# Thinking Of Putting A Front Hitch On Suburban For Bikes



## mazzrim2 (Jan 15, 2007)

Hello,

I am thinking of putting a front reciever on our Suburban to carry our 4 bikes and wanted to hear from others that have done this. My only concern is will the bike's impair my view of the road and drive me nuts looking at them for hours.


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## Chabbie1 (Dec 3, 2006)

Hello, we actually had an 02 4runner with a front hitch for our 4 bikes and we loved it. We now have an 05 Sequoia with a front hitch and had to modify the bike rack to fit because the Sequoia sits higher off the ground which caused our view to be quite restricted. So we had a welder shorten the bike rack by 11 inches or so and it works great now. After a while you get used to the bikes in front of you and you won't even notice them. Not sure if they restrict our head lights though, because we have only traveled during the day with the bikes on. I think this is a great way to carry bikes. Good luck


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

Chabbie1 said:


> had to modify the bike rack to fit because the Sequoia sits higher off the ground which caused our view to be quite restricted. So we had a welder shorten the bike rack by 11 inches or so and it works great now.


We also shortened our Yakima front rack, but it didn't take a welder to do it, just a really good metal saw; we sawed off 9-inches and redrilled the holes for the screws.

This puts the bikes down low enough so you can see over them, but not so close to the ground that there is a clearance issue.

For bikes with sloping top tubes (like mountain bikes; kids bikes) we purchased an adaptor that goes from the seat to the handlebar tube to provide a level place to hang the bike. This is essential in clearing your view over the bikes; if you don't use one of these on a mountain bike it ends up with one wheel sticking up high blocking your view. Here's an example of the Yakima version We use the "boomer bar" brand):










Ed


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## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

We did it and it works great in our van. We ride a little higher than your Burb. You get used to having them up there. Here's a photo.


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## CanadaCruizin (Jul 3, 2004)

I added the front receiver last year to my Dodge 3500 truck.

Image from the drivers' perspective

It's been great not having the bikes take up space in the truck box.


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## battalionchief3 (Jun 27, 2006)

I looked for a hitch for my burb but the maker said it would not fit. 01' 2wd witha 8.1. I figured I would check at a local hitch dealer but have yet to do so. I would like one for that reason.


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## mazzrim2 (Jan 15, 2007)

Thanks for all the great feedback, looks like I will be going with the front hitch after all.


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## Outback Steve (Mar 29, 2007)

We did the bike rack on a 1500 '02 suburban and the bikes were a bit too high in our view so I had the rack cut shorter. Clearance became an issue. DH didn't like the idea in the first place. So we scrapped it and decided on a new TV.


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## CanadaCruizin (Jul 3, 2004)

CanadaCruizin said:


> I added the front receiver last year to my Dodge 3500 truck.
> 
> Image from the drivers' perspective
> 
> It's been great not having the bikes take up space in the truck box.


I should clarify a bit... I do have to lower the handle bars on one of the bikes. Other than that, I've had no problems with the view being blocked. I noticed the rack 'rocks' back and forth a bit and will look into how to stop it.


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## 7heaven (Jun 4, 2005)

battalionchief3 said:


> I looked for a hitch for my burb but the maker said it would not fit. 01' 2wd witha 8.1. I figured I would check at a local hitch dealer but have yet to do so. I would like one for that reason.


May be your lucky day? I hope so. FMR for 2001 Burb


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## jdpm (Apr 12, 2007)

mazzrim2 said:


> Hello,
> 
> I am thinking of putting a front reciever on our Suburban to carry our 4 bikes and wanted to hear from others that have done this. My only concern is will the bike's impair my view of the road and drive me nuts looking at them for hours.


Love my front mounted mike rack. NO problem with visibility AT ALL!


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

CanadaCruizin said:


> I noticed the rack 'rocks' back and forth a bit and will look into how to stop it.


I have (had) the same issue. I fixed it with a pair of tie down straps that act as guy wires from the top front of the bike rack to the pull points on the front of the bumper. I diagnosed my problem as being due to the clearance between the bike rack stinger and the receiver, plus the play in the locks for the folding bike rack. Once I installed the straps it took all of the play out of the system and prevented the bikes and rack from flopping around.


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## arbee (Feb 3, 2005)

I added one to the front of our 04 suburban. I'm not so pleased. They are pretty distracting up there. We also towed in the mountains at night once and it was awful. A great deal of the lights reflected back towards us off the wheels instead of the road. I think having a hitch welded to the trailer frame is a better idea.


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

arbee said:


> They are pretty distracting up there. We also towed in the mountains at night once and it was awful.


We found that by lowering the bikes somewhat (cutting down the rack), and getting some experience on the road, lowered the distraction factor to a tolerable level. Still, when a big truck passes you (or in a big wind like the Columbia River Gorge) it is a bit disconcerting to see the rack bounce up and down.

As to night towing, we never tow at night with the bicycles mounted up front. They do block an amazing amount of light.

Ed


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