How to mount to a tubular rear rack....?

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scharfg

Member
Hi folks I'm needing to mount my Pelican cast to my rear Borneau rack on my DR350SE. As the rack is a bit smaller than my 1550 Pelican I thought I would mount a piece of 5/8th plywood to the tubular rack the same size as the bottom of my Pelican.

So my question is how do I mount the plywood to the tubular rack so my Pelican case will lay flat on the plywood....?

I"m sure there is an easy solution but my limited brain capacity can't figure it out (please include pics of ideas/mounting hardware).

I'm planning on using wing nuts to mount the case so I can take it off if I want without too much fuss.

Ps: the tubes are too small a diametre to drill a hole through which is what I'd like to do so I could bolt the plywood "through" the tube but no such luck.

Thanks!
 
A

aheath73

New member
You could use some u-bolts such as these to attach the plywood to the rack:

Product-20071127114125-l.jpg

Just size them to match the diameter of the rack tubing and make sure they are positioned so that the plywood can't slide around on the rack. Not that pretty or elegant of a solution, but the u-bolts will be hidden under the Pelican case anyways. Then just some normal bolts with the wing nuts inside the Pelican case, going through both the case and the plywood. Large heads on the through-bolts or washers will help keep them from ripping through the plywood over time.... Hope this helps a bit.
 
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scharfg

Member
Hey great stuff, once again you guys are super helpful!

One thing though, won't the two bolts be sticking up through the plywood and my Pel case will be "resting/mounted" on top ot them (ie: so it won't sit flat on the plywood)...?
 
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aheath73

New member
You could always cut the u-bolts down to just over the height of the nut then loc-tite them in place once they're screwed on. Using 1/2" rubber/plastic washers or spacers between the bottom of the Pelican case and the plywood would fill the gap and can be tightened quite firmly. You could also attach some sort of "feet" to the bottom of the case to accommodate for the gap caused by the raised bolts.
 
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klrobert

Member
Easy buddy, the plywood is reserved for KLRs!
Just put the u bolt on the rack and then drill the pelicans. Wing nuts on the inside of the pelican and you are good to go !?!
Cheers
 
Farp

Farp

Active member
You can mount the plywood by using stainless steel worm drive hose clamps. Just drill holes through the plywood to accommodate the hose clamp width and clear out the wood between them. I used 6 hose clamps to mount a piece of plywood to my rack and so far they've been great. The nice thing about the hose clamps is that they fit flush with the wood when tightened, just make sure you locate the clamp screw underneath the plywood and below the rack tubes.

John
 
TW_rider

TW_rider

Member
scharfg said:
Hey great stuff, once again you guys are super helpful!

One thing though, won't the two bolts be sticking up through the plywood and my Pel case will be "resting/mounted" on top ot them (ie: so it won't sit flat on the plywood)...?
Click to expand...
You could always use a Forstner bit to counter the plywood to the height of the nut heads. A forstner bit will make a flat hole and if you choose the right size, it will countersink the fender washer as well!
 
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