# Swagman XTC 2 review



## fripple (Feb 10, 2012)

Man I love this rack. At first I bought a trunk mount Saris bones 2 and after a trip down the highway, I really wanted something more stable. I drive a 2012 Chevy Cruze. I decided to go with a hitch mount rack, but I really didn't know what to get until I saw a Swagman.

I ordered the Swagman XTC 2 off of Amazon and I got a killer deal of $135 bucks shipped to my door! So with the hitch and rack I spent about $250 bucks or so. The rack took about 4 days to come in and it was super easy to put together and install.

I hauled two bikes yesterday without any problems. The bikes were super easy to load and very stable on the highway. Two thumbs up for the swagman!


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## rkj__ (Feb 29, 2004)

This rack is so quick and easy to use. :thumbsup:


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## XLR99 (Sep 21, 2010)

Looks like Amazon jacked the prices up this week; XC is now 135, XTC2 is now 185. Bummer, but still not a bad price.


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## fripple (Feb 10, 2012)

I'm not sure if it was a mistake because that price only lasted a day or so. I had to snag one up at that price!


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## CLMcLovin (Sep 27, 2011)

I got mine on Amazon a couple of months ago and it was about $185. It seems like it was about $135+49 shipping or something like that. Maybe you scored free shipping or maybe the they thought it was the XC model.


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## fripple (Feb 10, 2012)

Even for $180 it's a great rack. I did get the free shipping also.


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## XLR99 (Sep 21, 2010)

Agreed. I just ordered mine, before they bump the price again. Now I need to get motivated enough to mount the hitch on my car.


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## fripple (Feb 10, 2012)

The hitch was pretty easy to install. For my car all I had to do was cut out two small notches in the frame to fit the brackets through the hole. It probably took 15 minutes total for the whole job.


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## jtsimaras (Aug 1, 2011)

Looking at getting this rack will it work with heavy 44 lb downhill bikes?


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## Hocky (Jan 26, 2011)

I bet it will. Mine seems pretty sturdy and I carry my friends walmart bike around a fair amount that has to be at least 44 pounds.


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## emzed (Aug 8, 2005)

I just picked up a Swagman G2 a couple weeks ago and so far I'm pretty impressed. I don't have any cons to list except that it doesn't tilt away for opening the tailgate.
I took a G2 over a XTC2 simply because it came with a locking hitchpin and cable and the XTC2 doesn't - I would have needed to pay the extra $50 for the locking stuff but the G2 was only $70 more and a better rack


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## bisbonian (Apr 9, 2012)

I've found on mine that the two allen head bolts that fasten the hitch bar to the bracket that holds the bike rack portion tend to loosen and will make the bikes rock a bit more than normal.

Specifically these are the bolts that fasten the long bar that slides into your hitch to the bit which has the Swagman sticker in the picture above.

Not a bad idea to check all the bolts for tightness even if they were originally fastened using Loctite.


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## RedRaider (Apr 6, 2012)

Looks good!

I had to do a double take, those are the same two bikes that me and my buddy ride.


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## ruzi9296 (Jun 16, 2012)

very nice...


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## Quik66 (Jun 26, 2012)

I found a Swagman XTC4 on Craigslist for $125 (I need to haul 4 bikes)... I emailed (no phone number), and asked if it had all the parts, and said I was interested, and asked for a contact number/address... 

the next day, I finally got a response, saying all the pieces were there (they weren't in the pictures). But the email had no contact info again... I replied back for a contact and time available to pick it up... That evening FINALLY got a reply saying "Sold"...

News ones are a bit too expensive for us right now...


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## Brand0n1 (Oct 12, 2006)

Just installed the same setup on a 2012 Focus.

Installed the bolt on hitch easily with minimal help from the wife.

Worth every penny in peace of mind.
I dont worry or constantly look through my rear view waiting for something to go wrong.

Not only that - i bought a few little master locks to lock everything down.

Just take the seats off and i feel alot better running in the store or for a beer after a ride.

Not iron clad but everyday passerbyers arent ganna mess with it.


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## williamluke (Jul 13, 2012)

I had read and most people gave it pretty good ratings. I completely agree. I have only used it a couple times but it assembled easily in 5 minutes.


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## specDSWx1 (Feb 23, 2016)

fripple said:


> The hitch was pretty easy to install. For my car all I had to do was cut out two small notches in the frame to fit the brackets through the hole. It probably took 15 minutes total for the whole job.


Hi fripple! What hitch did you use (brand/ model, please). I've got a cruze also & am looking at a 4 bike hitch mount. The XTC4 looks good. Found it thanks to your thread!


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