Bike Rack Help/Suggestions

eh i don't know about that.  would it fit if you did this? probably, but it would also void any type of liability on the rack manufacturers part if it falls off on the interstate.  this would also reduce the edge distance of the hole, which in turn would increase the chance of the hole shearing out.  have you tried tapping it in with a hammer?  is the hitch just not deep enough for the rack?

What size hitch?  My Yakima came with an adapter that converts 1 1/4 to 2 inch.

I should try the hammer, but yes, the hitch is not quite deep enough.

I also have visions of the whole thing flying off the car. I understand that by chopping off even a little is likely going to screw up the balance of the rack... and potentially cause a flying off the back of the car event. Just trying to figure it out how we might get it to work. Not to mention we are buying a new minivan in the fall and I would really like to be able to continue using this rack for the indeterminate future.

We might just take the van... but it is really old and crappy. i would rather travel in the luxurious new car - especially through the Rockies.

Depends on what is actually stopping your bike rack from fitting. I had bought a used truck a while back and the first time i went to put a hitch ball in the receiver it wouldn't go in far enough for the pin to line up. There was rust inside the receiver, so with a metal file and little elbow grease i was able to file enough rust away that the hitch ball and/or my bike rack fit in the receiver no problem. I would check that first. If you know for a fact that it is bottoming out cutting half an inch off of rack will not make it fall off the car and will not reduce the stability of the rack itself. Honestly if you found a square piece of pipe the size of your bike rack mount and slid it into the receiver only an inch, which is far less the 8 or so inches would still be left after cutting that half inch off of your rack, you could jump up an down on it without any worry of it supporting you. Those hitches are designed to support hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds, so i wouldn't be the least bit concerned about 50 maybe 60lbs worth of bikes and bike rack. Now saying that, if there is any type of warranty with your rack, cutting it will most likely void any kind of liabilliy that the manufactuer would assume.

Either need an adapter if it is a difference in size from 2" to 1 1/4" or you need to take some sand paper to the inside and take off all of the rust.  The inside gets rusty preventing the rack from going in.  Use oil too.

Awesome info about the rust and sanding. Once my DH gets home with the car tonight... I will investigate how off things are and see if I can file things down and make it fit. It is such a nice rack... I would hate to have to replace it - considering it is likely more valuable than the used van it came with!! We bought the van for $1500 4 years ago... they threw the rack in for no charge!!

Thanks for all your responses.

IF It is just a question of the hole not lining up on the inserted stem then, I would be tempted to just drill a new hole using the hitch hole as a guide but use a bit slightly smaller in size then the current bolt and then securing it with a new slightly smaller bolt 2 washers and a lock washer. you won't be able to use the bolt or lock the rack to the car like you probably can now, but it won't be falling off either.

By making it a bit smaller now you can always tap  the new hole out later to a accept the correct bolt and lock that came with the  rack when you have more time.

probably a 15 minute fix with a half inch drill and a decent drill bit, even if you tap it out now to accept the proper bolt & lock it shouldn't take more then a half hour.

Edited by RRH_88 2012-06-29 10:38 AM