Anthony:

I installed a Paulchen last summer and experienced the same 1/2" gap you are
talking about.  I found that it disappeared if I mounted a bike on the rack,
so I just went ahead and tightened the thumbscrews all the way down with a
couple of bikes mounted on there.   I have had it off 6 times or so in the
last 6 months, and it all appears to be working beautifully.

As to those little extender legs, I have not used them.  The only reason I
would be likely to use them is if I was going to carry a 100lb ice chest
full of stuff back there.  (Maybe this weekend!).  I have carried two bikes
and misc. junk strapped to the rack on a 3,000+ trip last summer, without
those bumper supports, over some very rough roads, without a single problem.

Brent Christensen
'89 GL Syncro Westy
Santa Barbara, CA

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
> Of Anthony L. Mourkas
> Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2000 5:34 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Paulchen Bike Rack Setup Question
>
>
> I spent the earlier part of this evening setting up a
> Paulchen bike rack
> I purchased used on my 84 Westy.  When I tighten the brass thumbwheel
> screws that secure the lower brackets to the rack, they
> become very tight
> with about .4" remaining space betwwen the upper edge of the
> bracket and
> the lower bar on the rack.  Is this the way the design is
> supposed to be?
>  How tight do you Paulchen owners tighten these screws?
>
> Also after mounting the rack to the hatch I attached the two
> auxilliary
> legs that rest on the bumper.  These did not seem to be able to be
> adjusted downward firmly enough to be actually supporting part of the
> weight.  Should I set these up *before* tightening the above mentioned
> bracket mounting screws and let the screws pull things together and
> create a little tension?
>
> Thanks for your help!
>
> Tony
>
> Anthony L. Mourkas
> Hampden, Maine, USA
>

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