TheSamba.com :: View topic - Trunk mount bike carrier

Fri Aug 19, 2011 8:45 am

We need a quick and less expensive way to transport bikes on our Honda Civic. I, of course, insist we get one that is compatible with the Westy. Wife is ready to purchase a used Saris Bones 801 which would rest against the hatch window like this:

Is this ok, or is it better to go with the RS style that rests on the door? Problem with the RS model is it's a lot more $$ and there isn't a used one available currrently in our area.

We aren't committed to the Saris brand necessary so recommendations are welcomed.

Thanks!

Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:02 am

Are both pads of the rack resting on the window? I would think if the lower one was resting on the metal and the upper on the window you would probably be ok since the bulk of the weight will be on the lower support. However if it were me I would stay away from any that rested on the window just to avoid the stress on it and also if you inadvertantly hit your rear window washer you could cause problems with it.

Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:05 am

Would it be possible to mount it high enough for the upper pads to be above the window?

Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:28 am

trihartsfield wrote: Are both pads of the rack resting on the window? I would think if the lower one was resting on the metal and the upper on the window you would probably be ok since the bulk of the weight will be on the lower support. However if it were me I would stay away from any that rested on the window just to avoid the stress on it and also if you inadvertantly hit your rear window washer you could cause problems with it.

Great point. Hadn't thought of the blade. Luckily we don't use it very much.

Trihartsfield, difficult to see in the first pic, but maybe that is how they mounted it.

Fri Aug 19, 2011 2:13 pm

I too have a trunk mount but I think I have it reset for above and below the window. I added pullies (4 to 3) because my electric bike is 97 lbs and too heavy for me to lift that high. The rack is for just over 100 lbs and I think I'll be okay with extra rachets.

I would think that most of the pressure would be on the lower but I didn't want any part of it on the glass. Have to test it out.

The full weight of mine is on the straps so I will use stronger rachets at the top and sides. Foam pads for body protection.

Fri Aug 19, 2011 3:35 pm

Hey, that's my van in the Bones pic! Damn, it looks good!

Anyway, most of the weight is on the bottom two pads which I position in the crease of the hatch. We don't often take the two bikes with us so I only have a few hundred miles on the combo but I have never feared for the glass. Also, I spent 20 years in the bike biz and can honestly say I never heard one story about a rack causing glass breakage but that is not to say it can't happen. I would say the odds are on your side. The Bones is a great rack for the money.

Disregard the oil spot in the gravel driveway. That's from the Mopar minivan.

Sat Aug 20, 2011 12:06 pm

I agree you "probably" wouldn't have any problems with the top resting on the glass. I want to buy a rack for my Vanagon too, fewer $ the better.

However, the problem as I see it is in a minor accident involving the rack that shatters the rear glass. By mounting the rack on the glass you've just made the glass your weakest link. Playing this scenario out, on a trip in a land far, far way, minor accident (not your fault of course) and suddenly your nice dry bed is exposed to the elements and you are taping cardboard on in the rain. That $50 you saved this week may come back to bite you in the gl-ass. :oops:

A related bike rack story that has nothing to do with Vanagons or the mounting points of the rack; I was on I-15 a few years ago following a late model Camaro with 2 bikes on a roof rack. All of a sudden one bike's front mount released, the bike flipped back and shattered the rear window of the Camaro. :shock: Fortunately for me the bike stayed on the car and didn't become my new hood ornament.

Sat Aug 20, 2011 12:17 pm

shadetreetim wrote: That $50 you saved this week may come back to bite you in the gl-ass. :oops:

:o :shock: :D

Your story also got me thinking what kind of stress might be put on the window driving on dirt roads.

Sat Aug 20, 2011 12:24 pm

singler3360 wrote: shadetreetim wrote: That $50 you saved this week may come back to bite you in the gl-ass. :oops:

:o :shock: :D

Your story also got me thinking what kind of stress might be put on the window driving on dirt roads.
I would not do it.
This is one reason I spent the extra dough to do a proper hitch and a tray style bike rack for the receiver.

The bikes' weight sits on its own wheels.. and all 4 bikes weight goes to the hitch setup/frame.

Racks like the one discussed are fine for around town.. maybe short hops on the fwy. No way would I go long distance.. risking damage to sheetmetal and broken glass.

A fiamma would be my second choice.

Sat Aug 20, 2011 8:07 pm

you might save few bucks buying a rack that hangs on the hatch, but chances of hatch being damaged by the weight of the bike are not worth it. Unless your hatch is already banged up.

Sat Aug 20, 2011 8:15 pm

i saw a really nice, simple home made tow bar than could hold a narrow shelf and could put bike, chairs and a few other things on it. i need to find the steel and the person to weld it.

Sat Aug 20, 2011 8:35 pm

Don't listen to the naysayers. The glass is fine. The rack won't damage the hatch. The hatch is an incredibly strong structure and is mounted incredibly strongly to the body and will not suffer the least amount of stress even on a dirt road.

As for the glass, it is vertical and not going to get any real load from the rack - those are handled by the straps or whatever attaches to the top edge of the hatch. If mounted correctly so the rack cannot move, it will not damage the glass.

I have dozens of friends who hauled overloaded racks on sloped glass hatchbacks for years on rough roads, etc and also never, ever heard of a single glass breakage story. We all did it before the advent of hitch racks and those were all crappily designed first generation racks with poor strap systems and hard feet.

Get the rack and take the bikes!!

DougM

Sat Aug 20, 2011 8:54 pm

Racks that ride on the glass with rear wipers don't work. I too rarely used my rear wiper but somehow it got turned on inadvertently and managed to burn up my wiper motor. I smelled smoke but thought it was comming from the engine bay on a trip over Going to the Sun Road in Glacier NP. I popped the bikes off, opened the rear deck and couldn't find anything burning so I closed it up, put the bikes back on and continued. Still smelled smoke, repeated the whole process and found nothing. I didn't realize the burning was in the rear deck which was over my head when the rear hatch was open.
Later a friend of mine told me about how he had burnt up his rear wiper motor by having something block the wiper, so I checked my wiper motor and sure enough, it was fried.

If you do use a glass mount bike rack, it would be wise to remove the fuse for the rear wiper to avoid burning it up.

Sun Aug 21, 2011 5:22 am

Okay, time for a reality check.

Listen to me and IdahoDoug, and let me find more pictures of my setup. The neat thing about the Bones rack is that you can adjust the legs so that the spread is small or large or in between to accommodate the needed position of the feet according to which vehicle it will be used on. Remember, the OP wants to use it on a Vanagon AND on a Civic. I have a Vanagon AND a Civic (2005 four-door if he really needs me to drag out the Bones and a bike or two or three and my camera).

You can adjust the Bones so that the upper feet ARE NOT TOUCHING THE GLASS but the metal at the top of the hatch, and I believe my other pix will demonstrate this. You can adjust the Bones so that the lower feet ride in the crease and the spread between the legs is sufficient that they span the glass completely. Shorten the upper straps to keep it at this position and tighten the four remaining straps to keep it immobile. The issue with the rear wiper is non-existent if none of the legs touch the glass. Everybody happy now?

I agree that if cost is unimportant AND you are speaking of use strictly on a single vehicle, then a receiver and a swingaway rack is the way to go. Other threads debate this endlessly and for an extended Vanagon trip with bikes I might even do this myself for one reason: access to the hatch with bikes on the rack. You can't easily lift the hatch with a normal bike on a hatch-mounted rack and it won't stay up without a prop, I don't care how good your hatch struts are. I don't want to think about it with three. You don't want to have to remove them every time you need to lift the hatch so the swingaway makes terrific sense here, but for occasional (or even regular) use on multiple, very different vehicles a rack like the Bones (any multi-adjustable rack, probably, but I can't vouch for the wiper clearance on anything but the Bones) is the way to go. Jeez, I'm starting to sound like Terry K.

Singler3360, I hope all this debate hasn't postponed your phone call to the seller and that the rack is still available. Good luck!
*EDIT*
Found more pix:

Sun Aug 21, 2011 7:52 am

I agree.. it is a fine rack for the Civiic.

In the second photo of the first post from Singler.. What are the two dents in the sheetmetal of the hatch door.. just below the bike rack feet?

Sun Aug 21, 2011 8:42 am

Looks about right for rack dents. If the straps are not kept properly tensioned, 100lbs of rack and bikes can swing away from the body, then slam it nicely for some free body work - heh.

DougM

Sun Aug 21, 2011 9:50 am

I appreciate all the posts and the extra photos Campism. We've borrowed a trailer hitch rack from our neighbors for our last two trips so we are familiar with how great they are. The key here is to find a single rack that will fit both cars. Campisms additonal photos clinch it; I think it's worth a try. Hope it's still available.

Cheers.

Sun Aug 21, 2011 9:54 am

Here's an idea, use a long piece of heavy rubber under the bottom feet to prevent the smaller feet from leaving an imprint. My rack does not have feet and it has thick foam around the top and the bottom rods.

Sun Aug 21, 2011 10:06 am

We have had this Thule brand for over 10 years. This was last years camping trip and I decided it was time to buy another type. This style was great! It still works but after 10 years of great use I have decided with over $3000 worth of bikes hanging on some decade old stitching :shock: I think I want to change to the Vanagon aluminum folding rack all of the major vendors sell. I hope this help. Just remember the stitching on your rack is its week point. Someday it will fail. Just incase you needed an excuse to buy another one for the Vanagon only 8)

Sun Aug 21, 2011 10:19 am

Thanks for pointing out the [potential] dents guys. I will definitely be on the look out to prevent those. And Daizee's idea might need to happen too. Will see. We might still borrow the receiver bike rack for when we know we'll be on dirt.