Who would ever imagine a simple thing like raising the rack platform and changing the angle would turn into a large project? Yeah, I know, don’t answer that. Like I’ve said, I always seem to go for overkill. Now you gotta understand overkill isn’t limited to doing the project, it encompasses every bit of thinking about it right up to walking into the hardware store to buy materials, wandering around the store and every step along the way. Part of that is because we have Mac’s here. Mac’s is the ultimate hardware store for DIY types such as myself. There is aisle after aisle of nuts, bolts etc. you throw into bags and pay for by the pound. Need Stainless? Yep, by the pound. Need brass? You guessed it. Need metric? Uh huh, same story. And more than that.
After ruminating over how to accomplish what I had in mind there I was in Mac’s throwing 1/4” stainless bolts, nuts and lock washers into a bag. Then over to the rack with numerous bits and pieces of “iron” of different sizes and thicknesses. I was looking for a 2 1/2” X 8” X 1/8” piece. Well darn, all I found was 2 1/2” X 8” X 1/4” pieces and at $.39/lb. I kinda figured I could afford the extra metal. I bought two 8” pieces of the stuff, 8 stainless bolts, lock washers and nuts and walked out of there spending less than $4.00 total. Overkill is easy at those prices especially considering I used only one of the steel plates and four of the bolts. Spare pieces are good.
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Posted in Receiver Hitch Rack
I helped my brother with painting his house Sunday afternoon. It seemed a good excuse to get the bike out for a ride and give the receiver hitch rack a fair shake down cruise as well. After a few intense hours he finished re-priming what his son and another teen had half heartedly done while I got color on about one third of the east side. Then it was time for a ride.
We went north along the main street then made a left and followed State Hwy 11 to the west. As I made that left I heard something scrape which I translated as an indication the rack needs some fine tuning to raise it a couple inches and level it front to back. The hitch rack remains a work in progress.
More to come.
Posted in Receiver Hitch Rack
Finished Project For The Moment
Once a project gets to a certain point (usually slightly beyond what I think is the halfway mark) my focus becomes entirely on finishing. So it has been with the receiver hitch rack. I’m playing some catch up here in order to present a reasonably accurate chronicle of the endeavor.
The basic rack was a hop, skip and jump (so to speak). A bit of ‘quality time’ with the band saw produced near perfect pieces of aluminum angle. The floor of the rack is a piece of 3/16” clear polycarbonate I bought for another purpose but hey sacrifices must be made. The trick with polycarbonate that thick is cutting it to size. Scoring and breaking doesn’t work well because it is so thick. My band saw has 4 inch depth of cut which is a problem when you need to cut 18 by 26 inches. I took a chance and tried a carbide tipped rotary blade in the SkillSaw. Surprise of surprises it made amazingly clean cuts. It’s a tip worth remembering but I recommend using a saw guide to keep the cut straight and accurate. The picture below is the individual pieces for the basic rack assembly. Look closely at the Rubbermaid container and you will get a hint that a polycarbonate sheet is leaned against the front of it.
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Posted in Receiver Hitch Rack
I gotta thank my brother for the inspiration that got the receiver hitch rack in mind and started. Travelling such as we plan next weekend (a nephew’s wedding) makes pulling a trailer something of a necessity. Other travelling (brother and I touring for a couple weeks) can be accomplished with a little more storage than the bikes alone afford. Thus, a receiver hitch rack.
My brother and I spent a major part of one afternoon looking at plastic containers suitable for the project. I don’t care what I’m shopping for, boredom and apathy set in by the time I’ve been in 4 to 6 stores and I might as well go home. Fortunately we found a sturdy, well made container in the local Fleet Farm store at about $30. We were both sure this would work but wanted to measure the width of the bike before buying it. The box would have over hung the edges of the bike by about an inch each side which although doable just wasn’t to my liking. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Receiver Hitch Rack
