For a bike rack solution I used a trunk mount style rack for a while which worked pretty well, and allowed me to open the hatch with the bikes on, but it was very hard on the bikes and didn't seem secure. I wanted a more secure rack that would allow me to carry a couple of bikes, and snowboards. I already had some thule trays and a yak snowboard holder, but my bars were too narrow and the feet weren't close to working on the hatch. I decided to custom make some cross bars and got all of the parts from Lowes for about $30. The bars and feet were a bit of a hassle to put together but the rack has done very well and can support at least a few hundred pounds. It wouldn't be hard at all to custom make bike trays using easy to find parts, which should make the rack pretty affordable. One thing that I think is key for enjoyable use of a hatch rack are two (not one) of the pvc hatch strut supporters. When you use two you don't have to worry about the hatch twisting which it will with a few bikes, a snowboard and a rack on top. For all of the hassle it would probably make sense to just buy a rack, but if anyone would like to see the rack that I am using I will be happy to pmail some pics. Jonathan Poole |
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