I wasn't sure whether I should post this in "Expedition Builds," "60-Series Wagons," or "Bicycling," but I wanted to share this simple little project that I fabbed up, and figured that it'd be more useful here than in the forums that I read more frequently.
We went on a family vacation last week, and wanted to bring along the kids' bikes. There wasn't enough room in the wagon, and I didn't feel like spending the $100+ for decent bike carriers, so I built two of these for about $50, total. Besides the money savings, these are a little longer than most similar models, so I can have my cross bars mounted a bit farther apart--which is good for when I carry my canoe.
The parts list for two racks was pretty simple: a 10' length of Superstrut electrical channel (~$16 from Home Depot); 2 Delta Cycle lockable hitches (~$28 for both, shipped, from Amazon); a 2' length of 2" diameter plastic sewage pipe; some bolts, u-bolts, nuts, washers, and rattle can Rust-Oleum.
I cut the channel into two 52" lengths and two 8" lengths, and then welded the short pieces onto the long pieces to make long T's, which I then primed and spray-painted. I bolted the hitches to the small end of the T's, sawed the pipe in half lenthwise, and bolted the half pipes near the tail end of the T's. Finally, the whole assembly got attached to my Yakima cross-bars with three u-bolts (a 1" one at the tail end, and two 1 1/2" ones a the front end).
Here you can see one of the racks, fully installed and mounted on the roof of my FJ60:
To mount the bikes, I take off their front tires and secure the forks in the hitches, and then tie the rear tires into the half pipes with lengths of rope. For good measure, I also used a bungie cord on the front end of each bike, in case the hitch slipped undone--but, frankly, that's a bit of overkill. My sister called the setup "Ghetto Fabulous," but these racks are totally solid, and I'm really pleased with the result.
And, for good measure, here's a gratuitous picture of the Cruiser on the deck of the Cape May-Lewes Ferry last week:
We went on a family vacation last week, and wanted to bring along the kids' bikes. There wasn't enough room in the wagon, and I didn't feel like spending the $100+ for decent bike carriers, so I built two of these for about $50, total. Besides the money savings, these are a little longer than most similar models, so I can have my cross bars mounted a bit farther apart--which is good for when I carry my canoe.
The parts list for two racks was pretty simple: a 10' length of Superstrut electrical channel (~$16 from Home Depot); 2 Delta Cycle lockable hitches (~$28 for both, shipped, from Amazon); a 2' length of 2" diameter plastic sewage pipe; some bolts, u-bolts, nuts, washers, and rattle can Rust-Oleum.
I cut the channel into two 52" lengths and two 8" lengths, and then welded the short pieces onto the long pieces to make long T's, which I then primed and spray-painted. I bolted the hitches to the small end of the T's, sawed the pipe in half lenthwise, and bolted the half pipes near the tail end of the T's. Finally, the whole assembly got attached to my Yakima cross-bars with three u-bolts (a 1" one at the tail end, and two 1 1/2" ones a the front end).
Here you can see one of the racks, fully installed and mounted on the roof of my FJ60:
To mount the bikes, I take off their front tires and secure the forks in the hitches, and then tie the rear tires into the half pipes with lengths of rope. For good measure, I also used a bungie cord on the front end of each bike, in case the hitch slipped undone--but, frankly, that's a bit of overkill. My sister called the setup "Ghetto Fabulous," but these racks are totally solid, and I'm really pleased with the result.
And, for good measure, here's a gratuitous picture of the Cruiser on the deck of the Cape May-Lewes Ferry last week:
