Possible Bike Rack Idea?

[Jeremy]

I need to get a bike rack setup for my PU, but since I have a 1 1/4" receiver and the towing mounted racks are hard to come buy, plus I'd like to keep it somewhat on the inexpensive side.  I already have a regular hitch mounted carrier that we use when we're not towing the camper, so I don't want to go with another hitch style.
 
Here's my idea, lemme know your thoughts.  My PU is an '85 (with the alumilite roof) so I'm really not too concerned about putting holes in the roof (yes I know how to seal them properly).  I like the Pro Rac setup concept, my idea is to 'shift' it back more on the camper.
 
I'm thinking of picking up a couple of these (only have 2 bikes)

 
and mounting them to the roof and using some flat stock steel plates between the rack and the roof of the PU and on the inside to displace side to side load.  I'd use bolts long enough to go all the way through into the PU.
 
Basically a setup like this:
 
     Fork Mount
------------------ (flat stock steel plate)
============== (PU roof)
------------------ (flat stock steel plate)
 
My concerns:
1.  Will the plates be able to deal with the cross wind stress and not tear the roof?
2.  How should I tie down the rear tires of the bike?  I see the Pro Rac system uses what looks like a strap to tie the rear tire to the front bar.  I could to a ratchet strap across the top of the PU between both tires on the bikes to strap them down.
 
Any thoughts?

[brainpause]

Your ingenuity is appreciated and applauded.

However, I would question the crosswinds and side-to-side stressors on the PU's roof. There is a lot of stress 3-4 feet away from a pivot point. That means if wind or swerve or other movement puts just 10 pounds of pressure on the handlebars, then there is 30-40 ft-lbs of torque applied at the roof. The alumitite roof is just a wooden sandwich with aluminum skin. It is similar to my 85 Palomino's roof, and I don't think I'd be comfortable with this setup. I watch my bikes on the bike rack and there is a lot of movement back and forth.

Maybe some others will help too.

And welcome to PUT!

Larry

[Jeremy]

Larry,
    Thanks for the info and the welcome.  Yeah, the more I think about it, the more I can see a little gust of wind ripping my Leinenkugel edition Gary Fisher mountain bike (won it at a bar...woo hoo!!) off the camper and taking half the roof with it.  

Guess I'll have to come up with another option for hauling the bikes.  Oh well, no money spent, no foul.

[Johnowolf]

What you might want to consider as an alternative: take those same Thule fork clamps that you are looking at, bolt them to a 2x4 (spread enough to fit the number of bikes you want). Put feet on either end of the 2x4 tall enough to keep the bottoms of the bolts up off the roof, rubber footed so that it won't skid around. Attach eye-bolts, u-bolts, or other similar to either end to attach a cargo strap to, and run the cargo strap under the PU. Ratchet it tight. Put your bikes on, then run a strap from the Thule fork clamp around the seat post, back to the fork clamp. Snug it tight. That should hold it, and not require drilling your roof. Also, the 2x4 and cargo straps will take the stresses and allow more flex so you don't tear anything loose. Only disadvantage is you HAVE to attach this when you are fully down, and have to remove it before you can start to pop up.

I actually have the 2x4 already set up from when I carried bikes in the back of my Dodge Dakota pickup (which I greatly regret selling ). I was planning to put the feet and strap eyes on it as described above, but decided to try a "clamp on" hitch mount bike rack first. If the clamp on doesn't work well, then I'll finish this one.

[Jeremy]

John,
 
Thanks for that idea.. I'll give that a shot. When I get it done, I'll post up some pics.
 
 
 
Instead of getting rubber feet, I'll do 2x4 cross pieces (padded under to avoid marking up the roof) to keep the front-to-back rocking down as well. This will give pleanty of room for the hooks to strap the back of the bikes to.  Plus that will allow me to spread out the eyelets on the end pieces for additional strength. In the image, the red blocks are the bike mounts, the green blocks are the end eyelets for the straps