Hitch Rack Disaster
 

Anyone ever seen this happen?

• Thule Apex 5 Model 9026 Hitch Rack (https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/bike-...9026-_-1259651)
• Purchased new in 2012
• Barely used more than once a year for family vacation
• 2" receiver
• Loaded with 5 bikes (4 Trek Mountain bikes & 1 Road bike)
• All bikes properly mounted/strapped in cradles
• Heavier bikes toward the hitch and road bike on last

Snapped off at the hitch (see attached pics)

4 years old...Try another brand.

I never put more than 2 bikes on my 3 bike rack and never more than 3 on my 4 bike rack. Just don't trust them, regardless of the capacity.

It doesn't have 2" square stock coming all the way out??? I'm not really sure what I am looking at, but if that narrow bit was all that supported it, I'd never have put five full size bikes on there.

There is something seriously wrong for the rack to fail like that. I'd be taking that to whoever I bought it from and asking them for some warranty consideration. Much damage to the bikes?

Did you exceed the 150 lb. load rating?

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

you might try posting this in some car/suv forums and see what you can find. I know in the 2 car forums I use, there are a ton of hitch rack threads

He'd certainly be very close with 4 mountain bikes (~30 lbs) + 1 road bike (~20 lbs). Depending on the bikes that could easily have been over.

The 150# tolerance should have included a decent margin, so someone that loaded it at 151# would not risk such destruction.

there's more to it than just load rating. I read the instructions, it says not to use it off road or on dirt rds, etc. the OP hasn't said what the conditions were, like speed he was travelling at, if he hit a bump of some kind, etc. some bridge junctions can be quite jolting at speed

Still... As an engineer I'd say that the design is manifestly faulty - the drilled and tapped holes in the solid shaft are WAY too big - too much stress concentration and too much removed metal to weaken the joint. Meh. Bad job, Thule.

Yeah, I'm definitely surprised that the 5 bike rack uses a 1.25in support bar rather than a 2" support. It's especially confusing since Thule says the 5 bike rack requires a 2in hitch, but then uses an adapter. Just a very poor design.

That looks like it's a 2" hitch with a 1.5" rack tongue, but it's hard to tell from the pix. My Thule Apex tongue fills the 2" hitch hole almost completely. If it was indeed the 1.5" model of rack, that's what happened. (You *could* conceivably expand the anti-rattle spacer out far enough to fill a 2" hitch...but then it will certainly fail...Which is what looks like happened here.)

EDIT: No, I see that model only fits 2" hitches. I have no idea what could have caused the aluminum to break like this.

Agree it looks like a bad design with that big hole at a stress point, but will add it looks to have started a while ago. Looks to be rust on half the break from the rusty part that was in that hole getting wet and washing into the crack.

I'm thinking it's more of a 2" bike rack inside a 2.5" receiver. A big family with a ton of camping stuff? Probably a huge camper with an equally large hitch receiver.

I never knew 2.5" receivers existed until I saw one in person the other day.

I'm pretty sure the 5 bike bike racks don't come with 1.25"... uh... bars?

EDIT: Or maybe it does? Pictures online show a small looking/finicky looking mount... I wouldn't use it for 5 bikes personally.

What did the dealer or Thule say about their Lifetime Warranty coverage?

Based upon the picture provided the OP neither read the directions nor used the required 2" adapter.

100% pilot error.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment...1&d=1470711320

https://cdn2.static-tgdp.com/assetlo...arket=US&att=1

Yeah, I had to download the manual to understand what I was seeing in the photo. It doesn't look like the OP had the adapter sleeve attached. It still looks like a wonky design that doesn't inspire a lot of faith, but it doesn't look like it was properly used.

Not that I would have ever paid attention before having read this thread, but I saw one of these going down the highway with five full size bikes loaded on it today. All I could think about watching it bounce around (quite excessively, from my untrained eye) was the OPs snapped shaft :eek:

OP must have used the adapter. How else would the tongue be suspended in the upper left part of the receiver?

The stinger sheared at the furthest rear bolt hole where the M8 x 30 screws should have been attached.

Pilot error. No adapter. Look at the diagram, 2c. No way it could have sheared there if it was installed properly.

It sheared through the diagonal hole for the "locking knob" shown in F. The M8 x 30 bolt is seen in 2A going in at a 90 degree angle, not a 45.

http://i767.photobucket.com/albums/x...imons/rack.jpg

We can "analyze" the cause of the failure based on a picture and not knowing many other details until the cows come home.

BUT

The OP should be less concerned with the engineering and how or why it filed, and more concerned with what now. For that the process starts with dialog with Thule, who, for all anybody knows may be willing to make him whole.

My point is, I think OP was using the rack correctly.

So where is the 2" adapter in the pics then?

If it was being used properly and secured to the stinger via two bolts it would still be there in the pics as the 2" adapter extends at least 1" beyond the end of the hitch receiver.

The 45° bolt should be 4-5" outside of the hitch receiver, not at the very end as pictured.

Pilot error.

The adapter is further inside the receiver than is shown in the manual/diagram. This is also why the 45 degree bolt is so close to the receiver.

No. You're wrong. The adapter, when used, extends beyond the end of the hitch receiver, as shown in the manufacturer's diagram, to effectively dissipate forces.

100% pilot error.

Where else is there a 45 degree hole? You are wrong.

Yep. It's like tire pressure ratings. I once talked to a Continental rep at the one-off Philly Interbike show who told me the max rating on the sidewall was way below what the tire could tolerate thanks to lawyers. However, in this case I was thinking in terms of a warranty claim.