DB6 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I wonder what contraptions members have come up or bought to carry luggage /tents/cargo/ or Costco run in general? I spoke to Ben at Caterham last year and he said the Cat Luggage rack "is not that great". I was thinking of dumping the spare and using the wheel carrier to strap a case to. Happy Motoring...(oh that was Esso's ad years ago right,lol) David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskossie Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 DB6, I am in the process of fabricating an aluminum luggage rack for my Caterham Seven. I have thought a lot about it, visualized it in my head, and am now finally getting out the saw, drill, tubing bender, tubing cutter, etc. etc. I'll have to send any welding out to be done by someone with the equipment and skill -- probably the major expense. The aluminum raw materials I have bought from McMaster-Carr, which has an infinite variety of aluminum stock. The basic frame of 1-inch x 1 1/2-inch aluminum box tube will lie behind the spare tire, and its bases will slip over the spare-tire holder (which has been cut off, and will be re-mounted 1 inch further rearward, and made removable). At their tops, the bases will have tension straps that go around the roll-bar braces, under the rear tonneau cover. There will be a side-rack of 5/8-inch aluminum tubing extending out on each side of the spare tire, and a top rack on top of the spare tire. The side racks will be removable without removing the rest of the rack, if I want to carry only one bag, instead of three. The top rack will be removable, if I need to take the spare tire off and replace it with a flat tire. The right-hand side bag will have to be removed to reach the gas tank filler, which is the only downside to designing the side bags on the rack. I bought three heavy-duty black nylon ski boot bags from Sierra Trading Post for $25 each, and these will be the designated bags that I will use on the rack. Each bag is approximately 16" x 14" x 9". The two bags for the side racks will lie on their sides (to narrow their width and confine it mostly to the rear panel and not onto the rear fenders). The bags will be secured to the rack with nylon straps and buckles, and I will have waterproof nylon over-covers made with drawstrings, to insure that the bags stay water-tight. At least, that is the plan..... When it's all done (and if it works, and does not look to amateurish), I'll post photos. Otherwise...... Ben at RMSC is right -- the Caterham "luggage rack" is a pretty marginal affair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxologist Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 softbitsforsevens' E bags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Will you be able to lock this storage in some way, or otherwise secure it? See Southwind's car for a nice storage solution (large leather Harley Davidson bag at the back in place of the spare tire). If you don't need the passenger seat, think abt removing it for trips, that will free up some storage. On long trips I run with the top up (doors off) so it doesn't take up storage. If I unzip the rear window, it's a sort of bikini top. There is less pounding sun too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soareyes Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Gert's Birkin SUV: http://home.earthlink.net/~slomove/id12.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southwind25 Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 We fabricated a really nice rack for the Birkin. people have even said "nice rack". Anyways we simply used a harley leather bag on it. and it works great! We used round tube on ours and polished it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 This link will take you to a high res photo taken on US2005 that shows how some of the folks handled extra storage on tour. This particular car has the Soft Bits for Sevens E-bag on top of the boot and small backpacks bungee corded to the roll bar’s rear stays. Rather than backpacks, some folks attached dry bags in that location, which do a great job to keep things dry when you hit the inevitable rainstorm (it isn’t a proper se7en tour if you don’t experience any inclement weather). Space saver travel bags are another great way to extend your luggage space. It’s amazing how many clothes you can pack in a small space using those. -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiBirkin Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 We fabricated a really nice rack for the Birkin. people have even said "nice rack". Anyways we simply used a harley leather bag on it. and it works great! We used round tube on ours and polished it. Do you have any pictures Southwind ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskossie Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Southwind, Any photos of your "nice rack"? On my planned rack, the bags won't be secured, except perhaps by a bicycle-type cable and lock. My rack will be used in conjunction with a Softbits E-bag. I am planning for storage that did not stick up above the profile of the Seven, and not too far out the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Southwind, Any photos of your "nice rack"? So wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 See the post: "gentleman start your odometers", wh/I just bumped, for photo-specifically post # 35. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 One of the nice things about the new forum software is that you can link to a specific post. Post #35. -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 One of the nice things about the new forum software is that you can link to a specific post. Post #35. -John yup. The old software did not even have post numbers... let alone links Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian7 Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I keep saying I'm going to do this: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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