Thule Bike Rack Mods and Maintenance

[paul_rvlife]

Just a couple points of interest with the bike rack. I modified it to allow room for the spare tire after an Owl Vans Ladder/Tire Carrier install. I moved the bottom bike holding rack up 2 1/2" from the bottom most mounting position (just drilled new 1/4" holes). In the process of doing the work, I noticed one of the bike locking jaws was frozen in position. When in the unlock position with the key, it would not spin open or closed. I noticed some rust on the bolt. There was really no component use to get a wrench on it to attempt to break loose. The locking head did have two Philips screws on the bottom. I removed the two screws and a locking washer and this allowed the head to be removed. Note, the head will not disassemble unless the key is in the unlock position. I could then get wrench on the locking nut and break it loose. The bolt was very corroded. Cleaned the bolt and locking nut, applied a generous portion of anti-seize and reassembled. I would suggest folks unlock the spinning locking mechanism, twist to the left until the locking heads come off, take off the jaws, and apply anti-seize yearly. Will save a bunch of time disassembling things. Hope this helps.

[RSKDSK]

First, Thanks for sharing!

I did something very similar with my bike rack but after drill new holes I notice that the original holes had additional support in the tube. Did you notice that?

[paul_rvlife]

You are very welcome, thank you for all you do! I did the lazy process and literally drilled the holes with the rack fully on the van. Definitely the non-precision course of action. I know the supporting bars are a tube within a tube as it allows you to make it longer (assuming for a bigger door). I drilled through both tubes at the same time. I did use McMaster-Carr Jobber bits that went through the tubes like butter. That helped with the non-precision process I was using.

[RSKDSK]

Thanks for the info, When I did this I found a spot where there was not an additional tube so I stopped the project as it would have been a weak spot. Glad you found a better spot.