Thule & Yakima hitch bike rack rule of thumb for cars with spare tire

[keysersoze]

Here's an interesting bit of hitch rack knowledge that I don't think is readily available on the internet to anyone looking at buying a hitch bike rack for a vehicle with a spare tire on the back (at least I couldn't find the answer until I picked up the phone and called a sales guy at ORS Racks Direct). Apparently both Yakima hitch bike racks and Thule bike racks have a general rule of thumb:

Thule and Yakima stingers (they said this is the technical name for the part that goes into the hitch) are 8" from center of hitch pin hole to the leading edge of the upright mast, so if the vehicle's distance from center of hitch pin to rear most edge of spare tire is more then 8" then the hitch bike rack won't fit. Which sounds like is a big problem for several cars like older Honda CRV, Toyota RAV4's and of course Jeep Wranglers (which is what I have, damn!!!)....and they said it's very important to measure from the center of the hitch pin hole, not the end of the hitch because the hitch pin hole is usually set back about 3 inches or so from the end of the hitch.

You could use a hitch extender but the guy at ORS Racks Direct said both Yakima Racks and Thule Racks hitch bike rack warranties are voided if you use a hitch extender.

[spartacus_33]

Originally Posted by keysersoze

Apparently both Yakima hitch bike racks and Thule bike racks have a general rule of thumb:

Thule and Yakima stingers (they said this is the technical name for the part that goes into the hitch) are 8" from center of hitch pin hole to the leading edge of the upright mast, so if the vehicle's distance from center of hitch pin to rear most edge of spare tire is more then 8" then the hitch bike rack won't fit.

Do you have the 954 and have you actually tried to install it?

I called Thule and talked with a rep today. He told me that you need a minimum of 11" from the pin hole to the leading edge of the upright mast.

I also have a Wrangler (2008) with a factory installed hitch receiver. I measured the distance from the pin hole to the face of the mast and it's 9 1/4". So......... according to the guy at Thule... it should fit on a newer Wrangler with stock spare.

[keysersoze]

That sounds encouraging. I haven't yet ordered a hitch rack because I'm still exploring my options and looking into the hitch receiver measurement issue, but the Thule 954 Ridgeline hitch bike rack is actually the model I'm most interested in. The distance from pin hole to end of spare tire is just under 11 inches so I might be in luck after all. The guys I talked to did say the 8" rule was just a general rule of thumb that is used and often could err a bit on the conservative side. But they said they've seen far too many hitch racks returned because customers didn't measure correctly or ignore the clearance issue altogether so they said using the 8" rule will always make a happy customer with a hitch rack that fits. Would be nice if the hitch bike rack manufacturers could just come out with a list for their models that specifies the clearance needed from hitch pin hole to end of spare tire so this wouldn't be such a guessing game.

[spartacus_33]

Well... I finally got around to going to REI last night. We pulled out a Thule 954 in the box and opened it up.

The distance from the inside face (faces the spare tire) of the vertical mast to the hitch pin hole is 11".

My stock Sahara wheels/tires needs 9 1/4"..... so there is plenty of clearance.

I was also very impressed on how heavy duty the rack looks. Should be ordering one soon.