Hitch Bike/Ski Rack - Page 2

JoeH · 01-17-2012, 11:24 AM

Anyone have the new bike rack swing arm option from aluminess and care to comment on it? Looks pretty sweet but is a $275 upgrade over just installing Tule racks on the deluxe box.

**rionapo** · 01-17-2012, 04:42 PM

We added a hitch mount to the front of the van and will start with our 4-bike swingaway Yakima rack We had a front-mounted rack on our Vanagon & I liked being able to see the bikes at all times. COnversely, I don't like the idea of a rear rack because of the added, unseeable length.

I don't like the Yakimas as they were designed for street bikes and can't hold a thick top tube. Yakima sells an additional part to create a carrying tube, something of an insult after dropping major $s for a swingaway rack.They may have a mtn bike friendly version by now. We'll see if it is stable enough for back country driving, though we have used it on the back of a 4Runner with no serious issues.

Roonie · 01-17-2012, 05:09 PM

Here is my bike rack which holds 4 bikes. It was an option from Sportsmobile at time of build. Basically they took a Thule bike rack and fabbed up a couple steel supports for it and bolted the whole unit to the aluminess. The only problem is the support structure that bolts onto the aluminess has rusted a couple spots and I had to take it off sand and repaint it already since it is steel and not aluminum. I have had 4 bikes on it no problem. The only negative is that it reduces the tray from holding 4 gas cans down to 3. That is fine since I have yet a need to haul 4 cans of water or gas. Also I think you can switch this out for the ski/board carrier on the back no problem. Not confirmed though since I don't have that accessory. I carry the skis on top in my thule cargo box or in regular ski racks on the roof.

dparkwy · 01-17-2012, 07:32 PM

JoeH,

I recently bought and installed an Aluminess ski/bike rack similar to the ones you posted.

The box is old. I moved it to the new swingarm ski/bike rack. I gave Aluminess custom dimensions as I wanted my skis to sit more 'centered' across the back of the van. It was a little spendy but ended up being exactly what I wanted. Aluminess was super easy to work with and did a great job.

The skis are pretty easy to get to as the ski racks sit right above head height as mounted. I have a rear view camera in the rear license plate. I have it adjusted so that the bottom edge of my video screen is aligned with the bottom edge of the galley box, so at least I can see what I'm about to back into. I didn't plan this but I can see the ski racks through my back door windows. This helps when I'm backing up against a fence or other tall structure. Since the racks protrude the most, I know when to stop since I can see them.

Hope this helps!

JoeH · 01-17-2012, 10:01 PM

dparkwy, that helps alot! I can see that your swing arm setup extends all the way to the center or the spare tire to get the skis centered. I'm mainly concerned about bike racks but the ski rack option on the back is nice. It's not fun clambering up on top to get into a Yakima box when there's snow on the roof.

Do you know if your galley box has the same dimensions as the newer ones (24W x 16D x 20"H)? And if so, can you still fit two Coleman 5 gal water jugs on top and underneath the ski rack or bike rack? I'm not sure but the 2.6 gal. Sceptor MWC jugs might work as well.

On a side note, if you ski with any of the TGR folks you might know my bro-in-law. We went to Nelson, BC for New Years to go cat skiing. In the SMB of course.

dparkwy · 01-18-2012, 03:00 PM

JoeH,
The dimensions on my galley box are slightly smaller than the existing ones. Mine are more like 24"W x 18.5"H x 14.5"D. From the top of the box to the bottom plane of the rack system is 16". I think the Coleman jugs should fit fine from a height standpoint.

Who's your bro-in-law at TGR? I don't know any of them too well, but I've been around JH long enough that I probably know of them.

JoeH · 01-18-2012, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dparkwy

JoeH,
The dimensions on my galley box are slightly smaller than the existing ones. Mine are more like 24"W x 18.5"H x 14.5"D. From the top of the box to the bottom plane of the rack system is 16". I think the Coleman jugs should fit fine from a height standpoint.

Who's your bro-in-law at TGR? I don't know any of them too well, but I've been around JH long enough that I probably know of them.

J. Wogoman. Skies a lot at Teton Pass and was at Cloudveil before TGR.

Thanks for the info. Kenny at Aluminess thought I might have to remove the Thule or Yakima rack to squeeze the jugs in there using the galley box. Guess I'm gonna have to pull the trigger on this.

dparkwy · 01-18-2012, 04:26 PM

Cool. Pretty sure I have met Jeff several times over the years. I know a few of the original Cloudveil folks as well.

I worked with Kenny @ Aluminess and he was great. If you have existing Yakima/Thule bike racks you might want to measure their length and make sure your bar spacing doesn't exceed that. I think it was 42" for mine (off the top of my head) for a staggered configuration. I'll bet Kenny still has the dimension sketches I drew for him if that will help.

Hope that works out for you.........Cheers!

p.s. Happy to send or upload more pics if you want to see them.

JoeH · 01-18-2012, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roonie

Here is my bike rack which holds 4 bikes.

Roonie, that's a good option as well. The pro is you can carry 4 bikes but the con is that system doesn't work very well with full suspension bikes. You need 4 telescoping bike adapters and even then it's not a great off road option. Perhaps you've found otherwise? I gave up on my hitch mount Yakima swing away because it was beating up the bikes and went with a Holdup. I really like the idea of bike carriers that don't touch the frame.

JoeH · 01-18-2012, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dparkwy

If you have existing Yakima/Thule bike racks you might want to measure their length and make sure your bar spacing doesn't exceed that. I think it was 42" for mine (off the top of my head) for a staggered configuration. I'll bet Kenny still has the dimension sketches I drew for him if that will help.

Hope that works out for you.........Cheers!

p.s. Happy to send or upload more pics if you want to see them.

Great tip. I'm trying to decide between the Thule Sidearm or a Yak Highroller. I don't know if the spacing is the same or it's adjustable like most of the fork mounted carriers. Also, with this system do the bikes extend very far out from the passenger side of the van?