Thule Elite Van XT Bike Rack

And now yet another update. 5/11/2025.Still going great with many more happy but sometimes bouncy miles. Here's my latest changes:1. There's now a metal shelf attached underneath the bike tray that holds two 2.5 gallon gas cans. I added a bunch of 3M reflective tape as well. I could blather on about the details, but you get the idea. A strap and cable lock to the rack to prevents them (& the bike) from wandering off.2. The 6' x 12' "patio" carpet now rides up on high. It was a simple matter to make strap loops and attachments to keep this always dusty (and occasionally wet) but necessary campsite aid out of the cabin, but still handy.3. The traction board securely straps to the frame as well. I haven't had to use it since I found it on the edge of a not-so dry lake bed after its previous user had gotten unstuck and just kept on going. Thanks, buddy!4. The little plastic clip-on "keepers" for the bike trays up position are easily lost. I use a little velcro strap to keep them secure and the tray from bouncing open when empty.5. That's my gravel bike, a 197O high-end Japanese touring bike. Built for 27" wheels and fenders, it has plenty of clearance for 700x 38-40's. Same slack geometry as what they're pushing now. Everything old is new again. Under $500 invested, Campagnolo 10v / Shimano 3x Hybrid. If the traction board fails me, I'm sure the 28x34 on the bike will get me through.6. Ps. I don't social media. It's too much like Junior High with money and cars mixed in. But don't go poaching my ideas for your "influencer" channel. Ugh. I just want to help potential buyers evaluate this very expensive (trump bump, anybody?, but watch for sales) rack.I updated this on 9/10/23 to correct and clarify and add a bit more.This was installed on my 2017 Ram promaster ( a factory RV conversion). After comparing with the (Fiamma) brand, I felt this was better constructed. Plus I got an extra special deal by getting an Amazon opened box return (lucky me) saving me big $$. Very sturdy and secure feeling, great quality. No wobble or shaking.I carry an old fashioned hardtail (and kinda heavy) mountain bike. I did modify the wheel tray supports to only carry one bike (one tray, now in between the original locations for the two bike trays. I did this to get more clearance for my wide handlebars) as my road bike rides inside, always. I could easily reinstall both wheel trays for two bikes.Perhaps the only real complaint was having to shell out $20 more for the required fancy automotive grade #252 adhesive for the horizontal clamping/ mounting bars, and only needing 1/3 of a tube at best. Why can't Thule include a small tube? Yes, it's a semi permanent install. I know some owners who now regret failing to do this thinking they could cleanly take therack off. I figure it won't fit on much else so it will just live on the back of the RV forever. It folds up unobtrusively and sits high on the door so following motorists can't ignore it when parking behind me. That height could be (is!) an issue for short people with equally heavy bikes. But the alternative is a hitch mount. And when I considered the cost and wobble and issues with blocking the door and needing to swing the loaded rack down or over to get the back door open I went with this. I can still easily open the RV back door from outside or the inside with the bike loaded. That was important to me, since that's the emergency escape door as well as for times when I am using the shower at the back and standing on the ground.Promaster/ Ducato/ etc doors swing 270 degrees normally. You can damage your RV with this rack ifyou were to allow that. I made a stainless steel cable "leash" with snap links and permanent anchor points on door and body to prevent the door from opening more than 90 degrees. That has proven essential on many a windy day.4,000 ( now 21,000) miles in, a bunch of gravel washboard road included, no faults. So far so good, would buy it again.No fake review, no dog in the fight. In fact, I'm really a Yakima guy with tons of rackage from them and I was disappointed they don't make something comparable. Kinda shocked the price has nearly doubled, but that's the class B RV "discount". Get used to it. Also, good to know you can get spare parts at Thule.com

This could have been 4 stars with decent instructions and 5 stars if it weren't $800. And for $800 you would expect they could include useful instructions. There is zero copy, only a series of pictures, contact a customer service, they agreed, but their solution was to look on YouTube.... 🙄

This works well for our Sprinter. It is adjustable enough to carry our bikes just above the rear door mounted spare tire. Fine for our road bikes and mountain bikes. We had to mess around a little to get it to work with our fat tire snow bikes. Unfortunately, Thule does not make adapters for this purpose. This is disappointing given the cost of the rack. We did carry our fat bikes on a 3000 mile trip with no issues after some non permanent additions to the rack.

Poor investment. High mount position makes it challenging or dangerous to load/unload bike. One of the two locks stopped working after one year. In the meantime one of two bikes were stolen from my vehicle - it was mounted in the rack and locked but the thieves had no trouble removing it. The hardware for the rack is poor and falls off after a while. Replacement parts are not easily found. Overall, I think it was a poor choice.

I had a solis on the promaster chassis and it was great. My bikes are very expensive so I like them being up high and can see the handle bar in my rear camera so I know it didn't fall off. Lol! Yes it is high up, does have some adjustments for height. The only con with the promaster is the door will swing open in the wind and the bike frame will dent the side of the van, happened to me. I just baught a Revel Sprinter and going to buy this again for my new van. Best rack and great locking mechanism, I felt safe with it. Trailer hitch bike racks are fine but I liked having the bike rack available all the time.

Mounted on a pro master 2500. The instructions manual sucks, but I did get the rack mounted. I’m 5’9” so I need a step stool to safely lock bikes in and get them out of the rack. So far it has repeatedly whacked me in the back of the head while closing the van door. It takes some practice to remember to duck or dodge out its way. It looks nice, but I’d get a hitch mounted rack if I had a do over.

I'm happy with this rack. It's kind of hard to get a mountain bike with an e-bike rear wheel up that high, but I can BARELY do it. I just use it for one bike, up close to the door to keep the load there.

3 major pieces were missing when I received this item and it was a huge and heavy box to return. Not cool.

Good quality and fits my 2020 Mercedes Sprinter perfectly. You'll need to purchase a strong adhesive suitable for the application separately. I used the recommended Sikaflex 252. Installation is pretty straightforward. I love how the rack doesn't get in the way of opening the rear doors like my trailer hitch bike rack did (even though it could swing away, it was a pain to do that and it still got in the way). The Thule is a better solution — cheaper than installing a trailer hitch and buying a swing-away hitch rack.