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Using Thule Bike Carrier
- Thread starter 2020Anne
- Start date
3rdcoast
Member
Use Trailer Mode for this. It will turn off the chimes and warnings from the rear sensors. I haven’t tried it yet in my Y, but it worked great in my X with my hitch-mounted bike rack.
Which Thule rack did you get, and how’s it working?
I tried the Thule Apex XT Swing. It fit fine, but the swingarm hand bolt was misaligned and it made closing and securing the swing arm impossible without stripping the bolt.
I returned it and am looking for a Yakima fullswing, but they seem to be sold out.
I bought the T2 ProXT model number 9034XTS. It works very well on the back of my model Y. It can carry my e-bike no problem. This carrier holds two bikes but you can also buy an “extender” which would then hold 4 bikes.
Looks like a great rack. Unfortunately I have to carry 4 bikes for the family, weighing 112lbs. Considering the 160lbs vertical unsupported weight limit of the OEM hitch, there’s not much left over for weight of rack. So, unless I want to haul a small trailer, a hanging rack is the way to go. Problem now is I’m a week past availability on the racks I was considering.
Anybody have experience with the Thule Apex XT 4 (not the swing) on the Model Y? I’m wondering if the hitch tightening knob, being on the side of the stinger, hits the bumper.
AlexHung
Member
With Trailer Mode on, I noticed my turn signals are flashing faster than normal. I initially thought it's a fault and needs repairs but once I switched Trailer Mode off, the flashing goes back to normal rate.
I wasn’t aware of the 160lb vertical, I just thought I was good with the 350lb hitch weight. I have the xt 4 swing so a little worried now because that thing is heavy. Looking at the pics the xt4 vs xt4 swing appear to have the same hitch mount. I put it on the other day and didn’t have any issues with the knob. The whole thing sat fairly crooked but it may have always on other cars can’t remember.
Thule got back to me on the XT4 (not swing), and they said that since the hitch tightening knob is on the side of the stinger it will interfere with bumper.
I have a 10 year old version of the Thule swing and it has knob in same place, so I can’t use it.
how much does your rack weigh? My old swing is less than 45lbs, and new version is about 42lbs. That still allows nearly 120lbs of bikes. An easy way to measure weight is to use step on scale holding rack or bike and subtract your weight from total.
Vertical weight limit is different than tongue weight. Tongue weight means virtually no torque on hitch, while vertical limit assumes a worse case torque applied. If you hit a bump with a load hanging on your hitch that’s not also supported by a trailer, then the momentum created by that load could easily exceed the max tongue weight.
Sorry I messed up. I actually have the Thule Apex swing 4 not the Thule apex xt4 swing. I can't remember what the difference was but 4-5ish years ago it was their main swing. When I looked it up both the apex 4 swing/no swing are the same stinger connections, but the apex xt4 versions do look different.
Edit: It weighs 56lbs. Not super concerned but good to know the 160lb limit. Thule Apex Swing 4-Bike Hitch Rack | REI Co-op
I'm not sure what they mean. I picked up this rack (Thule Apex XT 4; no swing) a few days ago and it fits just fine, no interference issues at all.
I previously tried a Yakima Fullswing and please be advised that the big red release lever/knob for the swing function just barely clears the Y's bumper, making it very unpleasant to use. It's also very heavy and the anti-wobble wedge bolt requires you to have a third hand when installing it in the hitch. Avoid.
