Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

After researching many other hitch racks, I bought this Pro Series rack for a long trip from Georgia to Utah and back. Total mileage was about 4,000 miles over the course of two weeks. Let me tell you why I like it: 1. It has raised sides to keep gear from sliding around or falling out. 2. The "stinger," which is the part that slides into your vehicle receiver hitch, has an upward bend that gives the rack more ground clearance. I have a steep driveway, and I can still go up and down without the rack ever scraping the ground. 3. Another advantage of the extra ground clearance is that the rack sits high enough that it is totally protected by the vehicle. As you drive, the rack is in the vehicle's slipstream, so there's no additional drag that reduces gas mileage as you drive. With a loaded down '14 Dodge Durango and 6 people in the car, I averaged 25.1 MPG on a two day drive from Georgia to Utah. Without the rack, I get similar mileage. 4. It's sturdy. If you look at the welds and feel the weight of the metal, you'll see that this thing is built with quality materials. 5. It has cutouts for installing lights. I bought the ROLA LED light set on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008L17JRC/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_3). Lights give you an extra measure of safety and visibility as you drive. 6. Ease of installation. Out of the box, I put this thing together in about 30 minutes. It comes in three parts with all the hardware necessary. You might have to go to your local auto parts store and borrow a torque wrench to torque the screws to factory specs. Not a big deal. 7. Even with a cargo bag full of luggage, there is enough clearance to raise the back hatch of my Durango. 8. With some racks, you might risk having the exhaust melt your cargo bag. Again, with this product, because it has a slightly raised platform, you avoid all exhaust problems. A couple of tips that will make this already great cargo rack even better: 1. after you put it together and torque the nuts, spray some black paint on all nuts and bolts. I think this may prevent rust later one. I keep a can of black spray paint handy and just touch up parts that get scratched occasionally. 2. Buy a locking hitch pin on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009V1WS4/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_10), which is helpful to keep the rack from being stolen while you're spending the night in a hotel. 3. Use this hitch tightener (also from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001CMUV4/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_11). Anything you plug into a receiver hitch is going to have a small amount of play, which can create wobble back and forth. The hitch tightener will prevent that wobble, so as you're driving down the road and hit a rough patch, you won't hear a bumping sound from the hitch rack behind you. 4. Buy a quality cargo carrying bag to use with your rack. I happened to buy a bag made by the same company, Pro Series. It's called the Amigo, and it can also be purchased on Amazon, where I got mine https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HVVVEYM/ref=cm_cr_ryp_prd_ttl_sol_4. I highly, highly recommend this bag. We encountered rain on almost every day of our trip. At the end of the day, I would check the contents of the bag and they were bone dry. No moisture at all. This bag is made out of some kind of vinyl rubber, the same kind of material you would find on a heavy, quality raincoat. The sturdy zippers are covered by flaps and secured by velcro. The bag also comes with built in lashing straps so you can secure the bag to the cargo rack. I also used some separate lashing straps for added security. If you are looking at other hitch racks, don't get caught up in how much weight they will hold. This one is rated at 500 lbs, but I guarantee you will not likely max it out. In the attached pictures, I have filled the bag with luggage, and the total weight was only about 200 lbs. Also, you may not want to fully load this rack. The more weight you add to the rear of your vehicle, the more it may lift the front of your vehicle. 200 lbs didn't affect the steering on my Durango, but if I had 500 lbs, it might have. You will also want to check the tongue weight rating on your vehicle to see if your vehicle can even withstand 500 lbs of tongue weight. Final comment. As I was driving across the country, I saw many other vehicles with hitch racks. Most were the $50 kind you can buy at WalMart or any other auto parts store. Many were sagging or leaning to one side. My was straight, secure, and strong. I love this Pro Series rack.