Bike Rack - Porting Thule - Page 3

rickyaustin · 08-07-2008, 04:07 PM

Were you able to keep your costs under $350?

Is the rack removable/restorable to OEM?

Excellent write-up and great ingenuity.

DanishPea · 08-08-2008, 09:05 AM

The costs were pretty close to the mark:

Thule Rack - $100 (although I already had it) - There are adequate, less expensive racks out there. They just need to have about 16" posts for the bike mounts.
Raptor mounts - 2 @ $100
ACME Rod and Tube - $30
Cotter Pins, rubber footings, O-rings - $7
Bungie chords (to keep the bike holders from hitting the car when folded up) - $2

If you have to purchase a hack saw, blades, drill, valium, headphones, back massage, or other items, this will drive the cost up.

As for removable, yes. You remove the cotter pins, and slide the unit off. I'd also suggest taking that vice grip and removing the ACME rods. Put the plugs back on and you are ready to go. As for restoring back to OEM, if you mean restoring the Thule Rack back to the original trunk design, I suppose you could if you kept all the parts and welded it back together.

Thanks for the positive comments.

tsutaoka · 08-08-2008, 01:46 PM

anyone have a used Thule 911 for sale? i'd like to give this mod a try... thanks again for the detailed steps...DanishPea

lowndex · 08-08-2008, 08:59 PM

How did you create such nice illustrations in your instructions article?

tsutaoka · 08-13-2008, 04:32 PM

DanishPea, before purchasing Yakima Raptors did you consider the Thule Side Arms (http://www.thuleracks.com/product.as...id=8&sku=594)? If so, what were the advantages of the Yakima rails in your design?

DanishPea · 08-13-2008, 06:11 PM

There was really no preference. I just picked the lowest profile mount with a stabilizing arm. That's the great part. As long as you compare the hight and width of these vs the Yakima Raptor and they are similar in size, you are good to go. I've also considered mounting a snowboard rack in the winter. The only thing I think I cannot do with this design is mount a canoe. Unless... I can come up with a foldable canoe. : )