If your minivan has roof rails, consider a roof-mounted bike rack. Roof racks are generally stable and keep the bike out of the airflow behind the vehicle, reducing drag and potential damage to the bike.
Make sure the roof rack is securely installed and that you use a high-quality bike mount. Also, check the maximum weight capacity of your minivan’s roof. If the roof-mounted bike rack doesn’t provide enough space for all your luggage, consider using a roof box or cargo carrier. You can place the bike inside the box, ensuring it’s protected from the elements, and use the remaining space for other items.
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I’m not sure if it’s true that roof racks reduce drag, but it’s definitely true that they decrease your gas mileage.
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The roof rack is for the luggage. The bike goes inside the van, obviously. 
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What world are you living in? I personally know several people that have crashed their roof mounted bike into something, usually their own garage. Nobody thinks they’ll forget, but many people do.
A rear rack has a chance that someone else will rear-end you, but how often does that happen and what are the chances that your bike is mounted when that happens? If you normally park in a garage then every time you come home with your bike there’s >1% chance you forget and crash it. Plus there’s drive throughs and low tree branches to worry about.
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To address the original question, I recently got a Kuat Transfer v2. It has a feature to make the rack very stable in the hitch. Even if you need to use a hitch size adapter, you can get a hitch tightener for that too. See here.
Hitch Tightener for 1.25" and 2" Hitches LIBERRWAY 304 Stainless Steel Hitch Tightener Anti-Rattle Stabilizer Rust-Free Heavy Duty Lock Down Easy Installation Quiet https://a.co/d/6yhAPy0
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I pack the frameset first, use a chain tensioner, anchor with bungee cords and wrap it in towels.
Then I start packing hard items around it that’ll prevent it from being crushed if things shift.
Everything else is packed and secured with bungee cords to mitigate against shifting.
Wheels go into wheel covers and slip on top of everything.
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What’s the consensus about covering the bike on the roof or better “shield” it from bugs and rain?
My common sense says me that any cover would transform the covered bike into a sail on the roof and potentially damage some parts of the bike. Since I don’t have a hitch my only option is roof rack (I’ve got the Thule ProRide), but everytime I drive I have a weird feeling about it without being “shielded” …
Then again, at every cycling event, there are team cars with bike on the roof. If it’s good for them … 
I’ve never seen anyone cover the bikes on their roof. They can withstand rain, and I’m not sure how many bugs there are where you drive, but I’ve never heard of that being a problem either. I don’t think covering the bike on the roof will damage it, but it will definitively damage your wallet.
Just buy a hitch and get a normal hitch rack. The pro peloton uses roof racks because you can access any bike individually for a bike change when a rider has a mechanical, as opposed to a standard rack where they are blocking eachother in stacked in a row.
A hitch would be WAY more aero than a roof mount. Covering bikes with a tarp would keep stuff away but they’d get wet anyways and stay wet, which is bad for rust reasons. Just clean your bike when you get there if you care enough about that stuff.
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I see this all the time. People with roof bikes wearing these kind of things
Having said that, I agree that the best thing you can do is buy a hitch. That’s coming from a guy who ruined his almost new mtb by driving it into the garage frame 
Never seen that anywhere! We’ve been driving all over the country with bikes on the roof for years.
I just completed a trip from Spokane to Tuscon and back. My wife has an e-bike, so a roof rack is somewhat out of the question. We have a hitch rack, and covered the bikes with 2 bike covers. They tore in the 80 mph wind on the way down, but the bikes were mostly protected from road debris. I bought a cheap stretchable cargo net, and after repairing the covers with duct tape, covered the covers with the cargo net. This prevented the cover from flapping in the wind, and provided good protection through the entire return trip.
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Now that you’re thinking about it, you’ll probably start seeing them.
I honestly doubt it. To be fair I mostly go to cross races and people are perhaps not as precious about their bikes as roadies are.
I don’t think it has anything to do with the kind of bicycles or going to races. I just go for a drive and see them all the time on the highway. They’re very common. Anyway…Moving on 
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Mounting a hitch + the hitch rack is around 1200 EUR vs. the roof rack around 250 EUR, so …
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What about those racks that just hook on to the rear of the car, without needing a hitch?
Didn’t find one for a Toyota RAV4. Also, I already have the Thule ProRide, so just need to buy the roof rack, because I’ve changed car.
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Wait, you bought a new car, without thinking about how to fit the bikes?!
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None of the models had the hitch, I thought beforehand (no worries), thanks for your concern. 