One of the challenges with the new van is of course the smaller space available to store all our sport gear items to make the most of the range of conditions Aviemore can offer. Often the best conditions for any one venture are impromptu ones made on the day.
With the bikes safe inside the van, the dilemma was where we were going to put the skis and snowboard gear.
We have some Thule ski and snowboard roof rack mounts from a previous car and these would work just as well vertically attached to the van’s rear ladder. However, some creative thinking was needed to be able to attach the mounts to the ladder.
The blokpod bike tray in the van gave Illya some ideas of the materials to use to make some adaptation struts which attach to the ladder enabling the much wider ski rack mounts to be attached to them.
With the purchase of 4 stainless steel u bolts and a £89 3m length aluminium double groove strut from RS Pro Components a plan was easy to execute. To make a neat job for both Illya’s satisfaction and professional look it did take about a day to cut 2 simple struts each of 75cm in length. Only having simple tools being sure to square off the ends was time consuming. A machine shop would have been handy with a pillar drill. The addition of slots for holes to accommodate various future proofing u-bolts added time to the build.
The struts are made and as you can see they do a fine job. The great thing about the Thule ski rack mounts is they hide all the nuts and bolts make for a secure fitting.
The same struts repositioned on the ladder can also be used to mount vertically one bike easily, two bikes with some faff.
Good to be able re-use old gear again. And we are ready for the snow!
Wee Van Tour 