Thule Vertex 5 on CX-9?

[tvhaugen]

I am interested in getting a Thule Vertex 5 hitch mounted bike rack for my CX-9. Before making the purchase I wanted to make sure the rack fits on the CX-9. Does anyone have any experience with this hitch rack with the CX-9? Thanks in advance for your help!

I am looking to purchase the Curt or Hidden Hitch, but leaning towards the Curt for ease of installation I read about here in the forum.

On the Vertex, the distance from the center of the hitch pin hole to the back of the hub where the rack tilts, is 6-1/4 inches.

Another way to help me figure out if this rack works on the CX-9 would be for someone to measure the distance from the hitch pin to the bumper on the CX-9. If the distance is greater than 6 1/4 inches on the Curt, Hidden or Draw Tite hitch it should work.

 

[tvhaugen]

Mystery solved! I installed the Curt hitch today on my 2009 CX-9 and the Vertex 5 fits with plenty of clearance.

 

[mihalis]

I just ordered a Curt Hitch today, now just have to get the Bike rack. I'm probably just going to install it myself, since everyone here claims that it is pretty easy to do. Now I just have to decide on a bike rack

 

[ceric]

I just ordered a Curt Hitch today, now just have to get the Bike rack. I'm probably just going to install it myself, since everyone here claims that it is pretty easy to do. Now I just have to decide on a bike rack

It is easy if you have someone holding it up for you while you tighten the nuts.
Or, use jack stands to hold it.

 

[harryhood]

FYI, the Thule Apex Swing will also fit on the CX9 with no problem.

 

[cjc]

I have the hidden hitch and the Thule apex 5-tilting setup with plenty of clearance also. If I'm feeling lazy, I just open the hatch until it hits the plastic housing and I can throw little things inside. I can tighten the rack to the hitch with no noticeable wobble. Everything you need is there. The only issue I have is that the built-in bike cable lock is too short. I hang my wife's bike with an adaptor and I could not run the cable through the bike frame and lock it. I like the idea that it has everything you need but not exactly perfect. The Yakima 5-bike rack is 10 lbs lighter though not really a factor for me.

I installed the hitch by myself without raising the vehicle. Once I got the hitch in place, it just hanged on supported by heat shield, and I just slid under tightening the bolts, using my cell phone for a flashlight.

 

[SRTopDog]

FYI, the Thule Apex Swing will also fit on the CX9 with no problem.

I just ordered one of these racks for our 2012 upcoming trip to Williamsburg....how do you like the "No tool" hitch hook up method, and the way the bikes secure on the rack????? It seemed like a really well sorted out rack from my online research.

I already have a Bauer two bike swingaway rack but like an idiot, I didn't ever buy the +2 extender for it, and they are now out of business and I cannot for the life of me find anyone who sells the "now leftover" extender piece for that one!

Thule Apex Swing 4 seems really nice though.....please comment.

 

[SRTopDog]

So, I got the Apex 4 Swingaway and assembled and mounted it today...I have to say, I am not real impressed with the "no-tool" hitch connection. I think the problem is two fold.....1) the rack is made for both 1 1/4" and 2" hitches, and my Bauer rack was for 2 inch only and is a much more solid feeling piece, but it does use a bolt to attach.....2) The no-wobble tightening device just can't get tight enough for me to reduce the wobble enough to my liking.....And I am 6'-1", 290 pounds, so I'm pretty sure turning the knob down as I wiggle the rack isn't the issue....

I am thinking that I should have gotten the Vertex swingaway 4 since it uses a traditional hitch mount, but I need to see if it is made to fit both size receivers also....I just don't like that they try to make everything fit everything, you can tell it's a compromise no matter how tight you try to wedge the fit....When the rack is "open" meaning swung open, with only three bikes on it, it really is out of level, and kind of looks like crap, but it does function seemingly ok...My Bauer swingaway didn't have that issue nearly as bad and felt like a more substantial piece....

The only other thing versus my Bauer that I am not crazy about is that in order to open up to swing the rack away from the vehicle, you must get behind the bikes at the hitch and loosen the knob that tightens the whole swingarm assembly down, whereas on the Bauer, it does have a knob you have to loosen but it is more reachable since it is underneath, and then you simply pull the trigger to release the mechanism and swing out the bikes.....

Lastly, I didn't realize how difficult it is to mount 3 or 4 bikes on a 2 arm design vs. a single arm design like the Bauer....it's just tougher all around, and then more work to strap stuff in place. The wheels have to be secured to the frame so the front forks don't flail around no matter which way you go, so that is equal between the two....I'm seriously condering getting two Swagman XP cradles and swapping the knobs for locking knobs, and having an extender tube made to fit my Bauer...we'll see.

I will say in its loaded or unloaded position(not swung out), the Thule Apex looks awesome with our Silver CX-9 GT with the 20's....

Oh, and on the plus side, the Apex's "on-board" lock cable is genius....convenient and effective it looks like to me.

Does anybody read any of this?

 

[Pootie Tang]

I really looked closely into bike racks but I had need of a five bike rack which limits my choices. I did consider "cheating" the fifth bike in and during this I looked closely at the Thule Apex, Yakima, and Softride Dura assist (via Amazon).

FYI My 2008 CX-9 GT has an aftermaket 2" hitch which allows for a substantially stiffer mounting point than OEM 1-1/4" models, especially with a fully loaded rack.

I really wanted a swing away or move-away to be able to get at the liftgate with bikes loaded.

I found each rack had their pluses and minuses. The Thule pinless mount being a wildcard, and to me eventually evolved into a liability. the Yakima was older and had a few securing issues (swing out while driving) which made me less confident should my wife be using the rack. the Softride would have been my choice, but it appeared to be the most difficult to tease a fifth bike onto.

Looks were less of a concern to me as the CX-9 is a gorgeous car and ANY rack, to me would be a barnacle, so I began to consider that minimizing the rack (empty of course) would be a plus.

After all that, I started to focus on a formal five bike, non-swing away (when loaded) racks and stumbled on the "Allen" brand on Amazon. A common square tube post, dual round arm design. The reviews were very high and the price was great at $135 to my door. I decided $135 was worth risking as a toss-away if it didn't workout or otherwise found that some pre-planning was not sufficient in not needing to use the liftgate while the rack was loaded. My plan was to place things we needed access to toward the middle seat to get access from there instead of at the back as is usually done.

Upon receipt, I noticed the rack was very well built, with a decent finish and heavy duty elements. It appeared thoughtfully laid out.

In summary, loading up five adult mountain bikes and driving 600 miles round trip, the rack was superb. I could not be more happy. It was solid, quiet, and easy to load and secure. Best surprise was that the rack could be removed and stowed in the back of the car behind the third row seats and NOT taking up much useable space at all (it fold to an "L" shape) and I just placed it one the deck and slid the hitch end to the side. Piled things on top of it. Lastly, with the bikes off of it, the liftgate could be accessed with the rack in place. The rack arms also folded down to minimize the rack when not in use. And the rack is not as massive an item on the back of the car as the swing out models are.

So far so good. I did need to buy a separate locking cable and while the no rattle hitch system worked fine, I will probably buy a locking silent hitch pin system.

 

[SRTopDog]

As an update, I later figured out that I had installed the 90 degree adapter that turns the stinger into a 2" instead of a 1 1/4" size had been installed incorrectly by me. I have since flipped it to the correct position, and it tightens up much better now.

I just finished a trip to Williamsburg, VA from DE and it works fine even over some 70 mph bridge gaps, etc....but when swung away it really is torquing the hitch attaching point, and I had two adult and two kids bikes on it....

It is not as substantial as I would really like, but obviously that would weigh more if it had more mass. Thule will not sell the 2" square weldment to the consumer which (would do away with the "no-tools" attachment system, but provide for frimer fit, what a shame) that comes on the Vertex 4 swign-away. The cradles are better on the Apex and the Apex also has an "0n-board" lock cable that is a nice feature not offered on the Vertex, otherwise I would have just traded the Apex for the vertex Swing-Away 4.....

Hope this helps.