Rak Attach Swing Out Bike Carrier

[MountainBikeRoamer]

Originally Posted by wadewaydo

You could throw a tack weld on the nut, but of course, if a thief wanted it, he'd find a way to get it.... lock or not.

Agreed for sure.
Determined-enough shady individuals will find a way, if they want something badly enough.

Still - it's worth mentioning/discussing.

Especially....since a lot of the forum members are often traveling with a lot of pricey gear bolted to the rear of their vans/rigs, and all it takes is parking *once* in a sketchy area....to find "that someone" who wants your bad stuff enough to try. And if all that's required to take all of your stuff is a pair of crescent wrenches....

A fair amount of conversation can be found here on the forum that is oriented around keeping vans/gear secure and safe (not to mention keeping the **vans themselves** from getting stolen), so it's all good/relevant chatter.

(**In my utterly-unqualified opinion:
The most accomplished thieves are probably pretty clever....but also terminally lazy (they'd rather *take* from someone, the same things that they could work hard to earn themselves). So the "easy" scores are probably their favorite. I'd personally find *some way* to lock that bolt down and present a challenge.)

JMHO.

[BrianBlair]

I've thought through how to secure my bikes/the rack a little bit. Here's what I've come up with:

The Hitchswing is locked to the van with a locking Saris bolt.

The bikes are locked to the trays via the Thule locking arms.

When parked out of sight/for more than a few minutes the bikes are also locked to the van itself with a long chain/u-lock.

This plan basically means that if someone were to take apart the Hitchswing at the pivot they'd still need to cut the chain in order to get away with the bikes.

[tlg]

There are a few other options. One would be to drop a lockable pin in the t-handle slot on the Rak Attach. This would effectively secure (to the extent possible) the two parts of the Rak Attach together. Similar to the above, you could also run a cable lock or chain from the hitch chain mount, around the Rak Attach, and then around the bike rack. Although this option wouldn't secure the Rak Attach, it would secure the bike rack to the van.

[JFlo]

Originally Posted by dirtanddogfur

No retail prices on their website.

Can you give me a ball park?

I was quoted $375 for a large rack, plus $35 shipping to CO. They offered to size the 'stinger' depending on how much clearance I needed for a mounted spare or box.

[Bellpilot]

Seems like you could do a small spot weld on the nut to the bolt to keep it theft proof. If you need to adjust or remove the bolt hit it with a hand grinder.

[dirtanddogfur]

Originally Posted by JFlo

I was quoted $375 for a large rack, plus $35 shipping to CO. They offered to size the 'stinger' depending on how much clearance I needed for a mounted spare or box.

Thanks. I just now received a quote for $425. Apparently, I would need the XL because of aluminess box, etc.

[wadewaydo]

Originally Posted by Bellpilot

Seems like you could do a small spot weld on the nut to the bolt to keep it theft proof. If you need to adjust or remove the bolt hit it with a hand grinder.

Yeah what he said.

[Bellpilot]

Rephrase, to keep the honest man honest not theft proof!

[dirtanddogfur]

And now this:

https://www.bikerumor.com/2017/04/28...away-platform/

Still might need an extension to get it away from tire/box.

[tlg]

That looks way too much like the Rak Attach. Wonder if they sold the design to Kuat.