sorry to hear about this. where / when did it happen? hopefully not while you were driving down the road

in researching hitch racks this spring/summer I found out Curt hitch racks must be used with a single stabilizer strap or their warranty is voided. the purpose of the strap is to minimize the shock when going over bumps.

I see your rack has/had "Road Dampening Technology" so I guess a strap or straps wasn't required?

I used the strap to reduce/eliminate rattle/wiggle in my Swagman rack's elbow. I used 3 straps, left, right & center