Thule Apex XT Bike Hitch Rack

Bought this for my daughter and only unboxed and put on her vehicle. The unit seems sturdy and well-built. We scratched our heads a little bit before installing on just how it fastens to the hitch receiver. Basically slides in then wedges itself in with screw threads. A bit sceptical at first, once tight it held nicely and has a secondary pin that goes into the normal hitch pin hole. So once the smoke cleared, it installs solidly into your hitch so that you don't have the worrying wobble or movements if held in with just a thru-hitch pin which always has some slop. And looking in your rearview to see your bikes wobbling around is never confidence-inspiring. So, while that is all the experience I have, I like this. I'd buy one for my own use. Also the bike attachment stuff looked confidence inspiring as well, just didn't try it!

I love this bike rack! I use it to transport a Bob brand jogging stroller, not bikes, and it has exceeded my expectations in almost every way. It’s a bit heavy, so it takes a bit of an effort to slide it into the hitch, but once it’s on, it doesn’t move. It’s solid, and can hold a lot of weight.I love the tilt feature because I have a large dog that rides in the back of my Outback. It is heavy to tilt with the stroller attached, but I manage alright.The only problem I have is with the plastic straps that cinch down the bike frames. I find it difficult to squeeze the sides while loosening the straps, especially in the cold weather. Otherwise, I really like this bike rack.

I think I'm one of the few reviewers to have actually purchased this product. This thing is really sturdy. Initial assembly, which only has to be done once, was a little hard because of the tight clearances on the product - if the tolerances were loose it would rattle - but it doesn't. It was also hard because the instructions are all drawings/graphics and have almost no words. I found a video on the web and it helped a lot. I tried to post the link to the video but that is against Amazon rules. You will probably find the same video if you search - and be sure to read the comments attached to the video because it explains how to install and use the keys (which stumped me for a while). It would have been nice if Thule produced a video and put it on the web - but I couldn't find one. The rack is heavy and well built. Assembly is a 2-person job for non-mechanical people. Thule provides the assembly tools and they were OK, not great, but OK. If you have a 19mm box wrench and a 19mm socket it will be easier.Toyota Highlander Owners with the "genuine" Toyota hitch... you need to buy extra parts to get this rack to mount with the vehicle because the locking pin hole in the Toyota hitch receiver is too close to the aft face of the receiver. This product requires that the hole be at least 1.5 to 2 inches forward of the aft face of the receiver. To solve this problem you need to buy a hitch extension and related components to get it all to work together. Here are the parts, all available on Amazon, that you will need... This will add around $125 to the overall cost. If you closely watch all of the review videos out there that "show off" this rack on Highlanders you will see that none of the Highlanders are outfitted with the genuine OEM Toyota hitch - they all use aftermarket hitches. Here are the parts that are needed to make the rack work with the genuine OEM Toyota hitch on Highlanders:Amazon Part 1 (Amazon Number B077SHGWZM) HiTow Trailer Hitch Tightener Anti-Rattle Stabilizer 2" & 1.25" Hitch, Rubber-Coated No Rattle Noise, Corrosion Resistant.Amazon Part 2 (Amazon Number B07PQ6D8G6) TowWorks Keyed Alike 5/8" Trailer Hitch Locking Pin Set - Receiver Lock with Anti-Rattle, fits Class III - V Hitches with 2" and 2.5" Receivers, 79632 (I got the two lock set - you only need one - getting just one will save you a few dollars)Amazon Part 3 (Amazon Number B007448NC2) FHK45054 Receiver Hitch Extension with 4" Drop/Rise, Black (I bought the FHK45054 but I think the FHK45058 would work better - Meyer FHK45058 Receiver Hitch Extension with 2" Drop/Rise, Black - it is Amazon Part B008R572HO).Line up the middle hole in the extension with the hole in the hitch receiver. You need the Tightener Anti-Rattle Stabilizer to keep the extension from rattling in the receiver. Once it is all together it works great.We knew, in advance of buying the rack, that we would need the additional parts. Because this purchase is a lot of money we downloaded the Thule instructions for the rack before making the purchase decision, and we discovered that it wouldn't work with the Toyota OEM hitch - so we knew what we were getting in to and hopefully you will too.So this rack is rock solid and well built but some of the features (like the keys and locks) I think are not as robust as I would have liked. I think it will last and do what I want it to do for our family bicycling adventures. The unit is expensive, and you need space to store it when it's not mounted on the vehicle, but so far so good!

Great, sturdy, high quality bike rack. Easy to set up and use.

This is my second Thule bike hitch rack. A good product, in my opinion, but. . .I am not an engineer, but the straps provided to secure the bike to the rack appear to not be anywhere near sturdy enough. On my first use of the product, I could see in my rear-view mirror while on the freeway that one of the straps had come loose--I was able to pull over in time because the second strap held. The strap that did not hold appeared to strip/pull right through from the buckle--which is a plastic type material. I have remedied this situation by using ball-type bungee cords to reinforce the bike to the contact point on the bike rack. So, in addition to the strap provided by Thule, I use 2 additional bungee cords to secure the bike to the rack. Since then it appears to be safe and secure. On my old Thule rack, I would use bungee cords also to reinforce the rubber straps that came with the old rack. On this new one, however, I was assuming that the straps were new and improved and that reinforcement would not be necessary.

The rack is fine on a two inch hitch, easy to put on.The bikes have to alternate because on each of the four bike positions there is a piece that flips down and is supposed to sit along the seat post tube with another strap to prevent swinging.The flip down piece does not fit between my top bar and my shock. As a result, I cannot use the flip down piece and and I can only anchor my bike along the top two rests for the top bar.Because of this the bike swings terribly as I drive. Most of the time one of the straps pulls the slip inside out and half of my bike is unsecured, bouncing along the bars. If the other side had come loose I’d have lost my bike on the freeway.I had to buy some Velcro straps as additional ties because the patches don’t hold. Even then, as tight as I can get them, the bike comes off the top bar rest on one side on most drives.I have owned a couple Thule racks before this and this one is BY FAR the worst one I have ever owned. I thought I could make it work but this thing is awful.