Recommended Anti-Rattle Devices for Bike Rack and Hitch Adapter  

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Expert Reply:

Use of any type of hitch adapter to allow installation of one size of accessory in another size of hitch is going to result in more random motion of the accessory item; in your case this is your bike rack. This increased motion is due to both the additional connection point introduced by the adapter and by the additional distance between the hitch pin hole and the actual bike load. The longer this distance is the more leverage is applied to the hitch tube and that leads to more motion.

Another concern with using any hitch adapter like the Brophy # HT5R is that you will lose half of your hitch's rated capacity. If your car has a 1-1/4-inch Class I hitch, which is rated for 200-lbs of tongue weight (TW), if used with ANY adapter you will lose half of the hitch's rated weight carrying capacity. So your Class I hitch instantly drops to a 100-lb capacity when used with an adapter.

The 2-inch Yakima HoldUp 2 Bike Rack # Y02443 weighs 49-lbs, so in a Class I hitch you'd have an available total bike weight capacity of only 51-lbs (100 - 49 = 51). It is unlikely your 2 bikes weigh so little so this is not a good option. But if you have a 1-1/4-inch Class II hitch, typically rated for 300 - 350-lbs of tongue weight, then even after that capacity is cut in half (150 or 175-lbs) you might have enough left for the weight of the Hold Up 2 and that of your two bikes.

If this is the case then you can try adding some anti-rattle devices. Part # RM-061-125 from Roadmaster will work in both your hitch and your adapter to help tighten up those connection points. Two of these will not eliminate all rattle and motion but they will go a long way toward making your biking trips less stressful. A video is linked to illustrate.

expert reply by: Adam R

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