Volvo Owners Club Forum - View Single Post

ianu · Sep 11th, 2012, 20:19

I have used a rear mounted rack - see picture below and indeed used reinforcing webbing straps tied to the roof rails to take the 'horizontal strain' of the weight. Very little of the load actually pulls the tailgate as the majority is sitting on the bumper rests.
the arrangement in the picture took me to the South of France and back with no trouble or i'll effect on the car.
It is a bit of a faff that you have to either remove the bikes to get into the boot - or load the boot through the car. Ultimately depends how often and for how long you want to use it I suppose.

Technically you need to be carefull that you are not obscuring your lights or number plate in which case you'll need a tailboard anyway (as I have too) to avoid any legal attention. This is obviously an advantage of having a tow hitch too - you can choose either option. I also used a roof mounted rack as there wasn't room for 4 bikes on here - height is definitely a factor and side steps help enormously (I'm 6'4" and wouldn't have managed without them) or you need a small pair of steps unless you have the all singing swing mechanism thingybob that lifts it for you..

SO - rear mounted racks are not impossible on this car if you respect the physics of what you're doing. There are some very effective tow hitch mounted ones though that give you better flexibility for boot access, there's plenty of people on here that can recommend their preferences.
All I'd say though is be realistic about how often you are likely to use it and base your budget around that. I very rarely use mine so the hassle involved in strapping it all together outweighs the expense of a ball mounted version. I already had the tow hitch fitted so didn't need to factor that in - it helped anyway as I needed to use a light board.

Hope that helps.

Cheers
Ian.

Sep 11th, 2012, 20:19	#4
ianu Premier Member Last Online: Apr 14th, 2024 19:25 Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Bicester	I have used a rear mounted rack - see picture below and indeed used reinforcing webbing straps tied to the roof rails to take the 'horizontal strain' of the weight. Very little of the load actually pulls the tailgate as the majority is sitting on the bumper rests. the arrangement in the picture took me to the South of France and back with no trouble or i'll effect on the car. It is a bit of a faff that you have to either remove the bikes to get into the boot - or load the boot through the car. Ultimately depends how often and for how long you want to use it I suppose. Technically you need to be carefull that you are not obscuring your lights or number plate in which case you'll need a tailboard anyway (as I have too) to avoid any legal attention. This is obviously an advantage of having a tow hitch too - you can choose either option. I also used a roof mounted rack as there wasn't room for 4 bikes on here - height is definitely a factor and side steps help enormously (I'm 6'4" and wouldn't have managed without them) or you need a small pair of steps unless you have the all singing swing mechanism thingybob that lifts it for you.. SO - rear mounted racks are not impossible on this car if you respect the physics of what you're doing. There are some very effective tow hitch mounted ones though that give you better flexibility for boot access, there's plenty of people on here that can recommend their preferences. All I'd say though is be realistic about how often you are likely to use it and base your budget around that. I very rarely use mine so the hassle involved in strapping it all together outweighs the expense of a ball mounted version. I already had the tow hitch fitted so didn't need to factor that in - it helped anyway as I needed to use a light board. Hope that helps. Cheers Ian.