Will the Curt 13406 Work For a Thule Bike Rack and Will It Still Allow Lift Sensors to Function

Updated 12/22/2020 | Published 12/18/2020

Question:

I am looking to buy the 13406 for a Toyota RAV4 hybrid. Plan to use it for a bike rack. With it being more hidden, do I need an adapter to make it fit a standard Thule bike rack? Or should I get the other heavier hitch? Do all the hitches for this car interfere with the lift gate? And do I need to purchase anything else to make this a working hitch? Christmas present.

asked by: Patti S

Expert Reply:

I'll start off by saying that the Curt # C13406 would work just fine to carry a Thule bike rack since the hitch sticks out far enough to where the center of the hitch pin hole to the back of the bumper is going to be roughly 2-1/2"; so as long as the measurement of the center of the hitch pin hole to the closest part of the rack is greater than that you won't have to worry about it touching the RAV4. Additionally, this is a 2" Class III hitch receiver, so it's going to be well rated for carrying a bike carrier or towing. This hitch does come with all the mounting hardware required, so you won't need to purchase anything else.

When it comes to the liftgate operation, most hitches only affect the operation of the liftgate sensors directly in the area around the hitch. For the Curt # C13406 we're found that this hitch (and all of the available hitches) does limit the effectiveness of those sensors. We haven't had any customers report back that this particular hitch has eliminated the effectiveness of the sensors completely, but it's always a possibility.

expert reply by: Erik B