Lowest Price Thule 684 Terrapin Hitch Mount Luggage Box

Buyer Information:
Sex: Male
Age: 36
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Make/Model of Car: 2009 Honda Pilot EX-L w/ 2" hitch receiver and pre-wired hitch harness (it is round with 6 pins all around and a center)

THE ORDER AND THE DELIVERY:
I was planning a trip to Mammoth and wanted the option for extra cargo space. So I researched the web for a hitch mounted cargo storage device. At first I was looking at a metal one and was thinking of tying cargo down with straps, budget was about $200. It costs extra for a cover to lock it securely and a tarp to cover and protect it from the weather elements. The metal crate and extras costs $400+ so I canceled that order because I might as well get an enclosed hitch mounted cargo carrier. I came to the Thule 684 Terrapin. I compared prices from about six different sites (including taxes and shipping) and Amazon was cheapest at $539.95 with free shipping using the Super Saver Shipping option, there was no tax, so a flat $539.95 out the door. I ordered it 10/31/09. I then tracked it online at Amazon and because it was a large shipment UPS, FedEx did not provide service, so Amazon shipped via a company called ABF ( I researched them online and they are a freight company). The tracking said delivery was expected 11/12/09, not too bad. The couple of days before 11/12/09, the expected delivery date, someone from Amazon called my home and said expect the shipment 11/13/09 (Friday instead of Thursday on 11/12/09). Because 11/11/09 was Veteran's Day, Amazon said the item will not come 11/12/09 after all even though their online tracking said so. The Amazon rep also said to be home between 8AM-2PM because a signature delivery is required. I actually had the item delivered to my parents home because someone is always home there and can sign for it. It happened to be delivered on a Friday I was off, 11/13/09. So I showed up at my parent's home around 10AM to be there and 2PM came, still no delivery. 3:00PM came, no delivery. Around this time my wife wanted to go out since we had stuff to do, I figure I'd leave and come back that night to pick up. Around 3:30PM my brother at my parent's home called and said the item came, the delivery driver said he got lost...whatever. So I am a little let down, peeved, that they were late, I wasted half a day there pretty much sitting around doing nothing but wait for this delivery. It came in two boxes, a relatively flat one about 6" in width and a bigger box holding the cargo box. At least both boxes came at the same time, I read other reviews the 2 boxes came separately. The flatter box fitted in my Pilot (seats 8) with the 3rd row folded down and the box propped atop the 2nd row headrest. The bigger box with the cargo carrier in it did not fit in the back nor 2nd seat row. I opened the flatter box with the metal hitch mount and also contained the plastic packs of tools and nuts, etc. That flat box wasted so much room, i took the metal hitch mount out and the plastic bags and they fit well in the back of my Pilot. No big box needed. Now for the Cargo box, very light actually but bulky to handle because of size. It fit in the 2nd row back seat of my Pilot, but it took up the whole space, so it is a fairly long box, that's why I bought it, a lot of extra cargo space! So the order was fairly quick, good tracking status, but the only thing was they were late . . . they said between 8AM-2PM, and they delivered at 3:30PM/

Between the time I ordered on 10/31/09 and its arrival on 11/13/09, I researched online to see if there are any issues I will encounter. I wanted to lights on the Thule box to work so I read the reviews and looked at different websites to see how many pins does my Pilot harness has and how many pins the Thule cargo box has to make sure they can connect to each other since I read reviews where people said they had to buy an adaptor and he bought one at Wal-Mart. It turns out my Pilot has a round hitch trailer harness (6 pins in a circle and a center)--sorry, I do not know much about these things and only because of this did I research it -- and various sites said my Pilot has a 7 pin, but also read 8 pin, so I was not sure. I count only 6 on mine with a center, I guess 7 pins. Anyway, I researched that the Thule cargo box has 4 pins, but did not know if round or flat since I was waiting for it to come. But when it came I wanted to have ALL of the materials I need right then to make it work, so before the shipment came on 11/13/09 I went to WalMart and bought a Hopkins part # 47345, 7 RV blade to 4 wire flat adaptor, costs $11 or so. I do not know why it says "7 RV blade" but all I can say it works. After installing the cargo box and simply plugging in the adaptor to my trailer harness and then the cargo box 4 pin to the adaptor with the 4 pin, the hazard, left turn, right turn lights all worked, easy stuff. More on installation below. Now I have everything I need to install the cargo box when it comes.

THE ASSEMBLY

Left the stuff in the Pilot overnight and also my toolbox in case I need it. The next morning I put everything on the driveway floor and started to skim the installation guides (by the way while waiting for delivery I also went to www.youtube.com and typed in "Thule 684 Terrapin Installation" and there was a video showing yo how to install it, so when I got the stuff I had an idea of what I needed to do). Turns out I did not need my tools, wrenches and socket joints and such. The delivery came with the simple tools you need and hex wrenches.

First, putting together the Thule hitch pin lock it came with . . .

When I laid the plastic bag onto the floor I noticed the plug to the lock was not connected to the internal lock casing, I did not think anything of it. By the way I have one of these locks already since I use the exact same lock type to lock my Thule Bike attachment to my Pilot when I use it. Anyway, the Thule lock was defective, you are suppose to use one key to insert the lock into the lock casing, and then pull the key out and then use the other key to open/lock the lock. The problem was that the lock did not go all the way in. Because I have the same lock for my bike attachment, I compared the locks (lucky I had another of the same lock to compare because otherwise I could not know why it did not work), the defective lock that came, the metal part inside was horizontal so when I inserted the lock into the casing, the vertical part hit the horizontal part, so this blocked it from going all the way in! No wonder the plug I mentioned earlier was not connected to the lock (you are suppose to take it out anyway, so when I first saw it out I did not care), when I tested to put the plug back it, it was blocked from going in. I should say the lock was not defective, but the casing for it. Anyway, I took the lock casing from the bike attachment, and used the lock that came with the Cargo box and inserted it smoothly (very easy if it is now defective), and it worked! I wanted to use the lock that came with the Thule with the casing I used for my bike attachment, because the key to the lock for this casing that came with the cargo box is also the SAME KEY that locks/unlocks the Thule cargo box . . . I wanted one key only. Anyway, now my bike attachment does not have a working lock.

I called Amazon to get another of the same lock since my bike attachment is without one. Their website does not give you their phone # for buyers, if you did enough and really try, you will see a phone number for sellers. I called that one and the rep asked what I needed, after describing my defective lock, she transferred me to the right department. The website only allows you to return the whole shipment whereas all I wanted was a new lock. And they will ship you a new one, but charge you for it unless you return the first item. I did not want this. So I called them via the seller hotline to get transferred over to the buyer section since the website, without telling you is, do not call us, do everything online. Even the seller hotline, they do not give you a number, they ask you to put in your number and they will call you, so basically "don't call us, we'll call you." There is an option to put your number down and call you right away. I did that and in a few second my phone rang, explained the situation, and how I did not want to return what I bought. She looked the part up on her end (the lock) and put me on hold. She came back and said she can either refund me the $ value (they sell the lock separately on Amazon) or give me a credit for the $ of the part when I buy on Amazon and it'll show the credit upon checkout; I wanted a new lock for my bike attachment. I bought it online while asking her to wait to see if it works, and for $44.95 (the cost of a new lock at Amazon) I checked out, chose free super saver shipping, there were no taxes, and upon checkout my cost was $0.00 . . . . yes!!!!!!!! I thank her. Ok, so the driver was late and the lock did not work, two mistakes so far and if I did not have my own lock I'd be more pissed.

Second, mounting the metal support into the hitch receiver . . .

It came in one piece and pretty heavy, if you're strong enough you can lift and insert into the receiver (I did the whole installation myself and I'm only 5'6" and not really strong, average). The metal support has a pin on the right side and you can insert into one of two holes, depending how far out you want the cargo box to stretch out before it is stopped by this metal pin. This cargo box can stretch out so far that it comes around and the front side is horizontal to the car....wow, very nice feature to be able to open the trunk with the cargo box getting in the way. The left side of the cargo box has a latch (I also watched various youtube.com videos on the Thule cargo box before it came to learn about its features), that allows you to unlatch and swing the cargo box away from the car. I inserted the hitch pin that came with the lock and also two washers and tightened using the supplied wrench, and tightened. I did not lock it in place since the lock was defective, eventually I used my bike attachment lock to use as a substitute since they were the same model locks.

Third, installing the cargo box to the metal mount . . .

The cargo box came with a plastic cover you rip away from the top, but it looks like the top of the box was scratched a little still, maybe in the factory where it was made. This was the third negative so far . . . late delivery, defective lock, and now scratches. Anyway, pulled away the inner plastic lining, just use a little force, propped the cargo box atop the metal support mount (light cargo box but bulky to lift/carry if you are not a big person like me, but doable since I did it myself). The cargo box is made of plastic and has drain plugs, seems a little flimsy, especially the hinges that open/close the top part of the box from the bottom half, but sturdy enough, besides other reviews said the same thing but after testing it they were satisfied of its durability, I expect no problems when I go to Mammoth 12/19/09. After aligning the 6 holes at the bottom of the cargo box with that of the holes on the metal support, you put a screw and washer in each hole and use the supplied hex wrench and tighten, put the plastic liner back on, snaps in place with a little force and you are done! You then easily use the velcro ties to attach the cargo pockets that go inside the cargo box, easy.

Fourth, installing the trailer harness to the cargo box so the lights work on the cargo box . . .

The cargo box is prewired, you use the supplied plastic tie down to tie down the cable to the metal support. I first swung the box open to see how far I plan to swing the box away from the car and see how much excess line I should have, then I wrapped the line around the metal support to meet my needs and so it will not drag down to the floor while driving, and use the plastic tie to tie it in place. I attached the cargo box four pin flat to the adaptor I bought at WalMart (Hopkins part # 47345, 7 RV blade to 4 wire flat adaptor, costs $11 or so), and then plugged the adaptor into my Pilot's trailer harness socket. Tested all the light, left, right, hazard lights, they all worked! Easy. At this point I wanted to lock the hitch pin by using the key to lock up the hitch pin to test it as if I was actually going to drive off with everything installed. I was worried when the adaptor unit and lid from the trailer harness socket got in the way of the lock casing, the lock casing seemed to hit the trailer harness cap and also the adaptor itself . . . I was not going to be able to lock the hitch pin and I DID NOT EXPECT THIS, I WAS GETTING WORRIED. After wriggling the lock casing around a bit and trying to make it fit in with the cap up, down, and swiveling the Thule lock casing around, I was able to make it fit and locked the lock. Ok, basically done! But the shipment also came with an optional license plate holder since the cargo box blocked the car's license plate and here in California you need plates to be showing on the back and front.

Fifth, installing the license plate holder . . .

By this time, fussing with the broken lock and installing everything, it was over an hour (had to skim the directions to make sure I was doing everything correctly!), and my wife and I needed to leave to do our errands. I unscrewed the hitch pin lock and the cargo box is now attached to the metal support, very big and bulky. I wanted to carry it up the stairs to store it. It was a two-man job, my brother helped me carry it up home for storage. Next time I just need to insert the metal support into the 2" receiver and lock the hitch pin and attach the adaptor to my Pilot. I am planning to install the license plate frame holder next week. What i can tell you is that I am already looking into ordering a 3rd license plate so I do not have to funble with unscrewing the current one on the back so I can always have one on the cargo box, should have thought of this way before even though some reviews recommended it. Hopefully when I order an extra from the Dept. Motor Vehicles here in California they will let me have a third and it will come before 12/19/09 when I leave to Mammoth, if not, will have to uninstall the back one from the Pilot, no biggie. Just nice to have three and no need to unscrew and then rescrew. I can tell you the optional license plate accessory has its own set of directions, and looks to be prewired, you plug the accessory wiring into the wiring inside the cargo box (this means I will have to pop out the lining again), looks like it is plugging in, no wiring or splicing from what I skimmed of the directions. The accessory also has a lightbulb so the license plate is lit up. It comes with washers and screws, but from the direction it says I need a drill and drill bits of two different sizes to drill holes into the cargo box to attach the accessory lighting and also feed the wires through to the inside of the cargo box to connect. Seems relatively easy and plan to work on next week.

I think all of this review is pretty comprehensive and I think the readers considering purchasing the Thule cargo box will appreciate this fine detail because when I was reading the reviews before purchase I appreciated the details and I tried to include some more details here that I thought the current reviews lacked.

Overall, I am very happy with the item itself, I think it will hold a ton of stuff. It supposedly holds up to 165 pounds and the volume is great since it is deep and also the top part is made such that you can stack stuff up to the top. Nice design, color scheme, easy to assemble and great features such as swinging away from the car and nice touches like the velcro attached pockets inside the cargo box. I recommend it so far,the real test begins 12/19/09 when I leave for Mammoth.

If anyone has ANY questions whatsoever, however detail, email me at darian.chin@gmail.com, I'd be happy to help you answer any questions about this item from the features and installation to aesthetics.
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