THULE 957 Parkway 4-Bike Hitch Carrier, 1.25 in.

Comments about THULE 957 Parkway 4-Bike Hitch Carrier, 1.25 in.:

Parkway 957 (4 bikes, 1.25 inch receiver)

The M12X40 receiver bolt, PN 908-1240-11, should be longer with a cross-drilled end so that once it is secured in the hitch receiver a safety clevis can be inserted into the cross-hole in the receiver bolt. This would keep the rack stinger in the hitch receiver even if the receiver bolt were to loosen and partially back-out. My old Grabber 5-bike rack with 2 inch receiver had this feature and it is a very good safety enhancement. I plan to replace the bolt supplied with my 957 rack to incorporate this safety feature.

The 3/8 inch bolt, PN 853-5778, should be replaced by a clevis and clevis pin for ease of pivoting the bike rack cradle arms (not the rack up-right post) from the stow to deploy position and back. I don't want to use a wrench every time I want to stow the bike rack cradle arms. I plan to make this change.

The clevis and clevis pin that come with the rack to permit the rack up-right to pivot for vehicle hatch access is well engineered.

The black plastic end caps fall out of the 2 inch square up-right tube member. These should be a better fit to prevent cap loss. One of them had fallen out of the tube while still in the factory sealed box. How would they possibly stay in place with regular use? I plan to glue these in to the rack with silicone sealant.

The instruction sheet that came with the rack is for models "956/958" but not 957 but this is not an issue.

Paint finish looks good. We'll see how it holds up to use.

Overall, its a good rack but with the above changes its where it should be for a product from Thule.

Comments about THULE 957 Parkway 4-Bike Hitch Carrier, 1.25 in.:

This is a good product. I think it should come with both stingers (2 inch and 1 1/2 inch) or hitch mount. This will would make it more versatile and allow you to use it with other vehicles.

Comments about THULE 957 Parkway 4-Bike Hitch Carrier, 1.25 in.:

I have owned this rack for 4 years. It has held up well. No rust. My end caps haven't fallen out. The rubber cradles and straps are still in good shape. I agree with the comments that an additional clevis pin for the top bar would be nice to allow the top to fold down when not in use.

When I bought my rack, the threaded hole in the stinger was in the wrong place, at least for my car (Subaru Forester). It did not seat fully in the receiver and increased the bending moment on the hitch receiver. Thule was no help and in fact denied there was a problem. I had a machinist drill and tap the bolt hole in the proper place. Problem solved.

I bought the key lock for hitch receiver, which effectively captures the bolt from falling out should it ever loosen. Snug it tight with the the included lock washer and this is very unlikely to ever happen.