Thule 943 Spare Me - the disappointment
Written: Sep 17 '03 (Updated Oct 16 '03)
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Pros: Nice idea to make use of the spare tire, but
Cons: Poor design and/or poor manufacturing quality
The Bottom Line: Pass it up until quality improves
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| pickier's Full Review: Thule 943 - Spare Me |
The '943 SPARE ME' is Thule's version of a bike rack that mounts on the spare tire. It's designed for vehicles that carry a spare tire on the rear door. (Think Jeep Liberty, Honda CRV, and Toyota RAV)
I've tried 2 different 943 SPARE ME units on a Toyota Rav. I returned the 1st to the retailer due to a defect in the Part H 'bracket assembly' that prevented the proper threading of the locking knob.
(For a better idea of what the various parts look like and how they fit together, download the product manual from Thule's website at - - http://www.thuleracks.com/thule/instructions/501522707,%20943.pdf )
The second unit that I purchased in August of 2003 seemed to go together fine. But then I noticed an unusual amount of rotational movement in the rack when carrying bikes.
The problem seems to be excessive play / poor fit where the Part H 'bracket assembly' (basically, the rack's square tube-stem) fits over the Part B 'mounting plate' stem. This may be exacerbated by the RAV's spare tire being offset to the passenger side, which requires the Part H bracket assembly to be offset in the same direction. Whatever the reason, the Part A Bike Unit (the rack) is no
longer level, and sags quite noticeably in a counter-clockwise direction. I can't believe this was the intended design. It looks terrible- as though it’s already broken. Aside from aesthetics, I am also concerned that the extra movement may eventually strain and then break the weld on the mounting plate stem. If that ever goes, the bikes would fall off the back of my vehicle and onto the highway.
Thule's customer support has been slow to respond. I am thinking of returning this 2nd unit, and maybe looking for a sturdier design.
Update: Thule has said it will arrange to have the rack picked up and shipped back to them for inspection. I'll update this when new info is available.
Update as of 10-16-03: I bought the rack in question last August, and stopped using it due to the concerns stated above. Finally, in mid September, Thule did arrange for Fed-X to retrieve the rack so that their engineers could look at it. It's now mid-October, and I haven't heard a thing. I'll call them today and update this post accordingly. Unfortunately, I have been rackless for 2 months! With an upstate New York winter fast approaching, I may not be able to use a bike rack even if Thule repairs and returns mine ASAP.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 140
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Epinions.com ID:
pickier
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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