TravisB

Been working on this off and on for when I sooner or later get dedicated track wheels and tires..or if I need to move anything larger than a duffel bag.



So I started looking at Thule mounts, and wanted everything level so I was looking at buying two kits to have a pair of long and a pair of short mounts. A friend suggested I check out Yakima brand racks. Not only were they less expensive, their "Hi-Rise" kit simply uses spacers under the load bar clamps to get the extra height, rather than an entire new mount. Maybe not quite as sleek, but gutter mount racks aren't really that sleek in the first place. Anyway, from an eBay vendor I was able to get the HiRise mounts, 58" load bars and locks for about $270 shipped.

First order of business was removing the spacers. The picture below shows a mount with the spacer removed..to remove the bolt for the clamp, you have to remove a riveted pin where the long threaded screw is (the long bolt can't otherwise be removed). I believe a #10 machine screw fits, I forget the length but I was able to get it and a nylock nut in stainless at an Ace Hardware. I honestly can't tell you the size of the bolt that I used for the clamp, I just happened to have the right size bolts in my miscellaneous bucket-o-bolts. This isn't going to be the greatest of how to's I guess..



Next up was positioning the mounts so the bars were level. You can get a rough idea of the placement here..I still had a tiny bit of positive rake, but less than a degree. The load bars are approximately 30" apart.



I spent some time pondering what to use for a tire mount. I had recently sold my TIG due to an upcoming move...bad timing. Ideas were all over the place, from using a big sheet of plywood (too heavy), to making a frame out of that aluminum t-slot extrusion industrial erector set stuff (too expensive).

I decided to take a trip to Lowes to wander around and look for ideas. I eventually landed on these ATV/mower ramps..actually pretty close to perfect. They're really light but with a 675 pound capacity they're rather sturdy. They cost $100.



At something like 77" long, they were way longer than necessary. I cut them down to 60" overall, this will support 2 wheels/tires set on them in tandem with some room to spare.





In these pictures you can see just how far the ends overhang. The ends are just out of sight when you are sitting in the car.





In order to more positively locate the ramps on the load bars, I riveted on some aluminum angle to the bottom. I made it a close fit on the front and left some slack in the back so there's a little tolerance with the positioning of the bars.





It was a bit of a quick and dirty job, but I am happy with how it turned out. It's very sturdy, I even got up and stood on it..it's solid! With the little things like hardware, rivets and aluminum channel, this wound up being about $400 all in. Not too bad, and if you shopped around on craigslist I bet you could put the same thing together for less than $200 with used stuff.

Magdaddy

great setup...makes the car even more versitle. It is easier for me to carry small lumber/mouldings back with the Pcar, that my very short box pick up.

I've even thrown an extension ladder on my rack a time or tow.

Great solution, pics of wheels atop when it's time.

AOW162435

Nice work, Mr. T.


Andreas

os993

If you take this setup to the track, would you remove the racks when hitting the track?

I like your thinking here. I have Thule racks that I use on occasion for bikes, surf boards, etc....

TravisB

Will do. Came this --><-- close to needing it for its intended purpose this weekend but the seller and I couldn't quite come to an agreement. I need to be spending more money on this car right now like I need a heart attack though, so maybe a good thing, haha.



Thank you sir!



Oh yeah, they'll definitely come off, it literally takes about one minute to remove or put them on (I'd imagine yours are just as quick). But it would certainly make for some ridiculous track photos..

mongrelcat

Nice going, Travis

Think you can get a pallet of Brawny up there?

Academictech

Nice Job Travis.

Considered the Magdaddy solution to carting my bike around, but since my drive often entails several hundred hightway miles between bike and road races....I use wheel bags and a custom frame bag and pack the bike IN the car thus maintaining the aerodynamics of the 993.

Managed to offset the 11lbs of added hardware in the back seat of the car by sticking to a strict protein diet and running 60-80 miles a week.

The things we do in order to do the things we want to do!

JPS

Thoughts on how much load that could take?

Magdaddy

two things...your road bike only weight's 11 lbs...and your RUNNING 60-80 miles a week!

Yikes Bart

20 lb cross bike with fenders/flashers/etc this time of year
15 lb carbon road when the roads get clean
lucky to pedal 160 miles on a good week, average pedaling what your running

now, back to our reguarly scheduled drool fest.

TravisB

Just one? Psh! I shop at Costco..I plan on stacking at least 3 up there!



That's actually pretty impressive..after I traded the Mustang for the 993 I had an aftermarket radiator sitting around. Sold it on the forums and had a heck of a time fitting the box in the car. The very first picture is the rack with an aftermarket engine cradle/suspension crossmember..much easier throwing it on top. I can't imagine trying to stuff a whole bicycle in there! Do you take the rear wheel off too or just the front?

But yes..where there's a will, there's a way!



I believe Porsche says 145# is the limit on the roof (could be wrong). The rack is rated more, 165# I think. A set of wheels and tires will exceed this a bit, but I've seen it done so the roof won't collapse on me I don't think. I got up and walked around on it too, solid as a rock..but I only weigh about 145, hah.

JPS

About 100 lbs of that must be your brass *****, walking around on top. Dayam.

TravisB

LMFAO. There's a fine line between ballsy and just stupid..I find myself right on it sometimes. But in all seriousness, I don't think it was a bad idea to test it at capacity (which just happened to be my weight, I was having problems coming up with that much stuff to load on it so climbing up there seemed like a quick solution ). That said, this also functions as a home/mobile gym! You can do dips on the ends of the load bars with the door open.

Academictech

Front and back wheels come off, quick release mechanisms removed from the hubs and the wheels fit into separate wheel bags.

Frame is prepped for the soft storage bag by removing pedals, seat, chain and loosening the handlebars so they can be positioned parallel to the frame.

Everything fits nicely in the back along with running and cycling gear with the seats up or down.

Benton

Great stuff. I just sold my roof duffle that I used along with some Thule bars. Thankfully, the buyer didn't need the bars, so I still have the roof rack setup. It's awesome how versatile these little cars can be with just some sturdy cross bars.

TravisB

That looked like a nice setup, I was very tempted to swoop up that duffel! Would be pretty handy for camping and such. Heck, I've got a small ultralight tent I had for motorcycle camping, maybe I could set up a platform up there and have a rolling campsite...

While I've got a truck reserved for this weekend, I was tempted to move my mattress on the roof rack, purely to be 'that guy.'