Hey guys, I have a welding question I wanted to throw at you. We have a Yakima hitch mount bike rack that we use for our Electra cruisers, and though the rack is designed for four bikes, we've never put more than 2 on there since they're around 40-45 pounds. My car has a Class II hitch but my wife's car is limited to only Class I hitches available.
Our bike rack is the Yakima Double Down, here's a somewhat relevant discussion but the rack and hitch do mate together.
http://www.amazon.com/Will-Yakima-Doubl ... automotive
I bought a Class I hitch for her car but haven't installed it yet. The receiver tube is just welded to the square bar hitch with no bracing, gusseting or anything to reinforce it. Just the flat surfaces of the two square tubes welded together at a 90 deg angle. I was wondering if it would work to weld a small length of angle iron or square tubing into that joint to reinforce it, and if then it might be strong enough to safely transport the rack plus two bikes. The rack itself weighs about 30 pounds.
I don't know how to weld myself but have a friend who does. Just wanted to get a few opinions on this, thanks!
Our bike rack is the Yakima Double Down, here's a somewhat relevant discussion but the rack and hitch do mate together.
http://www.amazon.com/Will-Yakima-Doubl ... automotive
I bought a Class I hitch for her car but haven't installed it yet. The receiver tube is just welded to the square bar hitch with no bracing, gusseting or anything to reinforce it. Just the flat surfaces of the two square tubes welded together at a 90 deg angle. I was wondering if it would work to weld a small length of angle iron or square tubing into that joint to reinforce it, and if then it might be strong enough to safely transport the rack plus two bikes. The rack itself weighs about 30 pounds.
I don't know how to weld myself but have a friend who does. Just wanted to get a few opinions on this, thanks!