EXO SwingBase

Upon eagerly receiving my Exo Swingbase, my excitement was quickly dimmed by discovering that the product was Broken/Defective right out of the box. I understand that manufacturing flaws can occur, but this seems indicative of potential quality control lapses at Yakima as this is a known issue for this product.

Attempting to resolve the issue proved to be a taxing experience. After reaching out to Yakima's customer service, I was asked for photos and videos of the defect. Despite providing these immediately, I was left in limbo for nearly two weeks, having to initiate almost daily follow-ups. While a later representative eventually addressed my concerns (providing a replacement locking arm assembly overnight), the protracted process up to that point was disheartening.

To give credit where it's due, the locking arm assembly was shipped promptly once the issue was finally acknowledged, and installation instructions were provide however were incomplete. But the overall journey left a bitter taste in my mouth. Now, I find myself second-guessing the idea of investing further in Exo Swingbase attachments, wary of both potential product quality and the reliability of the support support.

In conclusion, while Yakima rectified the situation in the end, potential buyers should be cautious. One can only hope that with feedback like this, Yakima takes the necessary steps to enhance both product quality and customer support.

Would think twice before a future purchase.

I have a sprinter RV and this gets stuff outside of the van and leaves more room inside. I have the base and an upper deck with 2 cargo boxes. Stuff that I use every day like hoses, power cords, small clam, chairs, etc go in the top box as easy to get to. Lower box gets clothes, food, and items not needed as often as it takes a little longer to access. Gotta watch the weights but love this setup.

Love this unit! Drove it from the west coast to the east coast w/ the double decker set up! No problems or complaints with our set up. Only thing I can’t find is the maximum weight capacity for the main lower base?

Overall I'm very happy with this product. It seems bomb proof, it's very versatile, and is the type of hitch mounted system you could have for 10-20 years easy. There are a couple things that annoy me. First, it's kind of a pain in the rear to take on and off. You've gotta get down under your car and struggle to wrench it in. Second, It's not really secure. For a system I spent $3K+ on, it should have locking bolts on every connection and bolt, not just the main. It'd be easy for anyone to wrench 90% of it away in five minutes. Living in denver, the bums here will steal anything given the chance. Also, because I tend to keep the base on the hitch when I'm not using it, because it's annoying to take off and store, it's really annoying for anyone with a backup camera/sensors. My car sensors on my 2023 nissan frontier are basically useless in reverse with this attached, and with the top shelf and accessories mounted, forget about it. I've got to turn off the parking sensors every time I reverse, which is just annoying. The other downside is that it takes more time to access my truck bed when I need to quickly access it. With a tonneau cover, it becomes a chore to unlock it, open it up, get what I need from the bed, close it, secure it, etc. Overall, if you're looking for a system that is versatile, built to last, and high quality, I'd still recommend this system to anyone that skis/bikes/camps/needs more storage capacity.

This unit is great for long trips in my LR Defender 110. I used the straight shot hitch extension to clear my spare tire and the lit kit for extra visibility. One thing I don’t like on the lit kit is the rubber plate holder and plastic screws so I had a fab shop make me a metal back plate so my license plate does not swing back and fourth on the highway.

I just bought mine and yes the base itself can be removed with two wrenches. This is a huge problem. Yakima, please design two longer bolts with locking mechanisms that will secure the base to the the tongue. Otherwise it’s a great system. Thank you

What length extender do you require to clear the tire?!?!? It’s no where on your website

I have the basket (GearWarrior, with a rubber latex bag) and the box, with the lights, on the back end of a 2022 Ford Bronco. I just put 12k miles on them (3k on gravel roads including the Dalton, McCarthy road, and the worse west 50 miles of the Denali Hwy - unending potholes). Not much off-road but some; that was fine with the lighter recommended load maximums. Do put the box on top so you can open it easily - having to reverse the TopShelf/basket is a pain. Generally, it all worked well! There are two things to consider. First, the box kept out water (a lot of Alaskan rain) but did leak in some dry dust. Plan on that for what you put into it. Second, the base and LitKit (lights) got pretty beat up by gravel. No rust to speak of but I am going to easy-sand and paint those pieces (including the hitch part and TopShelf part that fits into the Base. Paying almost $2k for this stuff, it makes sense to take care of it. BTW, I had someone try to get into my Bronco through the soft-top but they left the box and basket-bag alone. And if you are wondering, the Bronco was great and I got 21.8 mpg over the 12k miles. And the Curt 18211 bag was great!

Just bought the Swingbase and the Topshelf. This is a great system no doubt. I love to hunt, fish, snowboard, and get out into the mountains. Obviously, a modular system like this one preferred to address all of the needs of those activities. The one big drawback with this system is security. The two bolts that secure the Swing Base itself to the tongue mount are not locked, so anyone wandering around with a 24m socket wrench can essentially pop off the most expensive part of the assembly (the swing base itself). I talked to Yakima and asked if there were any solutions this problem, they pretty much told me there are none.

So, I went to the local hardware store and got myself two M14 10.9 Hex Bolts that are a half inch longer than the factory bolts Yakima sends. I took those and drilled two holes in the ends of them where I plan to do the following:

1. Weld a steel rod through the end of the screw. This serves a dual purpose as it will prevent someone from removing the nut from the bolt and it will prevent the nut from coming loose due to the constant vibration from the road.
2. Use a reinforced padlock instead which will also address what I noted above.

All you need to do this is some oil, a vice, and a drill bit. Make sure you screw a nut at the bottom of the threading before drilling the hole so that after the hole is drilled, the nut can rethread over the hole accordingly. The rethreading is done by simply unscrewing the nut. Make sure you get a replacement nut as the one you use to rethread is likely toast. Further, this does not compromise any of the factory parts that come with the system so it's hard for me to believe this will void the warranty. MAKE SURE THE BOLT IS RATED 10.9 AND IS MEANT FOR OUTDOOR USE! Also, use Loctite and get a Nylon Locknut :).

@Yakima: Please consider the security concerns of your customers of this otherwise genius system!

Hi Gary Dusza, did you consider the hitch extender? Or would that cut the tongue weight in half? I've been trying to get answers out of Yakima tech support. I ended up ordering Swing base from REI and was hoping for a different result than your video depicts. Didn't happen. Doesn't work. Kuat makes a 2" drop hitch extender but the weight rating is only 250lbs.