Thule Archway Trunk Bike Racks Review - 2012 Chevrolet Traverse

Review of the Thule Archway Trunk Bike Racks on a 2012 Chevrolet Traverse

Today on our 2012 Chevrolet Traverse, we're going to be test fitting the Thule Archway 2 bike carrier. Part number TH9009XT. This is for both trunks and hatches. As you can see we already have a bike on our rack. Let's go ahead and take a closer look at some of the features. First off, I'd like to point out, this has 3 points of contact with your bike frame. You have 2 straps up here, and 1 anti-sway strap down here, which keeps the bike from gong back and forth and possibly bumping into the bike you have in front of it, or even into the car if it we're close enough.

Lets go ahead and take this off. It's always a good idea to reattach your straps just so they're not flapping around when you're driving or possibly losing them when you're driving. One thing I want to do here, is I want to give you one measurement that's going to give you the distance from the back of the hatch to the end to show you how much you've added to the end of your vehicle. That looks to be about to the end here, about 25 inches. These arms are adjustable, and if you want to fold them down, you have these knobs on either side. You just flip them out like so.

Then turn to the left to loosen and the right to tighten. We want to loosen them up. This can be a little difficult at times, but you kind of have to shake it back and forth to get the arms loose. You can see here these teeth are what hold it in place. Just let it down gently, then just start to tighten it back up.

There we go. Okay, now we'll do that same measurement we just did with the arms folded down. It's good to have it like this when you're in close quarters situations, such as parking, or if you're in your garage. Looks to be about, to the end here, just about 10 inches. All right. How this bike rack actually attaches to your car, it has 6 points of contact. You have 2 rubber coated hooks up at the top of the hatch.

Then you have one here, and one down here. This is going to be the same on both sides for your other attachment points. How these things tighten down is you have these cam buckle levers which you pull yourself, and then tie off the slack. Same thing goes for the ones on the side, and the bottom. This bike rack also has padding to protect your rear windshield as well as rear bumper. It is important to note that with this model you can't use your windshield wiper blade in the rear. Also, if you come over here, you'll see this dial. It's kind of hard to see the numbers, but this is how you adjust it to fit your specific vehicle. For the Chevrolet Traverse, you want it set at 9. Which you will find in your instructions. There you have it. For the Thule Archway 2 bike rack for trunks or hatches. Part number TH9009XT on our 2012 Chevrolet Traverse. Here it is on our test course. We'll start by going through the slalom. This is going to show us the side to side action, which simulates turning corners, or evasive maneuvers. Next, we're at the alternating speed bumps, which we'll see the twisting action. This will simulate hitting a curb or pothole, or driving over uneven pavement. Finally, we have the full speed bumps, where we'll see the up and down action. Which is just like driving out of a parking lot, garage, or driveway.