The Hollywood Racks RV Rider is a variant of Hollywood Racks’ Sport Rider e-bike rack, which we reviewed here. Among the various hitch racks on the market aimed at the e-bike owner, very few come close to the flexibility that the Hollywood Racks RV Rider and Sport Rider offer e-bike owners.
The Hollywood Racks RV Rider has some very impressive stats. It can carry e-bikes that weigh up to 80 lbs.; this is significant as many e-bike hitch racks can’t carry e-bikes that weigh even 70 lbs. It can also accommodate e-bikes with tires as wide as 5 in.—without needing any adapters—which is handy for anyone who owns an e-bike with 4- or 5-in.-wide tires. Those two details capture most of the e-bikes on the market, but Hollywood Racks doesn’t stop there.
Rather than trying to hold the e-bike by its wheels alone, the Hollywood Racks RV Rider has two frame grabbers—one per e-bike—that can be positioned in a variety of ways to secure the e-bike, including at the seatpost in order to avoid marring the finish or the decals.
Remarkably, the RV Rider can carry e-bikes with a wheelbase of up to 60 in. Not many e-bikes have a wheelbase longer than 48 in., so what this means is that the RV Rider can hold all but the very longest cargo e-bikes.
The Hollywood Racks RV Rider won’t work with just any RV or trailer; it does have some fairly specific requirements. For starters, the rack requires a class 3 trailer hitch, minimum. It can only be used with a 2-in. hitch, and 1 ¼ to 2-in. adapters are not permitted. With 5th wheel trailers there are a few minimums that must be met: 350-lb. hitch tongue weight, 24-ft. vehicle length, 5000-lb. GVW and double-axle.
Unfortunately, it won’t work with just any trailer. Proper use and installation excludes bumper-pulled, bumper-mounted and travel trailers. It also can’t be used with hitch extensions longer than 8 in.
To our knowledge, the Hollywood Racks RV Rider is the only hitch rack that will work with a front hitch.
We can’t criticize the Hollywood Racks RV Rider for what it won’t do. Very few hitch racks approach the broad usability that this rack offers, so it’s not fair to criticize it for not working with every trailer made. As a result, our only real criticism of the RV Rider is that it lacks a ramp to roll e-bikes into position. Considering the construction of the wheel holders—they aren’t trays like with some other racks—designing a ramp to work with this rack wouldn’t be easy. Still, considering it can carry e-bikes weighing up to 80 lbs., if ever there was a hitch rack that would benefit from a ramp, this has to be it.
Yet another reason to like the Hollywood Racks RV Rider is that it’s notably more affordable than many hitch racks aimed at e-bikes. Sure, we see hitch racks for e-bikes that retail for $600 and less, but almost none of them can handle an e-bike weighing 70 lbs. or more.
For anyone with an RV, motorhome or 5th wheel trailer, the Hollywood Racks RV Rider is the first hitch rack to consider and further consideration may not be necessary.
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