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Spare Wheel Bike rack? Yakima or Thule

46K views 35 replies 28 participants last post by  flyfishnevada 
#1 ·
Which is the better and more stable bike rack for the spare wheel on a 2011 Wrangler Unlimited with the factory spare.

The Thule 963XTR or the Yakima SpareTime?

The 963 is wider and would appear to be more stable, but looking for experiences advise.

THule


Yak



Thx.
 
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#29 ·
I use a Yakima Holdup hitch-mounted bike carrier and I have a 35x12.5 inch spare tire mounted. I use a 6 inch hitch extension to provide enough clearance between the spare tire and the bike rack. I also use the Yakima Plus 2 (2+) adapter which adds capacity for 2 additional bikes. This Yakima is awesome and I have been using it weekly for 3+ years now.
 
#30 ·
Does that Holdup rack with the extension allow you to open the tailgate when folded down without the bikes? I can't seem to find one that I can leave on the jeep and still get access to the back. Its a giant pain in the ass to have to take the thing off all the time to get at gear. Any help would be appreciated!
 
#31 ·
Very happy with my Yakima Sparetime. I have it on a 275/70/18 (33x11.00 roughly) and I have friends that have it on a 33x12.50 and 35 as well. Even on my tire I use the shortest mounting tube, it comes with 3 sizes so you can use a fairly wide tire I would imagine, depending on your back spacing.
 
#33 ·
I just looked a Both Thule and Yakima's hitch-mounted racks at REI and noticed two things: they are bot heavy. About 40 lbs empty. This makes it a bit of a hassle to move between vehicles.
Second, they both seems loos and rattled in the store. I asked the sales person to tighten them up, but even after all of her adjustments, they rattled with just a light touch.

I think I am going to buy one of the spare-mounted versions, and am leaning towards the Thule.
 
#34 ·
I bought the Thule. It looks great but when I went to tighten the nut that holds it on it sheared. You could tell it wasn't quality hardware, almost looked like a cast threaded rod. I don't want something that sheared that easily being all that's preventing my bikes from spilling all over the highway. I returned it to Amazon and bought this:

www.amazon.com/dp/B000QJDFMK

I'm happy with this one.
 
#35 ·
I bought the Thule. It looks great but when I went to tighten the nut that holds it on it sheared. You could tell it wasn't quality hardware, almost looked like a cast threaded rod. I don't want something that sheared that easily being all that's preventing my bikes from spilling all over the highway. I returned it to Amazon and bought this: www.amazon.com/dp/B000QJDFMK I'm happy with this one.
that link doesn't work anymore but what is the make and model of the rack you replaced it with?
 
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