Help – thule velocompact owners

just had towbar fitted and went to fit new thule velocompact – goes on the ball fine, but cannot fully clamp the handle down, have eased off the tension as much as the knob allows, still cant push it down. Don’t want to use too much force in case I knacker it. Is there some way of reducing the tension further to enable it to clamp? Or some sort of magic knack to it?

The manual is bloody useless and online vids show it going straight on and the handle just going straight down….

clean the paint off the ball? might not need too much difference in effective ball size to stop the clamp going over centre with the lever.

Tried jiggling the carrier on the towbar?

yes, I found with my Thule that adjusting the angle it was at in relation to the ball made it easier to use the clamp

Tried jiggling the carrier on the towbar?

That, it can be a little funny to get on, you need to put it on straight as even a small angle can mean it doesn’t sit on the ball properly

hmmm got to head to work now so will have to have a go again tomorrow – its a bit heavy to be jiggling about to get it to clamp properly. Does removing the bottom plastic cover thing make any difference?

Does removing the bottom plastic cover thing make any difference?

Wait, you don’t have the cover on the ball do you?  Remove that for sure.

But as above, settle it on the tow ball, hold the rail nearest you and the handle, jiggle so it settles and lower handle.

We had to return a velocompact to thule when it suffered this problem. It was 18 months old, not brand new but had not been used much. Thule send a new one within a week.

EDit – sorry slightly different problem – couldn’t raise the handle up to open the clamp to get it on the ball. Handle felt locked down. May not be related.

I have to tilt mine so the reg plate end is slightly higher than the tow bar end in order for it to clamp on

No cover on the ball, plastic bit I’m referring to is the bit you clip on under the clamping mechanism as part of building it. It clips off with a screwdriver

Sounds like a different issue mentioned above, I can’t get the handle to lockdown and feel like I’m putting as much pressure through and risking breaking it by levering it with all my weight and trying I force it closed. Sounds like it maybe I need to get it at the right angle

On mine I have the same.

For me it is Solved by lifting the clamp end up on the ball (in fact lift the whole thing up) and then closing it. Lift with the clamp in the horizontal,just about to close position since if you open the clamp then it will come off the ball when lifted.

Fitted a reversing camera to mine the other day as I’m so used to having one one the car I’ve got lazy.

I sort of gently drop mine onto the hitch and that seems to locate it nicely, only an inch or so, nothing too dramatic.

Just bought one of these so something to be mindful of.

I’m having the same issue, picked up my new car this week and I’m sick of putting bikes on the roof so bought a velospace xt2.

Initially couldn’t get it to lock into position but with the dial set all the way to minus and a bit of wiggling I eventually managed to get the handle on the carrier to go all the way down and it seems sturdy.

So finally fitted this afternoon, have to hold the rack every so slightly up on the ball to get it to clamp

Next problem with the truely shit Thule manuals. I’m trying to fit a 4th bike adaptor. I cannot get it clamped tight on the track of the third rail, in the manual it says 4nm, I’m at as bastard tight as I can do by hand and the 4th rack can still move, doubtful very much it would come off, but I can slide it up and down the rail and it wobbles a bit up and down.

Anyone else with a 4th adaptor? Does yours have movement in before you clamp a bike into it? Can you slide the rail along and up and down slightly?

I have to have mine the front a little higher than the tow bar end, and it has to line up
just right, complete pita but once mastered it’s no problem.

My older one fitted regardless the new ones have to line up perfectly but they do feel more secure.

Anyone else with a 4th adaptor? Does yours have movement in before you clamp a bike into it? Can you slide the rail along and up and down slightly?

I’ve got one and my memory is that it feels quite secure but I haven’t used it for a good while now.  It’s buried under a pile of stuff at the moment but if no-one else replies then I’ll dig it out and take a look if you like.  what i do remember is that it required a bit of fiddling to get it to grip the third rail just right.  Is it possible your’s is sitting on correctly?

Thanks would appreciate it. It’s definitely loose I can slide Left and right along the third rail with a bit of effort even when tightened as hard as I can

The manual mentions a click when putting it on but I’m not getting anything like that it seems way to loose. If you could take a closeup of where the two clamps fit to the third rail that would be super helpful, maybe I’ve done something wrong….can’t see any other way to clip it in.

Or is there a special wiggle it about knack like the towbar clamp

sure, I’ll take a look when I get home today

Ok, fired the 4th rail on.  It’s tight but there might be a slight bit of play on the left hand side and nothing on the right.  No way is it moving from side to side.  Both knobs are hand tight rather than finger tight.

1.  A bit out of focus on the key part but the 4th rail grips quite snugly.  There is a bit of space at some points rather than being an exact fit

2. To show you the spacing.  By loosening the bolt at the rail side (next pic) you can spread the arms apart so that they sit properly on the 3rd rail.  Otherwise you can have difficulty getting them to fit

3. That’s one of the bolts to loosen to move the arms apart

4. If you haven’t done so already it’s worth sticking some foam around the upright so save you chipping the paint on the boot if you forget to lower the bikes before opening it.  That has happened more often than I am happy with myself about

Hi there really appreciate the help, moved the supports wide like your picture, and also twisted them slightly by loosing on the 4th rail. Now seems much more secure but I’ve still had to crank the handle up as tight as I can and there is still a small amount of play on the right support. The setup is definitely wider than the instructions stated, and done up much tighter than spec. I’m half tempted to call Thule as I’m still not completely happy with it, and now I have a nicely scratched up rack trying to get the bloody thing to tighten properly. I,m looking to carry a weeho which weighs 14kg so I’m possibly being a bit paranoid about the fitting but I was expecting more from a premium product from Thule,

The setup is definitely wider than the instructions stated

I might be wrong then.  I just adjusted things until I got something that seemed solid.  When I had them narrower it was difficult to get it to clip together properly 🙁

edit: just checked and I seem to be within spec.  All they have said is that the distance from the outer edges to the arms should be less than 355m and I’m at 270mm which is indeed less.  I see also that they appear to supply two ‘stickers’ of some sort that should go on the outer edge of the 3rd rail that would take up a very slight amount of movement.  I didn’t get those ‘stickers’ as I got the 4th rail already fitted by my garage and they probably didn’t read the instructions 🙂

I read the instructions as they should be at 355 which places them just on the inside of the silver supports rather than 355 or less

I got the stickers but they are trashed now, might put some helicopter tape on in the new wider position. I think that would hopefully sort that last bit of wobble

actually, looking at the instructions in detail the 355 is ~355 rather than -355 so I think you are right.  The only question is whether 270 is what they consider to be ‘around’ 355.  I’m still comfy with it though

edit: as a test I just moved the arms inboard to 355 and it holds just as securely but it’s a bit more difficult to fit the 4th rail.  I had to clip it on the inside of the 3rd rail and push down a bit harder before tightening up the knobs but it still worked ok

Well its definitely more secure now the arms are spaced wider, the profile of the rail changes as it gets wider, it flattens out so the clamps can get better purchase than the narrower position the manual states…

Going to drop thule a mail just to check I’m covered for warranty if I use it in the wider position – if not I’ll be asking for a replacement