> heres the scoop: use yakima racks only (round bars).  mount "widebody"
>mounting tabs onto westfalia top, the way most people mount them only
>right near the back of the van before the fiberglass roof hinges (requires
>four holes in fiberglass).  next mount two "toploader" style clips on the
>rear hatch, just under the rear window.  works fine with bikes, plenty
>secure.  cant open the hatch when bikes on though, but they come off
>plenty easy.

regards,

alex
'87 sw

On Tue, 22 Apr 1997 SyncroHead@aol.com wrote:
>
>> In a message dated 97-04-21 19:17:54 EDT, cdouglas@proaxis.com (Chet Douglas)
>> writes:
>>
>> > Why not buy a decent Thule or Yakima and mount it vertically on the
>> >  back?? I have seen alot of people do this.  Then you can take advantage
>> >  of all of the other attachments for those racks....
>>
>> You say that like you can just look up "Vanagon rear hatch" in the Thule or
>> Yakima book and buy one.  Not the case.  Any solution like this is going to
>> require a bit of thought and work on the owner's part.  I've got a bunch of
>> Thule racks and parts & I've toyed around with this idea for some time and
>> haven't come up with a solution I like yet.  Mounting the main rails side to
>> side is a problem because the rack would tend to slide down and the sides of
>> the top of the hatch are not parallel.  Mounting top-to-bottom baiscally
>
>I have mounted a Yakima side to side using the towers that have about 5
>squre inches of foam rubber that is clamped to the surface of the hatch.
>The Yakima will also compensate for the non-parrallel upper portion
>because it's mounting towers swivel 360 deg.  I am not familiar with
>Thule, I personally never liked them because their bars are square, so
>with an arching roof all the angles get messed up, as opposed to Yakimas
>round bars which let you adjust the components to fit the bend of the
>roof.  Thules fairing is also a very poor design.
>
>> hangs all the weight on the top of the hatch through 1 pair of mounts - a
>> condition these mounts were not designed for.  More elaborate means can be
>> used for mounting, but this requires cutting and bending of the bars, etc...
>>
>> Do you have any specific solutions to suggest on how to accomplist this
>> "Thule-or-Yakima-on-the-rear-hatch"  thing?
>>
>> Regards,
>> Jim Davis
>> 87 GL Syncro
>> 88 GL Wolfsburg
>>
>
>Cory
>'86 Westfalia
>Yakima Dealer ( Just Kidding! Just Kidding!)

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