Utilitrack Yakima bicycle mount

[kanger328]

Now, does anyone know of a bike rack that does NOT require you to pull the front wheel off? I hate the hassle of pulling that front tire off every time. THanks!

[HRTKD]

Maybe you can find a way to rig up one of these to the Utilitrak.

[Parisv]

Thanks to everyone for your creative ideas on finding ways to use the Utilitrack system to mount bikes. It inspired me to come up with this inexpensive and relatively easy solution.

Items Needed:

• 10mm socket or wrench
• Drill and metal drill bit
• Saris Traps Fork Mount or similar (Yakima, RockyMounts, etc.) I used the Saris, because it was what my local bike shop had in stock and they're only $19.99 each, and in hindsight it has the biggest pre-drilled holes, so less effort was needed to make them larger.

1. Remove all 4 of the Utiltrack's small square hardware pieces (not the tie down clamps). I'm not sure what these pieces are called or even used for, but I've never used them prior to this nor can I see any need for them. I suppose they could be used to make it more difficult for people to steal the tie-down clamps, but that's about it.
2. Disassemble the pieces and set aside.
3. Drill out the Saris Trap Fork Mount just enough to accommodate the stock bolts that are part of the small square Utilitrack hardware.
4. Slide the bolts through the Saris Trap Fork Mount, through the thicker metal piece from the Utiltrack hardware, then into the metal plate that will sit behind the Utiltrack rail.
5. I didn't use the washers, but you can if you want.
6. Tighten with your 10mm socket or wrench and you’re done.

Ideally, I wanted to mount this on the front bed rail, so the bikes would face forward, but the front and floor rails are narrower and as such, you can't put in the metal plate into the rail without removing the entire rail. I don't know if you ever tried removing the rail, but I attempted it and wound up just stripping the star screws. They're in really tight on my bed. Anyway, this worked out better, because you can mount at least 4 bikes in this manner and possibly more. However, if you want to mount more than two, you'll need to find out where you can buy more of these mystery metal square pieces that were on the Utiltrack system. (The pieces referenced above are called stops - learned after this post)

I hope this helps.

...yes, you still need to put the front wheels somewhere.

Pictures attached.

[HRTKD]

FYI, I think the square hardware pieces are called stops. I'm not sure what they are supposed to stop though. The only time I have seen them used was when they were cannibalized for some other purpose like you did.

[Parisv]

Thanks. Maybe they're to "stop" would-be thieves from stealing the Tie-Down Cargo Cleats.

[mjbjhu]

anyone added rail to the bed sides of the truck and then put a "standard" bike carrier from yakima or thule on them?

I want to be able to use my bed while still carrying the bike and possibly having the cover closed (extang trifecta).

I don't like the overhead racks so they are out.

I was thinking of putting the standard yakima tracks on the bed sides and then just using a normal yakima rack to hold the bikes. Any ideas?

[Diablo]

Originally Posted by Parisv

Thanks to everyone for your creative ideas on finding ways to use the Utilitrack system to mount bikes. It inspired me to come up with this inexpensive and relatively easy solution.

Items Needed:

• 10mm socket or wrench
• Drill and metal drill bit
• Saris Traps Fork Mount or similar (Yakima, RockyMounts, etc.) I used the Saris, because it was what my local bike shop had in stock and they're only $19.99 each, and in hindsight it has the biggest pre-drilled holes, so less effort was needed to make them larger.

1. Remove all 4 of the Utiltrack's small square hardware pieces (not the tie down clamps). I'm not sure what these pieces are called or even used for, but I've never used them prior to this nor can I see any need for them. I suppose they could be used to make it more difficult for people to steal the tie-down clamps, but that's about it.
2. Disassemble the pieces and set aside.
3. Drill out the Saris Trap Fork Mount just enough to accommodate the stock bolts that are part of the small square Utilitrack hardware.
4. Slide the bolts through the Saris Trap Fork Mount, through the thicker metal piece from the Utiltrack hardware, then into the metal plate that will sit behind the Utiltrack rail.
5. I didn't use the washers, but you can if you want.
6. Tighten with your 10mm socket or wrench and you’re done.

Ideally, I wanted to mount this on the front bed rail, so the bikes would face forward, but the front and floor rails are narrower and as such, you can't put in the metal plate into the rail without removing the entire rail. I don't know if you ever tried removing the rail, but I attempted it and wound up just stripping the star screws. They're in really tight on my bed. Anyway, this worked out better, because you can mount at least 4 bikes in this manner and possibly more. However, if you want to mount more than two, you'll need to find out where you can buy more of these mystery metal square pieces that were on the Utiltrack system. (The pieces referenced above are called stops - learned after this post)

I hope this helps.

...yes, you still need to put the front wheels somewhere.

Pictures attached.

I did this this evening and it worked great. I bought some cheap fork mounts ($20 each), drilled them out and and utilized the stops. It worked perfect.

[Parisv]

Sweet! Pretty straightforward and inexpensive. We recently had 5 bikes in the bed. Two in the racks and the remaining 3 bungeed to the second bike.

[Diablo]

I mounted mine on the front bedrail. The reason the front Torx bolts are so tight is because the factory installs them with blue loc-tite. When removing them you have to be real careful with the Torx bit otherwise the potential is high to strip the head out. It took a little time but after I got them out it only took about ten minutes to put it all back together with two bike mounts. Again, thanks for the helpful info.