Forum Discussion

cstooch's avatar
cstooch
Explorer
Jul 30, 2019

Different pin/hole size

Hi all,

So I got a loaner bike rack to use for a trip through the mountains, and I have a concern about the rack and my hitch receiver tube.

The bike rack fits snugly into my hitch receiver. The problem though is that it has holes in it for a 1/2" pin only, and the holes on my hitch receiver for the pin are 5/8". So I'm wondering, if I just use the 1/2" pin that came with the bike rack, am I going to potentially do damage to anything... bend or shear the pin, for example?

This is just a loaner bike rack, should I try and find or buy a different one with the same pin size?
  • BarneyS wrote:
    This Hitch-Vise will solve your problem. I have one and it is by far the best device I have found to cure the movement of the bike rack in the hitch. I use one all the time. I agree with the other posters that say to go ahead and don't worry about the difference in hole size.
    Barney

    X2
    You need a good anti rattle device so you don't get so much play in the receiver,thus magnifying the movement and doing more damage to the bike rack.

    I have tried almost every Anti Rattle device on the market, most have been no good or so complicated and cumbersome that they are useless. Including the Roadmaster type,totally useless.

    Until I found the one at Hitch Rider.

    Their Hitch Vice is the best and easiest one I have come across and it really works.
  • This Hitch-Vise will solve your problem. I have one and it is by far the best device I have found to cure the movement of the bike rack in the hitch. I use one all the time. I agree with the other posters that say to go ahead and don't worry about the difference in hole size.
    Barney
  • zigzagrv wrote:
    For a quick temporary fix, cut a piece of 1/2" copper tubing that will act like bushings for each side of the receiver. OD is 5/8" and should fit snuggly inside receiver holes. Copper is soft, so I wouldn't use it as a permanent fix.


    Thanks, I'll give that a go!
  • ^ Great idea and it'll hold up for a while to help keep the bike rack from wobbling even more than they usually do.
  • For a quick temporary fix, cut a piece of 1/2" copper tubing that will act like bushings for each side of the receiver. OD is 5/8" and should fit snuggly inside receiver holes. Copper is soft, so I wouldn't use it as a permanent fix.
  • @Old-Biscuit: that's what I was figuring, that there probably isn't enough weight on that pin to really do much. Thank you

    @bob213: Unless I'm misunderstanding here, that won't work because the diameter of the hole in the bike rack piece is only 1/2".

    This is what I'm dealing with:


    ***Link Removed***

    So if I used a 5/8" pin, it wouldn't make it into the bike rack. With the 1/2" pin, my rack wobbles, but I'm not sure if that's just the nature of this bike rack, or because of the size difference between the pin and the hitch receiver holes. And I'm a little newbie when it comes to bike racks, so not sure if I should care or if it's no big deal.
  • Wouldn't use a 1/2" pin thru a 5/8" hole in receiver IF I was towing a trailer
    BUT for a bike rack.......not a real concern