City Crate Installation
Ready for your rack to start living up to its potential? Tired of having to tie everything down? Popping a crate on your bike makes hauling your stuff as easy as tossing it in the box. In today’s post, we’ll walk through installing a cargo crate so you can take your totage to the next level!
Tools + Hardware
- Crate
- Crate Hardware (2 slats, 4 nuts, 4 bolts)
- 10mm Wrench
- Screwdriver
- Bike + Rack
Now that you’ve got your crate, it’s time to gather your tools and get to work. It’s always a good idea to lay out your hardware so you get a sense of what you’re working with (and you’re not digging through bags looking for the right bit when you’re already building.
Once everything's in one place, you're good to go!
Let's Get Wrenchin'
The first thing we need to do is pick the orientation we want for the crate. They can be mounted lengthwise along the rack, or width-wise across, it's really up to what looks best to you and how much rack real estate you can afford to give up.
The orientation you pick will dictate which way you'll lay the metal slats across the bottom of the box:
Once you've decided, place the crate on your rack and drop the bolts through the holes in the base of the box. Make sure they pop out on opposite sides of the rack beneath. This'll ensure that your crate is centered during the install and help the metal slats keep everything secure once it's loaded with stuff.
Perfect!
Now, thread the metal slats onto the bolts under the rack and pop the nuts on there just far enough that they won't fall off, we just want to hold everything in place. The tolerances are pretty tight to keep the rack from rattling on the road, so be prepared to give it some elbow grease to get everything lined up. (That's also why we don't tighten the bolts all the way initially - ideally you'll be able to do both bolts simultaneously so the slat stays straight and it's easier to get everything lined up).
Now, using your 10mm wrench on the nuts, and your screwdriver on the bolts, tighten them all down. Do each bolt a bit at a time, working your way around to keep everything straight and level.
And once they're all tightened up, you're done!
Bask in the Glory
All that's left to do is admire your work. And then give it a test ride, of course.
Head over to the grocery store, the bike shop, the beach - now you can haul it all! And from here on, you'll wonder how you ever got by without the extra trunk space.
Let us know what you use your crate for in the comments, and have a wonderful weekend! We'll see you out there.