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Date:         Mon, 6 May 2002 13:05:24 -0700
Reply-To:     Blake Heinlein <blakeheinlein@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Blake Heinlein <blakeheinlein@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Yakima Rack Pictures
Comments: cc: jasi_brar@hotmail.com, elvisramer@cox.net
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

To the fellow Vanagoners who want the details on my rack system for my Westfalia.

If a picture is worth a thousand words here are about six-thousand words for you.

http://members.accessbee.com/heinlein/rack001.jpg http://members.accessbee.com/heinlein/rack002.jpg http://members.accessbee.com/heinlein/rack003.jpg http://members.accessbee.com/heinlein/rack004.jpg http://members.accessbee.com/heinlein/rack005.jpg http://members.accessbee.com/heinlein/rack006.jpg

I have had my rack system set up three different ways so far:

1.) Both rack bars were on top mounted to the side of the pop top. This worked well but it was really hard to pop the top when 2 bikes were on top.

2.) Both rack bars were mounted on the rear hatch but it was almost impossible to open the back hatch and the rack would actually slide down the hatch if you had 2 bikes and hit a big bump.

3.) Current setup. I now have three rack bars. One on the hatch, one on the back of the poptop, and one on the front of the pop top. This works great. I had to add the third bar because I bought a two person kayak that my wife and I take out periodically. This bar that mounts in the front is not shown in the pictures. I had to take it off so I could haul a queen size bed on top of my van. (What a versatile vehicle) The bars on the pop top are mounted using what Yakima calls wide body brackets. They take four bolts and holes drilled into the fiberglass. It's a permanent installation but it holds a lot of weight and is very solid. The bar on the rear of the pop top I positioned so it drills through the metal hing plate on the inside of the pop top. It's a little tricky but there is room for it. Be careful not to drill through the fabric. The final rear back on the hatch is held in place by friction. The towers that hold that bars are made to be attached at an angle and work well. I was fortunate enough to find a salesman at Sport Rack (http://www.sportsrack.com) that knew what he was doing. He found me the used towers and told me that Yakima does not make them anymore but they had some in the back. Luck me. I also bought my Fiama awning from Sports Rack. Nice awning but expensive.

Here are some links to Yakima that show the parts that I used on my vanagon. If you do a search for our vehicles they don't have any roof rack solutions. They just refer you to a trailer hitch type bike rack, which wont work if you have a kayak or boat. http://www.yakima.com/products/dynamic/8008001_7.html http://www.yakima.com/products/dynamic/8000101_7.html (rear towers not available from factory) http://www.yakima.com/index.html

If you have any questions please write!

-Blake Heinlein blakeheinlein@hotmail.com http://members.accessbee.com/heinlein/


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