rumrunn6

anyone ever trying making a simple hitch rack out of wood? was day dreaming about it the other day ...

base2 

I wouldn't. Even if it was a 2 inch hitch. You wouldn't believe the forces involved in changing the direction of an assembley at the hinge point of a lever. Wood, even something strong like oak or hickory would twist apart the first time you turn into a driveway.

I had an antenna mast attached to my steel Thule 2 bike, bike rack. The antenna itself was some 6 feet above the vehicle. Turning into a driveway violently whipped the assembly from side to side such that the 1 inch aluminum and later 1&1/8 inch fiberglass masts broke in half. I had to design & machine a springe system to decouple the mast motion from the vehicle motion. The decoupling system worked well for many 10's of thousands of miles after that.

100_5621.JPG by Richard Mozzarella, on Flickr
The antenna was for 144-148mhz, circularly polarized amature radio. The decoulping system is the 2 horizontal cb whip springs with machined plastic blocks & horseshoe clamps.

I wish you luck, but hitch mounted wood construction will not be the path to success.

CliffordK

I do think that a solid 2" x 2" (real sizes), of many materials could take quite a bit of stress.

But, the rack would need perfect joints which would be difficult to make.

And, unfortunately, in the bike world... the $50, 50lb MTB will put far greater stresses on the rack than your 14lb, $10K road bike.

CliffordK

Thinking about car bike racks, I might trust a custom wood rack to fit over a trunk lid or rear hatch more than I would trust a wooden hitch rack. Spread out the forces beyond that single post. And use heavy duty nylon straps to hold it all together.

Andrew R Stewart 

Instead of looking to use the wood as you would with metal, skeleton structure, think stressed skin. Relatively thin ply can be very stiff when made box like. Of course some will ask where's the tree to go with the play fort you have grafted to the back of your car. Andy

rumrunn6

one could use a solid steel ball mount for the most stressful part



& create a device that bolts on top of it (w/ a giant lag screw?) & use my 3 stabilizer straps to minimize all the lateral stresses. ultimately tho I think anything I personally would make would be super ugly & bulky. but it a REAL craftsman were to tackle the project it could be quite clever & decent looking

CliffordK

I could imagine bolting a 2x4 or 4x4 onto one of those receiver hitches. Big custom fender washer, or drilled plate on top.

One may still need to retighten it periodically.

Mount wheel trays on the 4x4?

Laminated 2x4 (double in the middle).

I suppose anything done with construction quality lumber could be replicated with finish quality lumber.

Make sure you use steel bolts wherever you need a high strength joint.

Still, unless you're riding a Renovo bicycle, I think I'd stick with browsing Craigslist or your local electronic classifieds until a rack you like pops up.

Ironfish653

It wouldn’t be hard, technically, but there would be very little benefit.

If I had a long piece of 2” steel ‘drawbar’ stock as the spine / base, I can envision a wheel-tray style rack, made of, as someone suggested, laminated plywood. The trays would be sort of like envelopes, that the wheels would sit down into.

Yes, it could be done, and elegantly too, I even had an idea for incorporating some adjustability for carrying different size bikes.
I imagine it would weigh slightly more than a minimal steel rack like my old Hollywood, and probably bulky too, since to get strength/ stiffness with wood, you either need thick pieces or boxy, flanged sections.

Theres also the matter of weatherproofing it. All the wooden components would have to be finished to marine standards like a wooden boat and or made of something like teak, although you’d still have to constantly maintain the finish.
Even the least expensive steel racks will either be enameled or powder coated and provide years of all-weather service without complaint.

If if you have the skills and want to do it to show off, then sure. Possibly if you have some sort of really unusually configured bike that just doesn’t fit any of the typical style hitch racks.

And there’s also the cost. Unless you’ve already got a pile of suitable material and hardware laying around, you’ll quickly approach the cost of many new, basic racks, and outstrip a good portion of the secondhand market.

HerrKaLeun

The roads are too safe. Let some DIY racks and bikes scatter over the street and cause some fatal crashes.

There is a reason rack manufacturers have rigorous testing.

The inevitable lawsuit hopefully will strip you of all your assets including your car. So you can pull such ideas only once.

FlMTNdude

As a professional carpenter, I wouldn’t attempt it. Even the best joinery, glued up, would be prone to cracks and splits despite the best techniques and word choices. If I lived in Asia, I could imagine someone trying bamboo latched together, but that is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Being able to weld, I have a couple of design mods I may be trying out on an old rack I have. Above all, SAFETY!!

rumrunn6

ok I'll stop day dreaming about it. besides, my new metal rack arrives today

Wilfred Laurier

I say go for it! You will certainly get dozens of trouble-free miles before your bikes are spilt on the pavement in front of a semi.

medic75

Good choice. I would imagine it could be done, but to do it to the point where I would trust it with thousands of dollars worth of bikes, it would be significantly more expensive than a quality mass produced rack.