wayland1985

I'm trying to install the darn hitch ski again, in freezing temperatures....


I had teh same problem last year, trying to line up those plastic C-clamps with the holes on the rack. It was a PITA then, and it's worse now. I lost one of the stupid nuts in teh snow somewhere, so I may have to go to the Home Depot and hunt for a replacement.

My question is this: Do you guys think just strapping the Hitch Ski's cross-bar to the Regular bike carriers is enough (So they're strapped in using the rubber straps?) Or do you think they're too brittle/not strong enough in the cold?

It would be much easier if you can just use the bike holders and the U-bolt....

RevyJKU08

I don't have the Thule hitch ski rack....but myself I would not use a bungee strap if it's cold you have a good chance of that rubber bungee failing!

Have you looked at some sort of trailer hitch locking pin that would fit into that hole???

wayland1985

Eh, that wouldn't work at all:

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/orsra...ctions-pdf.pdf


That'll give you a better idea of what we're dealing with. The straps aren't just regular bungees. They're pretty heavy duty rubber... The Yakima version of this rack (Which is probaby what I should have purchased in the first place) does away with the bolts, and just uses the regular bike cradles to hold it in...

RevyJKU08

Even still the harder rubber bungee straps will crack or break if it does get cold enough. I get it now you need the nut and bolt to get the C-clamp to grab a tighter hold onto the rack.

Can you get a metal C-clamp welded onto the rack and then use a some form of a locking pin to make it easier???

wayland1985

I ended up finding a matching nut for the c-clamp. I think the rubber straps would've been enough, as that's all Yakima uses on their rack ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1nf8rS20Zw ) But, again, If I'm going to be putting $1000 worth of snowboards on the back... I might as well do what the manual says to...