Saris Thelma Bike Rack

tweber

Founding Wisconsin Chapter Leader-Retired
I purchased a Saris bike rack(www.saris.com), the Thelma model. While reading the instruction/owners manual the following statement was posted under the heading "Caution", "This rack is not suitable for use on any type of trailer or recreational vehicle." I have a 2" receiver on my Big Horn and there is not issue with properly and securely mounting the bike rack onto the BH. Would anyone have an idea why this statement is provided by the manufacturer? Is it a type of "CMA" statement? I have contacted Saris, but have not heard back from them.
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Tom, your first mistake was reading the instruction manual.......nobody does that, do they?
I think you are right, CMA. But you never know.
See you in a couple of weeks.

Peace
Dave
 

TXBobcat

Fulltime
I had the Bike Rack Saris T-Rax Hitch Rack 702. It was a good bike rack but the bikes hung from a bar. For the DW's bike I had to use a seperate bar to put on the bike so it would hang on the rack. It was hard to put the bikes on and take off the rack, mainly because it was quite high and you had to hold them up and slide them across the bars and try to get the straps in the right place. Now I have my rack on the pin box, which is more stable than on the back of the trailer, which has a lot of bounce.
Bike Rack Saris T-Rax Hitch Rack 702.JPG

I replaced the rack with the Swagman 2 bike rack that I like better. It is not as heavy but the bikes set in a bracket for the tires and a bar comes down to hold the bike in firmly.

Bike Rack Swagman 2 bike rack.jpg

This is what I do...
BC
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
Tom, I remember reading a post quite a while ago about a bike rack breaking and the end result was the bikes were pretty much totaled. The poster also mentioned what you said about the instructions. These racks aren't heavy duty enough to withstand the more severe bouncing at the rear of an RV. Kind of like having an RV with a rear kitchen. Everything in the cabinets gets jostled around. It's for sure a CMA thing but if it does break, they're off the hook. It's your call.
 
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