I know what you mean about the rack being heavy to put onto the hitch, mine is like that. My bike is small (49cm) and the cargo area is plenty big and clear.

I'm not terribly clumsy but no matter how careful I am about putting the bike in the back, I always manage to do something to the bike. Once the rear brakes moved and ended up rubbing, another time the bike got a little stuck and another time I broke off the computer part on the fork. After that I haven't tried again.

Bummer too because I like the security of it locked up and can make other stops to make use of my drive.