Custom Tow-Hook Bike Rack

[that_guy]

Originally Posted by Ashikabi

Why doesn't OP just make more? These seemed to sell well

I wish I could but maybe this will help explain why I don't make these all year round and only in small batches when I do...

1. I'm not a store. I'm just an enthusiast and owner like the rest of you. I work 50+ hours a week, commute 3 hours round trip to work and back, and try to have a life when I do finally get home (keyword is try).

2. These are not made locally. The machinist I use is in British Columbia, Canada. I live in Ontario, Canada. That's over 4,000kms away. I do this because local vendors wanted to charge double for production versus what I was paying to get these out of BC. I wanted to make these affordable. This was not for profit, simply to help out the community. This is also why I make larger batches as small batches are more expensive as I have to pay for lathe setup each time we run these. And remember, the capital investment is big and I run the risk of taking the loss if members don't buy them.

3. Once these were produced and shipped to me, I had to go pick up 15lbs times the number of kits (most orders were north of 200lbs of stainless steel) and assemble the kits individually for members. My wife would graciously pick up packing materials about 1.5 hour away as it seemed no one local offered affordable options that would be robust enough to ship an item of this mass.

4. If you've ever tried to ship multiple items to a variety of addresses around the globe and you're not a business, you'll know it's not a "click to ship" type of thing. It ties up the post office for hours.

Not to mention you run the risk that something happens, a package goes missing, etc. and someone doesn't get what they paid for. I don't make extra. So when this happens, it's expensive to sort out the problem for both myself and the user and that's not fair to anyone. I only had this once and I was lucky enough to still have one set left to support the user.

So it's not simply make bars, sell bars, PROFIT. It's a favour to the members here because over the 15+ years I've been on forums, I've been lucky enough to be a recipient of some of the awesome items members have custom made and I was happy to be able to return that favour to others on this project.

If I get around to making more, I'll be sure to post it here. These aren't hard to make, though. Use your creativity and I'm sure you all can come up with something as great, if not better, than what I've done.

[Antuono]

Originally Posted by that_guy

I wish I could but maybe this will help explain why I don't make these all year round and only in small batches when I do...

Do you have a CAD file? or specs on them i would like to see if i could get them made at a machining shop.

[that_guy]

Originally Posted by Antuono

Do you have a CAD file? or specs on them i would like to see if i could get them made at a machining shop.

I do not.

Seriously guys, this is pretty easy to do on your own if you have access to a machine shop. Look at the stock tow hook and add length and width to it from the point at which it extends from the bumper of the car. That's it. Very easy, be creative.

[keljane]

Could anyone tell me where/how I could get a tow hook bike rack fro my Scion FR-S?

[dratom]

Originally Posted by keljane

Could anyone tell me where/how I could get a tow hook bike rack fro my Scion FR-S?

In this thread, a few pages back, there's a post about making one from threaded rod. I would start there.

[D88]

I haven't seen this posted yet but here's another alternative to getting a bike rack setup on our cars: http://www.slambertperformance.com/shop/twin-hitch

Once you have a 1-1/4" receiver, the sky's the limit with what you can buy to couple with it.

[shagoth]

Originally Posted by D88

I haven't seen this posted yet but here's another alternative to getting a bike rack setup on our cars: http://www.slambertperformance.com/shop/twin-hitch

Once you have a 1-1/4" receiver, the sky's the limit with what you can buy to couple with it.

I may need one of those. The 100 pound tongue weight seems a little light though even for a bike rack. I was kindof of thinking a cargo carrier would be cool, but that could get too heavy very easily.

[D88]

Originally Posted by shagoth

I may need one of those. The 100 pound tongue weight seems a little light though even for a bike rack. I was kindof of thinking a cargo carrier would be cool, but that could get too heavy very easily.

The tongue weight is likely a limit on the forces that anything utilizing the tow hook mounts can withstand. There is a 100 lbs limit on the roof as well.

[Quentin]

http://torkliftcentral.com/2013-2015...cohitch-invisi

200lb tongue weight capacity. You have to do a little invasive surgery (rear bumper), but the ones I had on my RAV4 and Prius v were excellent.


Sent from Tandy 400

[fx1mark]

Originally Posted by D88

I haven't seen this posted yet but here's another alternative to getting a bike rack setup on our cars: http://www.slambertperformance.com/shop/twin-hitch

Once you have a 1-1/4" receiver, the sky's the limit with what you can buy to couple with it.

That's interesting, I had made something just like that. I had guessed about 100lbs tongue weight. mine cost the price of the four bolts as I got the steel for free.

[dkx64]

How do you guys secure the tow hooks and bike racks to the car? I'm worried about security as to leaving the rack on the car while I'm biking

[Quentin]

Originally Posted by dkx64

How do you guys secure the tow hooks and bike racks to the car? I'm worried about security as to leaving the rack on the car while I'm biking

The 1up racks require a special wrench. It isn't 100% secure, but it is secure from randos looking to just steal things.

My Rockymount uses a Thule cylinder lock that secures it to the bar. That is pretty well impossible to steal.

[dkx64]

Originally Posted by Quentin

The 1up racks require a special wrench. It isn't 100% secure, but it is secure from randos looking to just steal things.

My Rockymount uses a Thule cylinder lock that secures it to the bar. That is pretty well impossible to steal.

Thanks for the response. I was going to try making my own bars for the tow hooks. Assuming the bars have a notch they shouldn't be any less secure than typical Thule or Yakima roof rack options right? I also don't have a bike rack at all but was leaning towards the front loader from Yakima as I can leave my wheels on. I'm open to other ideas. But right now I think that makes the most sense for the money?

[Quentin]

Originally Posted by dkx64

Thanks for the response. I was going to try making my own bars for the tow hooks. Assuming the bars have a notch they shouldn't be any less secure than typical Thule or Yakima roof rack options right? I also don't have a bike rack at all but was leaning towards the front loader from Yakima as I can leave my wheels on. I'm open to other ideas. But right now I think that makes the most sense for the money?

I'd really recommend going for the 1Up rack. It has the rigidity to be mounted side to side instead of front to back and tons of people here have used it. It is basically guaranteed to work while some of the other trays may or may not be stiff enough. My Thule Big Mouth was wayyyyy too flexible to use this way. I did it a few times but the bike was all over the place back there.