Bike Rack Hitch beam full of water

[pdvanderson]

While mounting an RV rated bike rack, I removed the stock (small) hitch receiver.  As I unbolted it a whole lot of water came out the rectangular beam the 'U' bolts were attached to.  It occurred to me that the holes at the top of the 'U' bolts are oversized, and the holes at the bottom were right-sized.   The beam was full of water, and I couldn't see a weephole.  This trapped water is a concern as I live in Boston and freezing weather is on the way.  Thought I would let everyone know.

[John E Davies]

This is quite common, Oliver still hasn’t learned to drill drain holes in each end. The same with the bumper itself….. Please open a Service ticket, if they get enough complaints, maybe they will start doing it. The worst situation is when you drill a hole from underneath and water floods into your electric drill 😳

Are you bolting on a larger one? If so please start a thread about that with pics.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Geronimo John]

1 hour ago, John E Davies said:

The worst situation is when you drill a hole from underneath and water floods into your electric drill

Maybe using a battery powered drill would be a good idea.  At 20 volts it would be just a non issue.  At 120 volts it would be a "Shocking Experience".   🙂

 

[Trainman]

Most of my holes on the trailer that have pins in them I had to drill out another 100 thousands or so just to get the pins in and out with more ease. The correct size would be, you shouldn't need a hammer, but almost need one, in other words, don't make them too big. 

trainman

[John E Davies]

When you drill by hand through a 2" beam, the top and bottom holes will seldom line up 100% correctly. Even a fancy drill jig won't necessarily give you perfect results. I doubt that the bike rack beam is drilled with a drill press, they just open up holes as needed to get the ubolt to slide through. It does't really matter on a trailer, though if it were an airplane the situation would be bad. What is worse is that they don't add holes to allow water to drain....

john Davies

Spokane WA

[John E Davies]

10 hours ago, Geronimo John said:

Maybe using a battery powered drill would be a good idea.  At 20 volts it would be just a non issue.  At 120 volts it would be a "Shocking Experience".   🙂

 

120 volt electric drill? Oh yeah, I might have one stashed away somewhere gathering dust. How very analog....An air drill would be my choice if I though for a second that water might pour out onto the tool. But I can't recall the last time I used any of my air tools either. I am a huge Dewalt lithium fanboy. My shop is full of yellow bags and tools, and batteries.

When I first started working on aircraft, every mechanic used a "speed handle" to remove screws from access panels, hundreds and hundreds of little number 8 screws. When Makita first introduced the battery powered driver, in 1978, we thought we were in heaven. They were really expensive and the batteries died quickly. Soon all you heard was bzzzzz bzzzz bzzzz, then foot steps to put the dead battery back in the charger. 😉 We could not use corded high voltage tools because of the risk of fires....

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Geronimo John]

4 hours ago, John E Davies said:

I am a huge Dewalt lithium fanboy

Ditto.  I really like their 20V cordless tools.  My favorites are the Dewalt  Lithium impact driver and their air compressor.  My primary uses are:    

• I use a breaker-bar to brake free lug bolts and the Dewalt impact to remove and reinstall and snug them up.  With just a 1/4" adapter I would not try to either brake free the lugs or fully tighten them.  Hence the use of a breaker-bar and torque wrench to start the removal and then to fully tighten.  

• I use their air compressor to accurately set TV and Ollie tire pressures early in the morning before sun can skew their pressures.  For eight tires it takes but a few minutes to remove TP sensors, adjust air and reinstall sensors.  

Best tool investments I have ever made.  

GJ