4 Bikes on luggage rack

mr_andyj wrote:
You should be able to just remove the hinge pin and not have to grind, but if you want the stock luggage rack gone, as it is not for bikes, not 4 bikes, then you can cut it off.
I'm not here to ask why the rack cannot be just removed. He said it is welded on, I provide how to un-weld it. Welding is not as permanent as the grinder is.

After you get a proper bike rack you will say, this was such a good move.

Not ALL hing pins are "removable" without causing collateral damage to the pin or hinge. Some pins may be friction fit like a standard home door hinge, but pins that must never leave their proper place in life are often mushroomed on both ends making easy removal, not easy or impossible.

OP didn't say they want the rack removed, they mentioned they were not able to find a way to remove the rack and were asking how they could haul the bikes without damage to said bikes.

Big difference..

I have seen those racks, strangely enough, unlike typical shoddy RV manufacturing they are very well built and OP simply needs a way of adapting the existing rack or in other words converting the rack from cargo to a sturdy bike rack..

All it takes is something to clamp the bikes to individually at the top and tie the wheels to the rack. If they are not touching and are not able to move they cannot damage each other.

That cargo rack can easily be converted to a top notch bike rack by adding a bike bar with clamps to the existing cargo rack parts with just a bit of creative thinking. I could do that in my sleep and OP was handy to me, I would offer to help them sort it out without the need of hacking things up with a grinder..

Matter of fact, here is another example of a bike rack that can easily be adapted to the cargo tray..



That is a car roof top bike rack which uses the bikes front forks for secure mounting.. I see those all the times on roofs of cars, those bike mounted that way cannot move, bounce, touch or damage the next bike.





Rear wheel is strapped down to the rack



You can simply bolt right through the existing cargo tray.

The downside of this rack is you have to remove the front wheels..

Adding a simple horizontal bike rack bar from and existing bike rack gets you the clamps for the top of the bikes and eliminates the need to remove front wheels.. Fast, safe and efficient.