Thule T2 Pro XT/XTR Hitch Bike Rack

For the last 12 years or so I had been using an Allen Sports 645RR rack on my 2011 Jeep Wrangler JK Sport. It's been fine, but I had a couple of issues. 1) it was a hanging style rack, so bikes would swing around, 2) it supposedly held 4 bikes but you could never fit more than two on there without them crashing around into each other, and 3) my fiancee's step-through frame was a huge problem to put up there. Plus I'm kind of particular about keeping a decent looking bike, and the hanging rack has a LOT of rubbing points that I had to neutralize with cloth bits and bungee cords. It was all very tedious and time consuming.So I decided to do myself a favor and buy the T2 Pro XTR. The installation instructions are minimal, but you'll get there after going over it a bunch of times. It's not too bad when you look at it as a whole:1) Put the center bar into your hitch receiver.2) Attach the first crossbar with four screws and washers3) Attach the second crossbar with four screws and washers4) Install the two wheel baskets with 4 screws each5) install the wheel straps and end pieces with one screw on each side6) install lock cylinders.That's really basically it. But yeah. The instructions could definitely be better and/or easier to read. The good news is that you can call Thule during business hours and ask your stupid questions (which I did), and a friendly and helpful person will happily walk you through whatever dumb thing you did. Shout out to a guy at Thule named Jeff that helped me out and was really a pleasant guy to talk to. I'd almost forgotten what great customer service looked like!Now let's talk about how great this rack is. First of all, the wheels are great. This is much heavier than my old rack, and while you can lift it, at my age I'm all about the shortcuts, and being able to wheel this thing around the garage is excellent. The hitch mount is basically perfect, the pin auto-locks into the hole and there's a knob to tighten the fit inside the receiver so that the rack doesn't rattle or wiggle around.While I am wary of plastic in general, especially on something that will spend a decent amount of time in the Florida sun, the plastic components like the wheel baskets and other parts do seem well made. Locking down a bike takes seconds, which is HUGE considering it used to take me the better part of 20 minutes to put up two bikes with my old rack.Now, a few words for the Wrangler owners, and probably at least some owners of other vehicles with rear-mounted spares:On its own, this rack will NOT fit on a Wrangler with a stock-sized spare on the tailgate. It's REALLY close -- in fact, it does fit at first (just barely) until you install the wheel baskets. And that puts it over the edge so you can't fold the rack up into its vertical position when not in use. You can find all of the sizing information and documentation on their website, but the upshot is that the rack needs a minimum of 6.3 inches of clearance when folded up, measured from the hitch mounting hole (where the pin goes in) to the outside of the spare tire. Unfortunately, on the Wrangler the stock spare tire extends a bit over 8 inches past the mounting hole. You can buy a Thule hitch extension, but it's $80 and the minimum extension is 7 inches. It's probably fine, but I wanted something that would minimize the gap between my spare tire and the bike rack when it's folded up. So I ended up going with the MaxxHaul extension which only cost $32 and had an extension of 5.25 inches. I oriented it to lower the hitch receiver rather than raise. Looking under the Jeep, even lowered 4 inches the hitch is still about equal with the lowest hanging parts of the undercarriage. Lowering it in this manner also allows better (not perfect, but better) access to the tailgate by tilting the rack away. You can't open it wide, but you can open it part way and it's a lot better than you'd be able to do otherwise. So that's my recommendation if you have a tailgate-mounted spare (but measure yourself first, other cars may have different measurements!)Final note, if you do need a hitch extension, the rack's locking hitch mount will be locking to the extension, not to the car. So if you want security, you'll still need to buy a locking pin to connect the car to the extension.

Very sturdy rack, bikes feel very secure. Heavy for lifting, like the wheels for moving it around. Built in cable locks are too short to be useful, another 6” and they would be great.

Shipping was fast, two days. The assembly process took 15 minutes - easy and instructions were good. Fit and finish of the product is excellent and the function is outstanding. It take mere minutes to mount and secure on your 2" receiver. One can load and secure two bikes in about the same few minutes. Of note, I've wheeled my Jeep with rack installed and bikes onboard. Everything remained secure and no issues with the bikes on the rack. I highly recommend this product.

The bike rack is excellent; however, I had difficulty following the printed assembly instructions. A quick search on YouTube turned up a short video that explains things quite well. The rack is solidly constructed, holds the bikes firmly in place, is easy to load / unload the bikes, and easy to install the rack on the vehicle. One suggested improvement: lengthen the locking cables (to lock the bikes onto the rack) by 2 - 4". Also, I have it mounted on a Ford Edge with proximity sensors - the bike rack activates the sensors anytime I have the vehicle in "Reverse." A bit annoying. Lastly, when you place a cover over the bikes, the car's license plate and tail lights / brake lights are obscured. Some jurisdictions may not like that.

I bought this rack based on user reviews for ease of use and quality of components. Assembly was straightforward but requires patience especially when mounting the trays to the rack body. Hardest part is adding the extension so that it is a 4 bike rack. The metal posts fit so tightly that they require lithium grease to slide the extension into the frame. To remove the extension, I need to use a spreader bar. All of this loosened up over several installs and removals but the first couple times were difficult. Otherwise, it’s a great rack. Fits all 4 of the family bikes including my 29” and my son’s 20” without any adapters or special parts. Solid mounts ensure a clean drive to your destination and the bikes can be secured with cable locks. The rack itself can be locked into your hitch receiver so no one can take it.

We wanted a bike rack that was short to protect the bikes from rubbing each other. This rack does that plus it is good for more than one size tire if you have a different kind of bike other than the fact that it is very heavy and very big. It goes on the vehicle relatively easy, the bikes go on relatively easy, and it secures the bikes well enough to feel confident on the road. If we need to get into the back of the vehicle, it tilts down to allow us access .

Perfectly manufactured typical Thule, works perfectly, holds bikes securely. A bit pricey and certainly heavy to lift, it is tge best carrier available.

Reasons to Avoid the Thule T2 Pro XTR Platform Hitch Bike Rack1. **Low Clearance**: The rack sits too low for most sedans, increasing the risk of damage when driving over bumps or inclines.2. **Short Locking Cable**: The locking cable is too short to securely loop around the head tube of most bikes, making it less effective for theft prevention.3. **Flimsy Locks**: The locks feel cheap and often require a struggle to insert the key and secure the rack properly.4. **Vulnerable Locking Knob**: If you accidentally hit the bottom locking knob, you're in trouble—replacement parts can cost around $400, leaving you with a significant expense.It’s surprising that Thule hasn’t addressed these issues, as they indicate a lack of thoughtful design in a product that should be reliable.