Most Popular Platform Rack for 2009 Honda Element

This is the 2nd time I have purchased this bike rack and it a good fit for the Sprinter van. The rack is sturdy and pretty easy to load while not taking up a lot of space. It does take a couple of days to install due to drying times on the adhesives for the rails that mount to the door.

The Thule Elite Van XT2 Bike Rack is just what I expected but the install instructions leave something to be desired. Nothing but pictures trying to describe the install. Even a few poorly worded sentences would have been helpful in some places. I have seen this noted in other reviews and [online]. Otherwise a quality product and I have been able to integrate it with my Kuat swing arm and bike rack that we were already using. I wanted to be able to add a 3rd bike to our setup without extending the length and still be able to open the rear doors without removing a bike. This all worked out with just a little modification. I did move the Thule bike rail install point 1.5" above the center install position to allow clearance over my wife's ebike. See photos.

Almost the perfect bike rack for the Promaster. No complaints after a year of use. Thousands of miles with road bikes, gravel bikes, and modern mountain bikes on there and no problems that weren't my own. And if you are creative, you can use the rack for other things, like carry a storage box or traction tracks. Well worth the money if you want to keep your hitch free for other things.

Absolutely love this rack. We have 2 of the smaller REI e-bikes but they come close to the max recommended weight. I take off the batteries to keep it under. After 1 year we have had no issues. I appreciate the clamp style lock because I also added a cable lock for extra protection and one time while we were hiking someone cut the cable, but the bikes were still securely locked by the rack, so they must have gave up at that point. The only advice I would give (especially when heavier like ours) is that when closing the door, I keep my left hand on the bike to stabilize it so it doesn't "bounce" when the door shuts. I just don't want any unnecessary pressure on the system. Great product overall allows our van to not be any longer than needed.