Thule - Spare Me Spare Tire Carrier

Description

This popular spare tire bike carrier is designed for convenience and durability

• Updated, hi-tech look to match successful hitch line, consistent with today’s vehicle styling
• Improved wing-knob makes raising and lowering bike arms effortless and prevents the loss of hardware
• Features new T3 cradles, which provide the ultimate control without sacrificing bike frame fits and adjustability
• Accommodates a wider range of fits
• 955 Anti-Sway Cage upgrade available
• Includes heavy-duty strap to secure bikes
• carries 2 Bikes up to 75 lbs.

 

 

Product Reviews

Customer Reviews

Customer Rating:  3.6 stars based on 7 reviews

Customer Rating: Works great with my 2008 Jeep Wrangler Sahara By M. Grant I just returned from a weekend camping trip, my first using this product, and I have nothing but good things to say about it. It was simple to install. I was concerned that my spare tire (the standard tire from Jeep) might be too big, but it fits wonderfully. I was able to take my men's mountain bike and my girlfriend's women's mountain bike down the freeways and back-roads of Southern California without any issues from the rack. Getting the bikes mounted is pretty easy. It was a little different with my girlfriends bike since the bike has different bar angles, but I was able to make it work. I used my bike lock as an additional tie-down just in case, but it wasn't necessary. This morning I took the bikes off and the system easily collapses flat against the tire. You could even take the whole thing off between trips if you don't like the look of the rack. Its so easy to put back on! I shopped around and found Amazon was a bit cheaper than most. Customer Rating: Will Not Fit 2008 Toyota RAV4 By Steve VanderMeer After returning the Yakima Spare Joe that wraps around the spare tire, because of excessive vibration on the highway, I purchased the Thule Spare Me. It looks much more solid than the Yakima, being bolted on rather than held in place by nylon webbing. Unfortunately if you are a Toyota RAV4 owner, your 2008, and possibly 2007 model will not accommodate this rack. Toyota has put a senseless little flange on the spare tire mount that effectively blocks the Thule mounting plate from being secured to the vehicle. A hack saw may be the best solution to this problem, but I don't think Thule should be claiming compatibility with the 2008 RAV4 without a very large asterisk. Customer Rating: Not for large tires By Preston Price I purchased this rack for my '08 Jeep Rubicon but learned too late that this rack is only for small spare tires. The size of my spare tire prevents the arms of the rack from opening fully so I can not properly lock them open. Customer Rating: Solid product & installed on 08 RAV4 By Southpaux For owners of '06-'09 RAV4s, getting a bike rack that fits onto the spare tire isn't straight forward. As others have mentioned, getting a bike up on the roof is difficult and eliminates other roof storage. For me, I sometimes take my bike to work and ride from there, which is problematic since I park in a garage and height clearance also makes a roof rack not practical. I initially heard about the difficulty of installing this rack in a newer model RAV4 because of the metallic flange on the spare tire mount (see Customer Images above). I decided to try the Yakima Spare Joe 2-Bike Spare Tire Mount Rack, but found that it rubbed against the rear windshield wiper and long-term use of a loaded rack would have probably broken the wiper eventually. I was also not impressed with the "strap-on" systems which appeared a bit flimsy and easy to steal. I returned it to Amazon a bit disappointed and worried that I would have to buy a hitch mount for the RAV4 ($150 from ebay) in addition to a hitch-mounted bike rack ($100+). For some reason, I didnt really like the look of the hitch bike racks that are currently available (some of the single arm ones (Surco BT300 Spare Tire Mount Bike Rack, Up To 3 Bike Capacity) make the car look like it has a tail). RAV4 owners also know the problem of having a hitch-mounted rack is that it makes it difficult to easily open the rear door with bikes mounted. So, I took a tip from one of the other posters on here and decided to just remove the metallic flange to allow for the Thule 963 to fit on my car. I liked the look, two support arms, easy tie-down w/ grooves for my bike cables, locking mechanism to prevent theft, and the fact that it mounts to the spare tire rack for a secure fit. It also allows me to open the door with the bikes mounted. Instead of using a hacksaw, I took it to a local auto-body repair shop with the mounting bracket and explained that I wanted them to cut it off and file it down to be flush. [Note: the bracket doesn't support any weight of the spare tire and wasn't even on models '05 and earlier. Also, I own the car, so I don't mind making modifications.] For about $30 bucks and 10 minutes of their time, I was able to have it removed. They even put a little paint on where it was cut off, so you can't even really tell it was ever there in the first place. From there, it was simple to install - etrailer.com has a great demonstration video online. I posted the pictures of the final product here on Amazon. It fits great and feels very sturdy, not to mention looks good. I'm looking forward to a full season of riding! Hopefully this helps some other RAV4 owners out there! Customer Rating: Works Great on my Jeep By Loin Burger Some other reviewers have good points about the downsides of this rack. Even though for myself, it has worked great so far, I have to give the bike rack 4 stars because the downsides are real. I've got an 05 Jeep Wrangler with a stock 30" spare and the rack fits great. If the diameter of the spare was much bigger (couple inches), I could see that being a problem. Also, my spare tire is centered well, and my bikes still stick out a little on each side. So be wary if your spare is very off center (the rack can be adjusted to compensate for maybe 6" to either side). The bars are about 18" apart (measuring to the outside extremities). For me, so far it fits our smallest bike. But if you don't have at least 18" of space within the frame of your bike then you'll be in trouble. If the above concerns don't apply to you, then you'll probably love this rack. We took 2 bikes on a 500 mile trip this weekend and the rack worked great. It feels sturdy, and the bikes didn't bounce around at all. It's really great that you can lock the rack to the car - and in turn, lock the bikes to the rack. All in all, for the money, this is a terrific little bike rack! Customer Rating: Spare me works great By G. Ewald "Toast lover" Nicely constructed. Adjusts for off center spare tires a bit. Locking knob is a good addtion...assuming I don't lose the key. There are two downsides to this rack...having to remove the tire cover and keep it off while the rack is mounted, and if the bike doesn't have a normal top tube (aka a "girls" bike) it can be a challenge to mount. Customer Rating: Bikes hanging off to the side of the car! By J. Fabbri "jackiefab" Great and simple rack IF you have a spare tire that is reasonably well centered on the back of your car. I have a Honda CR-V, the spare is on the right side - and even with the rack adjustment for non-centered spares, my bikes hung 8-10 inches off the side of he car. If you get this rack with a non-centered rack, get some orange visibility flags! 1-7 of 7

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