| Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ For comments from customers click here For an explanation of what tie-downs you need - click here Fitting | Economy | Legal | Corrosion Loads | Overloads | Driving | Make-my-own | Bike racks These questions relate to the use of the whole bak-rak family. If you are looking at Base-rak with a desire to work out which bits you need then click here. Any questions not answered? e-mail to FAQ@bak-rak.com or fax as below Q1. Will bak-rak fit any tow-bar A1. Yes – the latest universal fitting fits all euro tow-balls including swan-neck and special Al-Ko products. They even fit the Aluminium forged system used as OE on BMW and Audi . Bak-rak can also be fitted onto pin and ball universal couplings such as the Dixon-Bate range. However these vary slightly in the width of the flange below the ball. In some cases this may be over 50mm. In this case it will be necessary to either relieve the sides of the flange [a virtually unstressed area though the manufacturers will not give approval as they are tied by their DoT approval requirement] or to cut back the bak-rak in this area - a less good engineering process - but we will give instructions if required. If you are using the rack at the top end of the loading capability for your vehicle then you can use the optional load straps [£6] or a ratchet strap to support the outer edge of the rack from the top of a boot, spare wheel or rear door. This depends on you having an estate, MPV or 4x4. You can even use a base-rak on a motorcycle such as a Honda Goldwing [we have sold lots] to carry luggage, wheelchairs ..all sorts of things - but it is very much your responsibility to load it so it doesn't effect the handling of the bike...light stuff only!! Q1A. My bak-rak seems to swivel even when clamped tight. A1A. If the clamshell goes on a brand new tow-ball with paint [or lacquer used on new zinc-plated balls] then this acts as a lubricant. Equally any trace of grease will let the clamshell move. Clean the inside of the clam thoroughly [glass-paper or wire wool] and remove paint/grease from the tow-ball and you should not have a problem. To get rid of all grease a clamshell can be put into the dishwasher for a couple of cycles. Q2. Will the fuel consumption be affected. A2. Unlike roof-boxes and trailers the bak-rak sits tight into the aerodynamic void behind the car so will have no effect on consumption whatever speed you travel. On some cars the drag will actually be reduced as the rack smoothes the air flow behind the vehicle. Q3. Are there any legal limitations
on what I carry or where I go. A3. The bak-rak is limited on the load it can carry. There is a maximum nose weight defined for all modern vehicles that should not be exceeded and base-rak has a maximum limit of 100 kg distributed evenly over the rack. If you exceed these weights you are potentially carrying an unsafe load and could be taken to court by the police. However bak-rak has been tested with 650kg - so your tow-bracket will be the limiting factor. If you have an estate, MPV, SUV
or hatchback you can support the outer edge of the rack with load straps
to the top of the rear door. This can legally allow you to exceed the
tow-bar weight limit as the extra weight is supported elsewhere on the
car. The limit on your specific vehicle is your responsibility and
generally the manufacturers will have nothing to do with specifying
maximum loads that can be hung onto the rear door.
Unlike trailers there are no
speed-limits for bak-rak and you can use lane3 on the motorway. On ferries
and autoroutes you are not subject to the extra charges which are levied
on vehicles with trailers. Q4. Do I need a lighting board & do you sell them. A4. Only if you pile the rack
so you cannot see the lights or number plate of the car. The lighting
bar will need to reproduce whatever you can’t see. If just the number-plate
is hidden [on modern cars like a Punto / latest Corsa which have very
high light clusters] then just a number-plate is needed. But if all
the lights are hidden then a full lighting-board will be necessary. We use a separate lighting
board because it ties in with the modular logic of our racks. In
addition you will find with built in lighting that a few years down the
road you will start having problems with corroded bulbs and contacts and
the odd hour with grease and glasspaper [ normally when the car is
loaded up ready to go] easily equates to replacement of the lightbar
every few years! The opposition sell you
their products to use now!! We sell you a bak-rak to use for ever!!!! Q5. What can I carry on bak-rak. A5. If your vehicle can take
a nose weight over 100 kg then you can carry up to 100kg by weight [60
kg for basket and box-raks]. Bulkier
packages that can be fixed on can be carried. But make sure the lights
etc. are visible. If you want to think of the alternative
things you may want to carry over the 20 year life of the rack then
we could be here for ever. Visits to the dump with anything from a sofa
to a television. Collecting all manner of purchases. In the last three
months ours has been used for cement-mixers, paving slabs, mowers, potted
plants, Christmas tree, a sofa and a dog-kennel [in which our dog tried
to travel]. Q6. There is no recommendation for nose-weight on
our 1955 Wartburg. [you may guess that this is an infrequently
asked question - it's the principle that counts] A6. Well, a Wartburg is unusual
– if you can find the make of the tow-bracket you may get some assistance.
Owners clubs may know. If they have all ceased to exist as well then
you are rather on your own, though bear in mind the police will not
be able to establish a nose-weight either. Just act sensibly and guess
the nose-weight from similar vehicles. If in doubt use 50kg as the nose
weight - hence 40kg for the rack load without additional straps [60kg
with straps] . Q8. What happens if I overload
bak-rak? A8. Ultimately you will bend
it. But the loads are massive and you will damage the
tow-bracket in the process. Bak-rak is stressed for a 100kg distributed
load, with a good margin for error to allow for the extra dynamic loads
from driving over sleeping policemen and general road lumps and bumps.
Our tests loaded the rack with a 650kg load so this margin for error is high. But it is designed for sensible
use by sensible people. If your local rugby team all climb on it, it
will bend before it gets to any sleeping policemen! And we are sorry,
but that won’t be covered by our normal warranty. Neither will the tow-bracket
be covered by their warranty - so it is best not to go there! You can avoid most chance of
bending the rack by using the optional load straps to support the outside
edge of the rack from the top of a rear hatch-back. ( the way many bike-racks
support the load). But if your friends in the rugby club have a laugh
- then you will bend the rack and the rear door. Q9. What do I do if I bend bak-rak? A9. If you bend your rack we
will provide a reduced price replacement . Bak-rak users are very important
to us! But no-one has managed it yet except for one Gent who
reversed into a tree!! E-mail us the details and we promise to be
as helpful as we can. We want you recommending bak-rak to all your
friends, so it is in our interest to keep you happy! Q10. My bak-rak tends to
swivel on the ball. A10. It is important to clean
the grease off the ball and clam to reduce the tendency to swivel. All
the clamshells now are fitted with small grub-screws in the throat area
and these can be screwed out so they dig into the ball. If you want to
make the fitting completely swivel-proof then dimple the throat area of
the ball where the grub-screw marks it, using a small drill.
As a further option we can sell you an anti-swivel collar kit ( £15)
which will allow you to change the large M12 X 30 bolt for clamping with
a ratchet handwheel removing the need to use a spanner. Q11. Why can't I just make
my own rack. A11. You can! That is how we
started - but unless you copy our design you will end up with a rack
probably twice as heavy [ours weighs 6kg]. And all of the extra weight will come off the
load carrying capability. If you copy our design it will probably cost
twice as much as buying one from us - we know as we have made the [expensive]
prototypes. So the bottom line is that you will be better off with
a bak-rak - which is really not expensive when you look at what it will
do and the years it will last!!
Q12. Do your bike racks cope
with different e.g. kids or electric bikes A12. Our standard base-rak with bike racks is
designed for 'normal' adult bikes with a frame tube up to 40mm. It is
the standard bike rack built by the thousand and on sale in most car
accessory shops - normally for around £25. Base-rak will take any roof-type
bike racks so if you have a strange bike then buying a single rack locally
for that will allow it to be fitted. In practice kids bikes can be accommodated
by our standard bike racks by shortening the diagonal tubes then flattening
and re-drilling the ends as per the original. It is obviously your responsibility
to do it safely!! The rack is fine for electric
bikes if they have a conventional diagonal down tube of less than 40mm.
If not you will need to source your own bike-rack to fit on the base. Our gallows type racks allow
carriage of up to 4 normal bikes. However the gallows design does not
give the modular flexibility of the base-rak plus bike-raks.
Q13. Have you got any boxes currently
available - are there any alternatives. A13. We do a really tough aluminium box for £250
and a robust plastic box for £65. You can find a range of boxes from all
sorts of other sources. One of the benefits of bak-rak modular design. The pictures alongside show
a garden cushion box fitted onto a plywood base - a good technique. We supply simple
fitting brackets which can also fit it onto an Xtender bar for
quick release. Q14. My rack is not vertical
/horizontal . A14. This will indicate that
your tow-bar is not mounted properly. As most uses of the towbar don't
matter for the verticality of the ball, fitters tend to tighten up the
bolts with the rack dangling and hence all tolerances on holes go in one
direction. You need to slacken off the mounting bolts and push the rack
up vertical and retighten in that position. This should solve the
problem. |
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Bike rack support shown with one arm modified for a child's bike |
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| Contact Details - Tel: LO-call Tel 0845 00 33 4 55 fax 0845 00 33 55 3 e-mail sales@bak-rak.com
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bak-rak tow-ball mounted carrier for anything - from bikes to bins |
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