photo above shows how much the spare tire prevents the Kuat bike rack from entering the receiver. I needed at least 8 more inches before I could slide the pin through the hole in the receiver The entire loaded rack extends out 3'9" from the rear bumper, but at least the whole rig fits in a parking space! The F150 with the loaded rack wouldnt was hard to park at 24'!

Above: thats a yardstick, showing the loaded Kuat rack on the Pivot swing rack extending well over 3' beyond the rear bumper.

Above, the Kuat rack, mounted to the Pivot, swings completely out of the way so that the rear door and window can be opened.

Here is the empty rack, folded up out of the way, plugged into the Kuaat Pivot Extender.

I like this solution. Unfortunately I can’t find the Kuat Pivot V2 anywhere in stock.

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[lakesinai]

I like this solution. Unfortunately I can’t find the Kuat Pivot V2 anywhere in stock.

On line, they're all backordered/unavailable i found. I went in person to my local Trek Bike store where I am a customer, and asked. They found one at another Trek store, and I bought it. Your bike store will likely have an extender to clear the spare tire, and its in the Ford Accessories catalogue as well. Trouble is, it prevents access to the rear compartment without the Pivot!

 

[RealDeahl]

On line, they're all backordered/unavailable i found. I went in person to my local Trek Bike store where I am a customer, and asked. They found one at another Trek store, and I bought it. Your bike store will likely have an extender to clear the spare tire, and its in the Ford Accessories catalogue as well. Trouble is, it prevents access to the rear compartment without the Pivot!

I have some requests out to the local shops and will watch inventory on a few sites that claim to be getting them soon. I like the 120 degree travel on the Pivot. All other brands seem to be limited to 90. I have Sasquatch package so I need all the swing I can get.

 

[MBLANCHARD]

I definitely recommend just getting the extender through the Ford accessories it's made by Yakima and I put it on my Wild Trak 2 door and it works great! no issues.

Thanks for posting. I have a 2 door on order I will be looking for a solution with. I currently have a Yakima rack that is not a tray style. It tilts down with the bikes off, in order to open the back hatch. Works well on our Escape. I use it all the time and was hoping to use it with the Bronco using the hitch extender. Not sure it will clear the door though.

 

[lakesinai]

I have some requests out to the local shops and will watch inventory on a few sites that claim to be getting them soon. I like the 120 degree travel on the Pivot. All other brands seem to be limited to 90. I have Sasquatch package so I need all the swing I can get.

My OBX 32" tire opens against

I have some requests out to the local shops and will watch inventory on a few sites that claim to be getting them soon. I like the 120 degree travel on the Pivot. All other brands seem to be limited to 90. I have Sasquatch package so I need all the swing I can get.

Good luck! My 32" OBX tire on tailgate opens quite nicely against bikes on the 90° Kuat Pivot as my original post shows. Its possible that the wider Sasquatch tire on rear door might need a couple more inches to open enough to also open the rear window. So, you're smart to get the Kuat Pivot which has a second position (120°) beyond 90° for when you want a wider swing.

Also, theres the question of whether the top of the Pivot2 (photo) will clear the larger Sasquatch tire. Remember the Pivot2 has a receiver-below, receiver-above design, effectively raising the rack up about 2.5 inches. It appears there's clearance to do that for a 35" spare, which at 3" bigger than my 32", would need an additional 1.5 inches of clearance. Luckily, the Goodyear tire is not actually a full 35" diameter, but it is definately fat!

 

[RealDeahl]

From my measurements I have about 4 -in from bottom of tire to top of shank of an inserted hitch. Tire extends about 11-in past face of receiver. I will have to look closer at dimensions. Thanks for the tip.

 

[RealDeahl]

From my measurements I have about 4 -in from bottom of tire to top of shank of an inserted hitch. Tire extends about 11-in past face of receiver. I will have to look closer at dimensions. Thanks for the tip.

Looks like from the center of the hitch pin hole to the top of the pivot2 is 5 3/16in. The 35 tire is very close to this distance to the center of the hole on the receiver. Will have to remeasure tomorrow.

 

[RealDeahl]

I just received my Kuat Pivot V2. I can confirm that it clears the Sasquatch tire - barely - without a separate hitch extender. I went with the driver's side swing. From what I cant tell this is one of the only swing arms that will work with the Bronco without an extender as the the locking lever releases down, and locks in horizontally. Others that I have seen have a locking lever that either releases upwards or points up when locked and would hit the tire.

With a brief attempt, I was not able to get the hitch pin inserted from the driver's side witch would allow the use of the included lock. Inserting from the passenger side, I would be able to lock, but not unlock due to the 7 pin receptacle position. I tried again and was able to get the pin inserted from the driver's side. I had to put the pin in angled end first behind the receptacle and then insert the straight end into the pin holes. Challenging, but doable.

 

[boxwood]

I got the driver side (because it was in stock at REI). Originally i wanted the passenger side. But now i am thinking the passenger sided pivot is better...less likely to bang things

 

[Mustbeheresomewhere]

Thanks! I plan on getting the Kuat Pivot to go along with my NV2 rack.

 

[RealDeahl]

I got the driver side (because it was in stock at REI). Originally i wanted the passenger side. But now i am thinking the passenger sided pivot is better...less likely to bang things

I was thinking the drivers swing would be less likely to have conflict with the swing gate and the spare tire. Definitely plenty of clearance with the arm open 90 deg. Of course now you have to have space on the right and left of the vehicle to access the cargo area. Tag is partially obscured with the drivers swing. May be a problem in some states.

 

[SPITmadFIRE]

The driver's side pivot is the way to go -- just installed mine yesterday. Be careful when putting the NV2 rack together, though. One of the bolts is captive in one of the tire holder wing parts, and if you strip it you have to replace the whole part, not just the bolt. Ask me how I know 🥲

 

[lakesinai]

I got the driver side (because it was in stock at REI). Originally i wanted the passenger side. But now i am thinking the passenger sided pivot is better...less likely to bang things

The beauty of the swing to the passenger's side is that the rack and the door both swing the same direction, and having used mine for several months, now, that's important, and makes going in the back for groceries with a folded rack a more fluid operation. Just push the tailgate against the bike rack.

 

[lakesinai]

I just received my Kuat Pivot V2. I can confirm that it clears the Sasquatch tire - barely - without a separate hitch extender. I went with the driver's side swing. From what I cant tell this is one of the only swing arms that will work with the Bronco without an extender as the the locking lever releases down, and locks in horizontally. Others that I have seen have a locking lever that either releases upwards or points up when locked and would hit the tire.

With a brief attempt, I was not able to get the hitch pin inserted from the driver's side witch would allow the use of the included lock. Inserting from the passenger side, I would be able to lock, but not unlock due to the 7 pin receptacle position. I tried again and was able to get the pin inserted from the driver's side. I had to put the pin in angled end first behind the receptacle and then insert the straight end into the pin holes. Challenging, but doable.

Nice work, it'll be fun. The Kuat locking pin is hard to fit into the hitch receiver, I think a locking trailer pin is better. I just leave the Pivot on the car, and remove the bike rack when needed.

 

[SPITmadFIRE]

The beauty of the swing to the passenger's side is that the rack and the door both swing the same direction, and having used mine for several months, now, that's important, and makes going in the back for groceries with a folded rack a more fluid operation. Just push the tailgate against the bike rack.

With the passenger-side pivot at 90 degrees, can you extend the tailgate to the full 90 degree detent? I'm assuming this is on your OBX, without the larger 17x8 wheels and LT285/70R17 tires?

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