# Homemade Hitch Rack for Bikes & Cargo



## lunchwagon (Apr 29, 2010)

Here is a little something I recently made to haul bikes and miscellaneous cargo using a 2" receiver. Yakima used to make a hitch rack called the Hitchfork, but discontinued it around 2005. These are hard to find now unless you get lucky on Ebay or Craigslist. I always liked the idea of the Hitchfork because it let you mount any Yakima product designed for a roof rack to a hitch receiver rack instead.










Some of the reasons I made this vs. buying new:
- I wanted to haul 4 bikes behind the vehicle, but don't like the hanging style racks, and didn't want to pay $500+ for a tray style rack. I also wanted the versatility of a flat cargo carrier.
- I had a bunch of old Yakima parts laying around that I've collected over the years.
- I wanted to be able to carry coolers, duffle bags, Rubbermaid totes, and other gear on the rack, not just bikes.
- Now I can easily throw this on a friends rig and make them drive to trailhead instead of always having to drive my truck.
- It was a fun project.

Parts list:
- Hitch mounted flat cargo carrier. I paid $70 for this at a local farm supply store, but they are easy to find online too.
- Old Yakima bars
- 4 Steel 1 1/4" auto exhaust clamps with U-bolts
- 8 angle braces with pre-drilled holes
- 16 hex bolts 1/4" diameter by 3/4" length with lock washers and nuts

Start out with the bare cargo carrier.










I spaced the angle braces to the width of the exhaust clamp U-bolt, then drilled 1/4" holes in the side rails of the cargo carrier. Then I mounted the angle braces to the side rails with the hex bolts.



















Next, I added the yakima bars and attached them with the exhaust clamps and U-bolts. They exhaust clamps were hard to find in the 1 1/4" size, so I had to order online from a performance auto site, but they were only about $2 each.










I cut the bars using a hacksaw, I think they protrude about 16" over the rear edge of the cargo carrier.

Closeup of the connection:










I used lock washers and blue locktite on all the bolts. Be careful not to overtighten, or you can bend the steel exhaust clamps.

Then I added some Yakima fork mounts. I feel that fork mounts are the most stable, but any yakima compatible mount would work. I have a couple old lockjaws that I've used on there too and they are just as solid.










Set up to carry 2 bikes and other cargo:




























Set up for 4 bikes:



















Pictures were all taken using a camera phone, so I apologize for that. I just hauled 4 30ish pound bikes on a 1500 mile road trip at freeway speed and this rack worked great, absolutely no problems. I was a little worried that the tray cargo carrier would bend some with the extra weight protruding over the rear, but it didn't seem to at all. There was no wobble in the rack thanks to the Hitch-vise product I found at hitchrider.com.

Hopefully this gives you DIYers some good ideas.

Also, if you're wondering why I don't just carry the bikes in the back of the truck, it's because I usually have a camper shell on plus dogs and camping gear in the back. We also use this on my gf's SUV.


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## SRock24 (Mar 10, 2012)

nice work. that is some good engineering


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## beagledadi (Jul 18, 2004)

That'll work :thumbsup:

Matt


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## RedMan* (Apr 1, 2012)

Outstanding idea right there.
I picked up the basket rack with hoops for 3 bikes, but the hoops that hold the bike and attachs to the basket leaves something to be desired.

Will see if I can impliment somthing similar.

Thanks for taking the time to post this up,
Stu


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## ferday (Jan 15, 2004)

Very cool! I think I'll steal this for my jeep project. I have a bunch of discarded old racks...I like how it isn't welded good DIY stuff!


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## locknload223 (Mar 23, 2012)

Nice work!! I love the multi-functionality.


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## lunchwagon (Apr 29, 2010)

Glad that this is giving you all some ideas. I've got a Yakima frontloader on there now. My new bike has 15QR fork, so the upgrade was warranted I thought. Frontloaders are nice because they can be moved to any other roof rack in just a few minutes. You can probably tell this rack is all about versatility.


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## miles of pain (Sep 11, 2009)

Nice! I had actually been playing around with a similar idea and stumbled onto this. Will be trying something similar this summer.


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## DieselvRR (May 28, 2013)

Love it, i know this is an old thread but wanted to check to see how its held up.


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## EZuphill (Nov 21, 2011)

Excellent work man!

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2


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## lunchwagon (Apr 29, 2010)

Still going strong! I only use it a few times a year though, usually camping trips and bike vacations. Camper shell is usually off in the summer so it's easier to carry bikes with a tailgate pad.


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## DieselvRR (May 28, 2013)

lunchwagon said:


> Still going strong! I only use it a few times a year though, usually camping trips and bike vacations. Camper shell is usually off in the summer so it's easier to carry bikes with a tailgate pad.


What size cargo did you use? 40-48inch or 60inch?


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## Kryptoroxx (Apr 11, 2013)

Awesome idea man! I did something a little different than you but I'm going to go get some tube steel and modify mine a little to fit 4. 

I was going to double the length of my rack and mesh it all back in with another finger block but doing that I'm pretty much building a whole new rack

Hand typed and Telegraphed


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## lunchwagon (Apr 29, 2010)

DieselvRR said:


> What size cargo did you use? 40-48inch or 60inch?


The basket is 60" by 19.5"


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## shadow1 (Oct 29, 2004)

lunchwagon said:


> Still going strong! I only use it a few times a year though, usually camping trips and bike vacations. Camper shell is usually off in the summer so it's easier to carry bikes with a tailgate pad.


Any pics? The original pics are no longer posted in the thread.


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## lunchwagon (Apr 29, 2010)

Wow, can't believe I do, but here they are. These pics and bikes are OLD!






  







  







  







  







  







  







  







  







  







  







  







  







  




❮
❯


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## shadow1 (Oct 29, 2004)

Awesome idea. Thanks for uploading pics!


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## Pico23 (11 mo ago)

lunchwagon said:


> Wow, can't believe I do, but here they are. These pics and bikes are OLD!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thread from the dead. Building one of these now. This is a totally different design than I've seen, love it. Not going this route but enjoy seeing different designs and considered a design similar to this. Haven't seen too many that went this route. Wondering how this held up over the years with the force on the edges of the carrier? I'm actually thinking of using the edges to elevate a drop in platform over my mounts so I can use the full 60 inches when I don't haul bikes.


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