Kuat Pivot 2 - Which Swing Direction is Best

[JohnnyX]

I guess I'm the odd man out. I've got the 1 Up bike rack and the driver side Kuat swingarm. Logically I felt that made the most sense, but after using it for over a year I think the passenger probably works best in most situations. Something that was brought up that I hadn't considered is if you park next to a curb (like parallel park), the passenger side opens away from traffic. The driver side opens into traffic. I will say at a trailhead it's nice to be messing with stuff in the back of the Bronco and on my tailgate cable and be able to reach over and get to my bike. With the passenger side you'd be walking around the tailgate. I haven't yet had a situation where I couldn't do something I wanted because I had the driver side, but I'm just not convinced it's superior anymore. Both passenger side and driver side are equal and just down to personal preference (plus at the time I got mine the driver was available and the passenger side was backordered).

From everything I've read here, the Rakattach seems like the best option. The latest model can mount to swing either way. I can see situations where you may want the swing direction toward driver side, and some where passenger side makes more sense. It's more expensive than the Kuat. Not sure why other manufacturers haven't figured this out. Looks like Rakattach took at least one generation to figure this out.

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[Lonestar777]

Yep, there was another thread on this recently and that’s where I saw they had updated the RakAttach. I felt like the Kuat was better than the previous version.

 

[JohnnyX]

Yep, there was another thread on this recently and that’s where I saw they had updated the RakAttach. I felt like the Kuat was better than the previous version.

Why have the complexity of two variants when it is unnecessary? Save on complexity and cost and offer your customers a more versatile product.

 

[Wolfeman]

I chose the Kuat Pivot that opens on the passenger side. Works great for my needs.

 

[ColoradoChris]

@Triple B and others with 1 UP rack. With the swing away can you drop the rack down to access the gate if no bikes are on the rack or do you have to swing the whole thing over even without bikes just to open the tailgate?

 

[tshort]

@Triple B and others with 1 UP rack. With the swing away can you drop the rack down to access the gate if no bikes are on the rack or do you have to swing the whole thing over even without bikes just to open the tailgate?

For me, it's easier to swing the Kuat Pivot arm away than to lower the 1UP. It gets it out of the way, too.

 

[ColoradoChris]

@8DaysDazed I asked just a few months ago about 1up reverse plate. they said they did not do those anymore. Maybe I got the wrong person on the phone. Were you able to get the reverse plate done recently? My understanding is it lowers the rack from the hitch mount; good for swing arm but probably back for 4 wheeling in moab

 

[8DaysDazed]

@8DaysDazed I asked just a few months ago about 1up reverse plate. they said they did not do those anymore. Maybe I got the wrong person on the phone. Were you able to get the reverse plate done recently? My understanding is it lowers the rack from the hitch mount; good for swing arm but probably back for 4 wheeling in moab

I ordered one back in Oct. Here are the ordering instructions from 1Up.

Thanks for reaching out. Reverse side plates are only available in the Heavy duty and Super duty models. To order, add the rack to the cart as normal, then submit a payment of $65 here. https://www.1up-usa.com/product/additional-payment/


Include in the order notes at check out “Reverse side plates and include color”

 

[ColoradoChris]

Thanks for the updated information. I ordered one recently during their "garage sale" it most things sold out in less than 5 minutes. I suspect they did not want to deal with a reverse side plates during the sale. Is there a way to do it after the sale? Just wondered if you saw yours as being able to go back and forth between normal and reverse. Thanks

 

[cbrenthus]

I have the Kuat pivot passenger swing and Kuat bike rack. I went to hook them up yesterday and ran into an issue -

I could not get the hitch pin into the pivot with the trailer wiring plugs in the way. I eventually flipped it over and hooked it up upside down, so now it swings to the driver side. This is due to the hitch pin being threaded so the pin has to go in from the opposite side as the swing.

How are you all getting the hitch pin to go in from the left to the right? And if you can even get it in, how to you get a wrench on it? I think I might try removing the trailer plugs.

 

[Mmart]

Passenger side. I tried a driver side. It blocked the license plate -especially when using a bike cover.

 

[cbrenthus]

Passenger side. I tried a driver side. It blocked the license plate -especially when using a bike cover.

With mine being mounted upside down, it doesn't block the plate at all.

 

[Lonestar777]

I have the Kuat pivot passenger swing and Kuat bike rack. I went to hook them up yesterday and ran into an issue -

I could not get the hitch pin into the pivot with the trailer wiring plugs in the way. I eventually flipped it over and hooked it up upside down, so now it swings to the driver side. This is due to the hitch pin being threaded so the pin has to go in from the opposite side as the swing.

How are you all getting the hitch pin to go in from the left to the right? And if you can even get it in, how to you get a wrench on it? I think I might try removing the trailer plugs.

Can you show a picture? I'm not following the part about the hitch pin being threaded. I have the Pivot that I use with the 1Up rack. I don't have trailer wiring because I added the hitch aftermarket specifically for bike rack use, but I haven't had any issue putting the pin in from either side. My pin is not threaded, just a fairly standard locking pin. Are you talking about the pin for the Pivot to go into the receiver hitch, or the pin for the bike rack to go into the Pivot?

 

[cbrenthus]

Can't really take any pics right now as I don't want to take it apart, but I'm talking about the hitch pin for the pivot to go into the receiver. This is the one:

Because the threads are only on the left side of the pivot when it is right side up, I can't get the pin in from the left. The below pic shows the stock trailer plugs:

 

[Lonestar777]

Can't really take any pics right now as I don't want to take it apart, but I'm talking about the hitch pin for the pivot to go into the receiver. This is the one:

Because the threads are only on the left side of the pivot when it is right side up, I can't get the pin in from the left. The below pic shows the stock trailer plugs:

Ah, that makes sense. I've got the Pivot V2 and it came with a plain locking hitch pin like this one: https://shop.kuat.com/Hitch-Lock-V3

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