- Lots of steel and spray paint
This was a relatively simple project that quickly evolved into something much more complex. All I wanted was a rack that would keep my equipment out of the car but I couldn’t find anything that I liked.
Since my car didn’t come with a tow bar I needed to install one. I found a tow hitch receiver on Amazon but I didn’t like how low it sat. I decided to modify the hitch by cutting it apart and removing a 2.5” section, effectively raising the ground clearance. Once removed, I was able to reassemble all the pieces. In order to accommodate the now higher hitch receiver, I had to cut a slot in the rear bumper cover. With the hitch finally bolted on I was ready to focus on the original project.
I knew that I wanted certain features:
► The ability to accommodate multiple snowboards
► A way to hang wet boots at the end of the day
► A tilt feature to allow access to the trunk
► It had to be lightweight
► An easy, efficient strapping system that could be operated with gloved hands
I had a pretty solid idea in my head so I just started cutting and welding. The tilting mechanism was the most challenging detail until it occurred to me that I could scavenge a few key components from an old tape gun.