

| Subject: | Re: Vanagonginity lost... |
| From: | Bob Stevens |
| Date: | Mon, 28 Jun 2010 19:28:18 -0600 |
Congratulations! Bike rack: I used a roof-gutter mount rack on my hatch for several years. I modified the towers slightly so the tower feet would rest on the metal between the window and the hatch edge for the top bar, and mounted the towers for the bottom bar near the bottom of the hatch. Since the hatch is narrower at top than bottom, the more bikes (4 total at one time) and weight mounted, the harder the top bar/towers pulled down, pinning the entire assembly very firmly to the hatch given that they were "connected" by the bar. I mounted fork mounts on top, rear wheel cup mounts on bottom. All fork mounts had locks, top and bottom feet had locks. I used front wheel mounts hanging from the top bar and a plastic-coated chain to lock everything together when I wanted to keep the front wheels on back, in populated areas. They probably don't make those kinds of towers any long. I found mine at a bike rack shop in a cardboard box in a back room .... discarded rack parts by employees. Yakima was the brand. Heated feet: you likely need to replace the heater valve that is up inside the clamshell where the spare tire is stored. Common problem. An alternative to doing that if replacing that valve does not resolve this problem (as in my case!) is to remove the glove box and you'll see 2 heater hoses left of that opening. I cut a 2" section of hose out and put a ball valve there and it completely resolved that part of the hot foot issue. The other issue there is poor insulation on the front steel "firewall" that is just behind the radiator, and where the radiator hoses then run down and rearward through the tunnel under the van. Insulation on that front wall helps with this considerably. Bob
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