[rumrunner]

got the hitch installed.

tough getting up and to the location for a 7am appointment after getting in at 1:30 this morning. but worth it to be the 1st appointment of the day. total time from walking in the door and walking out was only 45 minutes.

I'm happy with it. it's higher than the muffler and a-arms so I haven't lost any ground clearance. but did change the departure angle. that's not a problem for me cuz my wheelin' is limited to regular dirt roads and some light beach driving. nothing steep

both my hitch racks fit great. (yeah, I have two) fitting them to this setup required some minor changes compared to my Subaru Forester. meaning the distance from the back of the hitch and the back of the bumper is different between the 2 vehicles. also the Subaru OEM hitch was open on both ends so I could slide the shafts in to different spots. if you're familiar with hitch racks, the shafts have more than one hole so you can install them on various vehicles.

my Subaru brand (2 bike) rack has an empty tube and the locking pin threads go into a spring loaded nut you slide in the tube. I moved the nut to the other hole for this vehicle. locks great, no wiggle

the Swagman (4 bike) rack has a solid tube. one hole is smooth and I used that on the Forester with a regular pin. it had some wiggle so I steadied it with ropes or straps. but for the Jeep I'm able to use the other hole which is threaded. I ordered the Swagman locking threaded pin. this way each rack has it's own pin. also, the threaded pin I have didn't thread into the Swagman. maybe it would have if I took a wrench to it cuz it started then stopped but I didn't want to risk ruining the threads so I ordered the brand specific pin. it's a snug fit and the locking pin will eliminate any wiggle

I've got a hatchback rack so now I have three racks for this car. I will have several options for carrying 4 bikes to get them to our house rental in June. the Forester only had a Class I hitch so it could only hold 2 bikes and I used the hatchback rack plus the hitch in order to carry all 4 bikes. the U-Haul hitch is Class II and in theory should be able to hold all 4 bikes. but I don't like the dynamics of that setup so I may opt for 2 racks again.

would I prefer an integral Jeep OEM hitch, of course. are there other "better" hitches, of course. is this the right choice for me, yup pretty much.

 

[rumrunner]

Swagman threaded locking pin came in. It too started and them stopped. I took a wrench to it and it went in just fine. I added a smidgen of lithium anti-seize to a couple threads after taking it out and then put it back in so I don't lose it. when the snow stops flying I'll test the bars with the basket and the racks w 4 bikes. don't want to do all that testing the day before we head out. nothing like being prepared :/

 

[rumrunner]

follow-up to the hitch & ground clearance. no problems at the beach. plenty of clearance.

 

[rumrunner]

gotta pickup daughter from school in VT Friday. put the crossbars and basket on and adjusted location and fit. put the basket in the car cuz there's no need to drive around with it all week. left the crossbars on. wonder if anyone will notice the Subaru branding.

 

[rumrunner]

forgot about adding another accessory to this hitch and this thread. this is the Curt Hitch Haul Cargo Carrier

 

[rumrunner]

with vacation still 2 weeks away. had a free day to do the 4 bike trial. could not find a way to match up the new hatchback rack with either of my 2 hitch racks, so I'll have to put all 4 bikes on the 1 hitch rack, a Swagman Titan. got it all loaded up with stabilizer lines to the roof rails but I still had some lateral wiggles so went to a bike shop for a cpl stabilizer straps hooked to the hatch sides. seems rock solid, no bouncing or wiggling.

also ordered 3 of these just in case I can uses them cuz they look easier to tighten

Curt Trailer Hitch Support Strap - Bike Rack Strap with Cambuckle
https://www.etrailer.com/p-18050.html

 

[Ribbertw]

Does that bike rack swing down to open the hatch?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rumrunner]

Does that bike rack swing down to open the hatch?

it does!

 

[rumrunner]

Does that bike rack swing down to open the hatch?

just another cpl words about the Swagman Titan and hitch type bike racks in general

for those ppl who are shopping or who just received their racks, it might be helpful to illustrate that there are 2 types of wiggle or rattle.

1 - at the hitch, which can be fixed with a wedge type devise or a threaded locking pin

2- at the lower elbow of folding racks, which is fixed by using support/stabilizing straps (not all folding racks have wiggle at the elbow, my 2 bike Subaru rack does not)

for me and my Swagman Titan, I had both 1 & 2 to deal with. I just got my new Curt support straps (18050) and had to figure out how to thread the 2 pieces in the pkg and found 2 videos I thought I would share. they are funny to me because both videos show the racks wiggling rattling, even the one with the support strap. mine doesn't wiggle/rattle anymore because I solved both types at the hitch and at the elbow

this 1st video (at the end road test) clearly shows my rack wiggling at the elbow. when I 1st got it, I contacted the manufacturer customer support and they were not helpful. it's OK though I got it figured out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8nd7KJlmB0

this 2nd video is only helpful to show me how to thread the strap through the cambuckle. but if you watch at the end, the guy's face is funny cuz the thing is still wiggling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trzBEpsf_GE

 

[rumrunner]

got the Curt straps. glad I got 3. all loaded, leaving at daylight tomorrow for a week on the vineyard. renting Wifey's cousins' house in OB. daughter's girlfriend is coming for 3 nights, so we'll have 5 in the car tomorrow. still have room for everyone's little bag in the am. will try to take another pic with everyone in it to doc how it sits when overloaded. topped off the fluids yesterday, filled the gas tank on my way home from work. ferry reservation is in the glove compartment. added a tab of that new flexible crazy glue I got from the UK before they succeeded from the EU to the tiny sidewall nick I got earlier in the spring. tire pressures were 35 when I parked it at 70+ degrees. they'll settle down to 33 overnight and should rise to about 36 maybe 37 due to the loading. 10:45 ferry, so shouldn't be too warm by then.

heck we still have room for camping gear!

 

[eddiefast]

After all that prep,I hope you have a great trip! I can relate.(4 bikes,12 fishing poles,etc,many years ago.)(stuffed most of the poles in a large PVC pipe,and strapped it to the top of the roof).

Ed

 

[IRSmart]

judging solely by this photo, you're attaching your loadwarrior incorrectly. all 4 mounting feet are supposed to be facing outwards, you have a pair facing inwards.

I have the exact same basket (it even said Subaru on it!). I sanded it down, painted it black, and had a vinyl shop make a JEEP logo to replace the Subaru logo.

as a side note from above, aren't you concerned with future owner liability of having a trailer hitch with no wiring? in some states (not sure about yours), a future owner can come after you in the event of an accident while they are towing a trailer if the wiring harness isn't there. $150 for a piece of mind isn't a lot.

here's my loadwarrior with the wind faring painted and re-logoed.

 

[rumrunner]

all 4 mounting feet are supposed to be facing outwards
a future owner can come after you in the event of an accident while they are towing a trailer if the wiring harness isn't there.

hey thanks, I'll look in to those two concerns

 

[rumrunner]

judging solely by this photo, you're attaching your loadwarrior incorrectly. all 4 mounting feet are supposed to be facing outwards, you have a pair facing inwards..

found out why 2 are facing 1 way and 2 are facing the other way. on the Forester, the back crossbar is a touch too short the rear brackets are oriented inside facing outward. the front crossbars are long enough to allow the brackets to be outward facing inward. see step #16

on the Forester this shows the aero blades cuff extends too far to allow the bracket to be n the outside so as per the instructions, they are mounted inside

so they were mounted correctly on the Forester. here's my thread from 2013
http://www.subaruforester.org/vbull...vy-duty-roof-cargo-basket-1998-2011-a-174681/

but on the Cherokee I can rotate those 2 rear clamps so they are closer to the side rails. I'm sure they are fine for right now. so thanks for bringing that up!

 

[IRSmart]

found out why 2 are facing 1 way and 2 are facing the other way. on the Forester, the back crossbar is a touch too short the rear brackets are oriented inside facing outward. the front crossbars are long enough to allow the brackets to be outward facing inward. see step #16


on the Forester this shows the aero blades cuff extends too far to allow the bracket to be n the outside so as per the instructions, they are mounted inside

so they were mounted correctly on the Forester. here's my thread from 2013
http://www.subaruforester.org/vbull...vy-duty-roof-cargo-basket-1998-2011-a-174681/

but on the Cherokee I can rotate those 2 rear clamps so they are closer to the side rails. I'm sure they are fine for right now. so thanks for bringing that up!

no worries. i'm surprised by those instructions. if you look up the install instructions for the Yakima Loadwarrior (which is what that basket is), it specifically says not to install it that way. curious...

 

[rumrunner]

surprised by those instructions. if you look up the install instructions for the Yakima Loadwarrior (which is what that basket is), it specifically says not to install it that way. curious...

must be unique to Subaru cuz they are so narrow in the rear. remember I bought the aero bars (not used on Jeep) and basket both through the Subaru dealership, so maybe they get boxed with the Subaru wind faring and the instructions with that particular allowance

I'll bet your instructions don't have the Subaru brand printed at the top?

 

[DNTrailHawk]

no worries. i'm surprised by those instructions. if you look up the install instructions for the Yakima Loadwarrior (which is what that basket is), it specifically says not to install it that way. curious...

It says not to install of your crossbars are a specific width, but if you read further it says to flip the mounts to the inside if the crossbars are narrower than previously stated.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[rumrunner]

past 2 days been enjoying my Subaru brand 2 bike rack. nice not messing with the stability straps the Swagman Titan needs. drove to work yesterday and rode my bike 22 miles home, then rode my bike to work this morning and will drive home tonight. good week for it, not much traffic and many ppl out of our office

 

[rumrunner]

thanks to Photobucket changing their policies my images linked there no longer show. wish we could go back & edit our posts here, so I can clean up these posts

had a nice family trip using the roof & hitch again

 

[rumrunner]

cross bars, roof basket, hitch & rear carrier continue to prove useful. this time, for our last college move (out)