How To Keep Your Vehicle Damage-Free When Using A Bike Rack?
What a frustrating prospect, you’ve been looking forward to getting to the trailhead all morning as you drove down the highway with your bike rack stuffed full of bicycles, and now you won’t be able to get there. After arriving, parking your vehicle, and beginning to unload the bicycles, you notice that the paintwork on your vehicle has some blemishes. Before you even start pedaling, you have had to deal with that challenge, which is not ideal.
When utilizing a bike rack, it is of the utmost importance to ensure that your car does not sustain any harm in the process, don’t you agree?
What do you need to consider?
This post is going to focus on three different types of bike racks, and then it is going to discuss the steps that need to be taken in order to protect our cars from scuffs and scratches.
- A rack was installed on the roof
- Mount for the trunk rack
- A rack that attaches to a hitch receiver
Roof mount rack:
Because it is mounted to a roof rack or to crossbars, this particular style of bike rack does not come into contact with the car. Therefore, there is no possibility of rubbing or scratching the paintwork at the contact points, since there aren’t any. This is because there aren’t any contact points.
You can think that everything is OK and that there is no possibility of any harm, but hold on for a second… Because putting bikes onto the rack requires lifting them over your head and manhandling them on the roof, there is an increased risk of accidents. Because of this, it is extremely vital that you are strong enough and that you use extreme caution while loading the bikes.
Because the loaded bicycles are hidden from view on the roof, it is possible that you may forget about them. This might be a problem if you need to drive into your garage or past a barrier that has a height restriction. Driving along roadways that have low branches that overhang onto the roadway is another potential source of the difficulty.
It is possible to prevent damage when using a roof mount rack by ensuring that the bike attachments are robust and secure, thereby eliminating any possibility of the bicycles becoming detached during travel. Additionally, it is important to be aware of where you are driving because there may be height restrictions in the area.
Trunk mount rack:
Only this design out of the three that have been explained here will really make touch with the body of your car. Your vehicle serves as a support for the bike rack, which is held in place there by means of straps or wires. As a result, there are several points of contact between the rack and your vehicle, each of which has the possibility of causing harm to the other. The use of sticky feet made of soft rubber and clips will both prevent harm and halt sliding. If the rack is able to adhere to the wall really well, there shouldn’t be any issues.
Because loading bicycles into the back of a car is simple, there is little to no risk of the paintwork on your vehicle being scratched as a result of loading bicycles. However, the next problem that has to be resolved is the possibility that the laden bicycles would rock back and forth while they are being carried. While you are driving, if the bike that is closest to the automobile has the potential to swing into the rear of it, you will incur damage. If your car is equipped with effective ant-sway technology, the risk of bikes colliding with it will be eliminated.
If you have a rack that attaches to the trunk of your vehicle, you can prevent damage to your vehicle by ensuring that the contact points are made of sticky, soft rubber feet and clips. Additionally, you should ensure that no dirt or grit gets trapped between the rubber and the paintwork and that the bike that is positioned closest to the back of your vehicle is prevented from swaying into it while you are driving, regardless of how bumpy the road may be.
Hitch mount rack:
This particular form of bike rack does not touch the car; rather, it is secured by sliding into a hitch receiver. Because it does not touch the vehicle, there are no contact areas that might cause damage to the paintwork.
The procedure of loading bicycles onto the rack needs very little lifting, and in the process, the bicycles are kept away from the paintwork.
The only thing that might possibly cause damage to your vehicle is if the bicycle that is mounted inside the vehicle closest to the automobile moves about while it is being carried and accidentally knocks against it. This will not occur because of a technological advancement known as anti-sway.
Therefore, to prevent any damage to your car from occurring as a result of using a hitch mount rack, just ensure that no bicycle is able to come into contact with your vehicle while you are behind the wheel.
Avoid piling too many bicycles onto your rack.
It is important to keep in mind that bike racks have a maximum weight capacity that should not be exceeded. It is important to remember those hitch receivers also have a vertical weight restriction, so you should never exceed it.
Be aware that the foam rubber feet used on more cheap bike racks are far less capable of protecting paintwork in the appropriate manner.
Securely tying down the front wheels that are turning will eliminate any possibility of harm to the vehicle while it is in motion.
Always check to make sure that your bike and its rack are mounted in a safe and secure manner.
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