Replacement Hinges for Thule Adventurer Cargo Box have Different Tension

Question:

I purchased two new hinges and installed them in my old Thule Adventurer cargo box. For some reason one of the hinges does not have the same resistance as the other, so one side of the box closes while the other remains open. Is there any tension adjustment than can be made, or can they be tightened in any way? Also, one hinge is installed upside down from the other due to the orientation of the sockets. Will this make a difference? Is there an opposite hinge a mirror image so that the larger portion of the hinge is on the bottom and the thinner portion is on the top?

asked by: Michael L

Expert Reply:

The original hinges or struts are no longer available for the Thule Adventurer cargo boxes but the current ones, # TH14936, will fit and are what you should be using. There isn't a right and left and the orientation should not matter.

It sounds like you might have one # TH14936 and one # TH14933. They are identical on the outside but the TH14936 will have more tension (a heavier internal spring) than the TH14933.

You can identify each one when the struts are open. In the lighter one, # TH14933, just below where the smaller arm pivots there will be a black rectangular piece. On the heavier one, # TH14936, that same piece will be white. Both of yours should be white.

If either is black then it is the wrong one and you will need to swap it for # TH14936. If both are white and one has more tension than the other then one of them would need to be replaced but I would recommend replacing both because we don't have a way to measure the tension to determine which is the correct one.

expert reply by: Michael H

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James F.

6/23/2020

I'm looking for a replacement hinge for my Thule mountaineer cargo box. From what I can find It's a 669ES (91"long,28" wide) . When the hinge is open all you see is a spring . That being said do I need a TH14933 or a TH14936 ? Which has the stronger spring? Thank you .