Altered Oliver Bike rack

[dharmardr]

I was bothered by the movement of the bike rack on my Oliver and decided to make some alterations. I changed the configuration of the rack so I could use my Thule Critierum rack with it. Just installed it and have not yet tried it out but expect it to be more stable. Stability was my concern, the other one moved around a lot and was damaging the bikes.

 

Grayson

Hull#112

 

 

 

 

 

[John E Davies]

Very nice. I like it. Have you considered adding some reflectors on the back beam for when the bikes are not there?

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[dharmardr]

Yes, just haven't made it to the store yet. The stick on strips like they use on trucks are in the plan. Thank you for the comment.

[rideandfly]

Grayson,

 

Nice looking rack and installation! Thanks for posting photos!

[Mike and Carol]

Looks nice and sturdy.  There has been a conversation (often heated) over on AirForums about a guy that put a rack on the back of his Bambi with four bikes and had some serious sway problems.  I think the bigger Elite II with two axles won't have the same problem, but it's worth keeping in mind that extra weight on the back could change the weight on the hitch.  Will be interested to hear how this works for you.  I'm thinking about getting a couple of bikes!

 

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f238/out-of-control-sway-152451.html

[ScubaRx]

Do you travel with the bumper lowered?

[ScottyGS]

Grayson,  Very nice indeed.  We have recently acquired two electric bikes and I am looking for a rack that will be used both on the Ollie and our F-150.  I was looking at the Thule brand, but their hitch and locking mechanism requires that the hole be set back 1.5" in the receiver.  I measured the Ollie rack and found it to be 1.25".  A quarter of an inch does not sound like much but with the weight of the E bikes and rack.... I don't want to chance it.  Plus the Thule has 1.25" tube with an adapter for the 2" receiver.  Not my idea of a solid connection.

 

We will probably purchase the Yakima Holdup for a 2" receiver.  That rack looks like it will serve well on the truck or on the Ollie. It has an actual 2" square tube that will fit 2" receivers.

 

All that being said...     I like your mod very much and will most likely follow in your footsteps at some point.

 

Do you have a drawing for welding up the Aluminum Tube that you would be willing to share?   I have access to the raw materials at a good price but would need to have a local fab shop make up the frame.

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks for sharing this awesome mod!

 

Scotty

 

 

[John E Davies]

I have access to the raw materials at a good price but would need to have a local fab shop make up the frame.

For Scotty, and anyone else wanting to build structural stuff out of aluminum, here are some cautions:

 

Be sure that you understand the different alloys and their uses. Here is a good basic reference: http://alcobrametals.com/guides/aluminum

 

Never never ever build a critical weight bearing structure (that will be subjected to repeated shock loads) out of the dead soft stuff available at the box store, you need a good strong weldable alloy like the tried and true 6061 T6. Think "airplane" rather than "greenhouse".

 

Look for a material supplier who specializes in non- ferrous metals like the link above, which will cut and ship small quantities. I get stuff from them regularly since they are ten minutes from my residence.

 

Aluminum is nowhere as strong as steel so everything has to be upsized to compensate, which means thicker walls and larger diameters. Just take a look at the Oliver frame for reference.

 

It's relatively expensive compared to plain steel, so buy no more than you need. But by paying more now you are rewarded with years of low maintenance use.

 

Aluminum can be welded but to do it correctly (and beautifully) is something of an art. The local trailer hitch guy most likely will not want to do it, if he even has the right equipment, and he may botch the job. You need to find a local specialty welding shop, not Uhaul, that can do this. I am lucky enough to know a guy who will do walk-in jobs for cash-in-hand. I never asked him if he reports the income. His work is gorgeous. He specializes in aluminum boat repair and race car fabrication. Your metal supplier will probably be able to refer you to this kind of shop.

 

I suggest modifying Grayson's design to include a new cross member parallel and right next to the bumper. That gives you two beams to mount your bike crossbars to. Include a second 2inch square tube at each receiver hole, welded at 90 degrees straight up. Now you can remove the rack when not being used and remount it sticking straight up for transport. Allow enough clearance so you can open the bumper! You could use locking trailer hitch pins instead of bolts, though they don't hold as tight as big bolts.

 

This last suggestion depends on your bike rack design, you may not have room to clear the spare cover. You could use a minimalist rack like my favorite the Yakima Boa and have no clearance worries, though it does require removing the front wheel. One thing I really like is that when they are removed from the bars, two pairs will fit in a big ziplock bag. Regular racks take up a ton of space in your garage.

 

 

Finally, use stainless fasteners. Just like your Oliver. Aluminum trailers are great.

 

Scotty, if you are going to use the rack on your truck, you must stick with a single receiver tube design. This is going to be inherently unstable, but you can deal with that by adding a clamp on brace to the tubes, to keep them locked together and prevent wiggling. However, I am not sure I would trust a lot of weight to a single aluminum receiver. The twin setup is way stronger. How heavy are your bikes?

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

 

 

[John E Davies]

We have recently acquired two electric bikes and I am looking for a rack that will be used both on the Ollie and our F-150.

Scotty, can you please start a new thread about your electric bikes? I've been researching but would like your feedback.

 

Thanks.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[John E Davies]

Forgot this .... See Grayson's Attacment 2 pic. If you plan to cover your bikes you must relocate your license plate so that is visible. This would probably be advisable even for uncovered bikes, in those states that have stricter enforcement.

http://www.bikeforums.net/general-cycling-discussion/638859-hitch-bike-carriers-legality-blocking-license-plate.html

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

[ScottyGS]

John,

 

Thanks for the information.  I will keep in mind as I walk through the project.  Finding a capable welder and then designing the frame to accept rack components will be a challenge but I really don't have a deadline, so no pressure.

 

To be clear... My intentions are to buy the Yakima Holdup rack and use that on both the F-150 and the Ollie until / if / when I get motivated to build a custom frame.  So, no issues on the F-150 carry.

 

License Plate - I thought about re-locating the LP so it is visible when hauling bikes.  Donna had a good suggestion.  We might take a picture of the LP and then print a life size photo and laminate.  We would place this in the rear window similar to where Oliver put the temporary registration when we bought the trailer.  Might not be perfectly legal, but I don't think many cops would be too motivated to make an issue out of it, and might appreciate the forethought.   Opinions on this are very welcome.

 

Electric Bikes - I will do a post in General Discussion in the near future on our E bikes, including the search for a carrier that will work with the LE2.  For now, we purchased the B&H easy motion for Donna and the A2B Alva plus for me.  We are planning on giving the B&H to my son, Donna will take the A2b, and I am waiting for a Pedego Ridge Rider delivery.  The A2B and Ridge Rider are great bikes and worth a serious look if you are interested.  (rented the ridge rider for a few hours to test it)

 

E bikes are very cool.  They make riding a joy.  Not effortless but they do make hills and headwinds easy to deal with.   I would recommend that you look for a local E bike shop that will let you test ride, or better yet rent them for an hour or two.

 

Thanks again and Safe Travels All!

 

Scotty

 

 

[Oliver176]

Nice job on the bike rack!  My wife and I just returned from a Florida trip with a Oliver installed trailer mounted bike mount.  We had a new Swagman G10 bike (2 bike) rack installed and it bounced all over the place.  It's not the bike rack that's the problem but the moment arm at the aft end of the trailer.  All hitch mounted racks will do this.  The bike rack manufacturers even recommend and negate the warranty  against using trailer mounted applications.  Constant bouncing has broken many racks if you read Yakima and Thules reviews, bikes all over the highway.

 

I'm hoping Oliver will read this and modify their bike rack system as nice as yours for all of us to use in the future.  They have the engineers and expertise to make this happen.  Until then I bought an over the tailgate bike rack made for pickup trucks.  Not as pretty, but safer for now .

 

Thanks  Craig