

| Subject: | Re: Bike Rack Rec |
| From: | Don Hanson |
| Date: | Tue, 29 Dec 2009 07:50:26 -0800 |
If you have the rain gutter mount Yakima towers...What I do is mount them right on the hatch using the edges of the hatch to hook the clamps over. I took some short peices of Westie curtain track and screwed that right onto the hatch to "land" the "feet" of the towers into....It takes the place of the rain gutter. You can make the racks work without putting on the curtain track, but I think it makes the rack more secure. I positioned the screws so they are below the ends of the rack 'feet' and I used some round head stainless steel screws, which 'catch' the racks from sliding down, if the clamps should come free or loosen up with vibration. I had visions of my upper rack failing it's grip and letting my expensive racing bikes dangle along on the pavement at highway speed... I sometimes have up to four bikes and as many as 8 wheels on the van, easily 4-5 times the total worth of my van.. http://picasaweb.google.com/dhanson928/Summer09?authkey=Gv1sRgCKzYpKnE8MDODg#5420677067085149282 When I travel alone I use a fork mount and carry my main bike inside as shown in the one pic. If I camp I take the bike round back and hang it on the rack overnight. I use those electrical conduit hatch strut overlays to hold my hatch open normally, but with bikes mounted it's quite a load, so I use an additional 'prop' just in case. That prop is simply an oak peice with a short 1/4"dowel in one end, sticking out about 1/2" inch. I drilled a hole in the hatch for the dowel to insert, then you slide the other end (bottom end) into the groove in the bodywork that takes the weatherstrip for the hatch. That way, on windy days the hatch won't get blown up and let the 'stick' fall out. Be aware that if your bikes are on the hatch and you do any dirt road-dusty road driving, the dust gets drawn up behind the van and really collects on the bikes. I like them back there rather than on the roof..for clearance issues, for aerodynamics and it make a handy 'work stand' for minor tune-up. Two Cruiser bikes might be a bit heavy when opening and closing the hatch. Don Hanson On Mon, Dec 28, 2009 at 1:57 PM, Michael Sullivan <sandwichhead@gmail.com>wrote: > Just wanna put two cruisers on the hatch. Have Yakimn racks on top, w/o > bikes attachemnt, but prefer hatch mount. Any recs for a cheap install? > thanks. > Michael in San Antonio > 91GL AT 'Gringo' > 73 Beetle >
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