# 1up hitch rack loosening on twisty roads?



## monkies (Jun 10, 2007)

I've noticed a weird thing with my 1up the last 2 weeks...I've been using the single rear hitch mount carrier for months without EVER needing to tighten it. However, the last 2 weeks I've hit up this trail (Demo in Santa Cruz, CA) where the road to get there is kind of windy. Both times, by the time I've gotten home (approx 1hour 15 min drive each way), the rack is wobbling...I mean I can shake it. This past weekend I checked the rack when I got to the trail and it was still tight, but once I got home, it was loose! 

Didn't know if anyone had issues with the rack if it's swaying hard on twisty roads, or if coincidentally there's something up with it the last couple of weeks. Note that this is the longest I've traveled with the rack on the car, usual rides take about 30 - 45 min to get to and never had an issue with the rack loosening up.


----------



## thickfog (Oct 29, 2010)

I bought a new car necessitating a new hitch. On my old car my oneup was perfect and never came loose. 

With my new car/hitch, it always came loose. The new hitch receiver was sloppy. I switched out my hitch and all is fine. The new hitch is a much tighter fit to the oneup. I think the interface with a oneup is very important. There's only so much the expander ball can do without a good hitch fit. 

Is your rack very loose in the hitch with the ball not tightened?


----------



## monkies (Jun 10, 2007)

Yeah when the ball is not tightened, it's wobbly (2" hitch)...then again, one person's wobbly is another person's stable. It's just weird that this has happened only recently on trips that were longer with more back/forth car movement. I'll see what happens this weekend.


----------



## Tom93R1 (Jan 26, 2005)

I have never had problems with mine coming loose except when on really bumpy off road type situations that get it rocking side to side. I just got back from about 1500 miles road trip, tight as can be except about a half mile off-road excursion with some pretty harsh side to side. In that short drive it loosened up and really got to bouncing side to side. No matter how tight I crank the expander ball this driving situation will make it loose.


----------



## mbmtb (Nov 28, 2013)

i have the same problem. talked about it in http://forums.mtbr.com/car-biker/1up-loose-967716.html but no real info there.

thinking of calling them tomorrow about this.

the hitch receiver is not a tight fit. the ball has been tightened enough that there's a dimple in the receiver now! and a bunch of wear on the tongue of the rack from where it bounces around--it loosens unpredictably. 80 miles of twisty roads? no problem. 150 miles of mostly straight freeways? loose. bumpy dirt roads? almost always loose!


----------



## OldZaskar (Oct 18, 2007)

When you're tightening the 1Up, lift it up a bit - you'll see it gets loose again. Then keep tightening, lift/wiggle... tighten.


----------



## -Todd- (Jun 13, 2011)

Perhaps an investment in a set of Nord Lock washers to maintain pressure on the fastener? Might be all it needs to make it reliable.

Nord-Lock wedge-locking washers | Secure your critical bolted joints with the original lock washer from the bolting experts


----------



## ltspd1 (Nov 25, 2007)

Tom93R1 said:


> I have never had problems with mine coming loose except when on really bumpy off road type situations that get it rocking side to side. I just got back from about 1500 miles road trip, tight as can be except about a half mile off-road excursion with some pretty harsh side to side. In that short drive it loosened up and really got to bouncing side to side. No matter how tight I crank the expander ball this driving situation will make it loose.


My experience exactly. After driving over 1,000 miles with absolutely no loosening, today I took it off road on a mildly rough logging road. Even though I drove very conservatively, the rack loosened dramatically...twice. Up till now I've been a big advocate of this product, but now I'm not sure I can recommend it to anyone who takes it off road, even for short distances.


----------



## monkies (Jun 10, 2007)

-Todd- said:


> Perhaps an investment in a set of Nord Lock washers to maintain pressure on the fastener? Might be all it needs to make it reliable.
> 
> Nord-Lock wedge-locking washers | Secure your critical bolted joints with the original lock washer from the bolting experts


You should send this to 1UP  I don't think (and this would probably void the warranty) users can access the bolt mech to put this on but I don't know...they have a knob that is turned with a custom allen key that allows you to tighten the ball to the hitch. Don't know if that knob comes out for mods. Even if so, a $$$$ rack should stay on.

My experience with the loosening wasn't bumpy off roading, but tight windy roads. But driving on highways, long trips, etc...the thing is solid tight...it's on my car all the time and never taken off. Odd what causes some users to knock the ball loose.


----------



## Fargo1 (Oct 19, 2012)

I've been trying to decide between a 1 up and some other brands. I realize the 1up is a great rack. But something like this makes me really question if it is worth $250 more than a comparable Yakima/Thule (4bikes).

Can the ball system be removed and just put a traditional hitch pin through it?


----------



## canker (Jul 26, 2007)

If your paranoid like I am that solves the problem. That was just a temp setup and it now has a padlock on both ends and the chain is tighter. Now even of the ball completely fails the rack can't slide out more than a quarter of an inch or so.

Guess I should ad I've never had an issue with mine coming loose.


----------



## ltspd1 (Nov 25, 2007)

monkies said:


> You should send this to 1UP  *I don't think (and this would probably void the warranty) users can access the bolt mech to put this on *but I don't know...they have a knob that is turned with a custom allen key that allows you to tighten the ball to the hitch. Don't know if that knob comes out for mods. Even if so, a $$$$ rack should stay on.
> 
> My experience with the loosening wasn't bumpy off roading, but tight windy roads. But driving on highways, long trips, etc...the thing is solid tight...it's on my car all the time and never taken off. Odd what causes some users to knock the ball loose.


Something I thought about as well. Not sure what would happen if I backed the bolt all the way out. Anybody tried?


----------



## bob_m (May 17, 2013)

mbmtb said:


> i have the same problem. talked about it in http://forums.mtbr.com/car-biker/1up-loose-967716.html but no real info there.
> 
> thinking of calling them tomorrow about this.
> 
> the hitch receiver is not a tight fit. the ball has been tightened enough that there's a dimple in the receiver now! and a bunch of wear on the tongue of the rack from where it bounces around--it loosens unpredictably. 80 miles of twisty roads? no problem. 150 miles of mostly straight freeways? loose. bumpy dirt roads? almost always loose!


Did you ever contact 1up about this issue, curious as to what they said. I was considering this rack but this has me worried like others have posted. Question, I see that 1-up as a solid 2" receiver mount, do you feel that would work better that using the basic model with the supplied 2" adapter? -Bob


----------



## skt4271 (Oct 29, 2014)

Fargo1 said:


> I've been trying to decide between a 1 up and some other brands. I realize the 1up is a great rack. But something like this makes me really question if it is worth $250 more than a comparable Yakima/Thule (4bikes).
> 
> Can the ball system be removed and just put a traditional hitch pin through it?


I'd be more interested if it used regular pin too.


----------

