Racks - Spare Tire + Surfboard

themanys

New member
Hello,

My wife and I are the proud new owners of an Airstream Westy! We are looking into surfboard racks as well as a hitch rack to mount the spare tire and potentially a gear box.

Surf Racks: Has anyone purchased/installed one recently? I called the dealer and the rack that was previously available is no longer carried. I did see the following rack in my searches, put the price seems pretty ridiculous. Any recommendations from the veterans?

http://vertirack.com/VertiRack Sprinter Side Mount SUP Rack.htm

Spare tire Rack: Has anyone had experience buying/installing one? Any experience with the hitchgate max?

https://www.wilcooffroad.com/shop/hitchgate-max/

Any help would be much appreciated.
 

GSWatson

2013 144
I made a side-mount similar to the vertirack out of 80/20, which ties into my 80/20 solar rack. The slider side will eventually get an awning. Cost was about $500 for everything (minus the panels). I'd probably go longer on the sides, but I had two 144" pieces of 80/20 and those were the offcuts from the roof panels.



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themanys

New member
Thanks for the responses GSWatson and James Cook. We have decided to go with this method for adding a spare tire carrier - http://eighteenfeet.blogspot.ca/2006/01/sprinter-spare-tire-carrier.html
This seemed the most economical while still leaving the hitch free for potential bike or surf rack. We still haven't figured out how to best tackle the surf rack. Where it looks like we already have holes for the translift rack ideally we could find one of those. It looks like there are some on german ebay, but the fit/quality is definitely a gamble.

GSWatson - I appreciate the pics! I don't have the solar rack attachment so I would need to do something different. It does look like my Westy once had a side surf rack as it has the bolts for it on the side. Where did you source the suction cups/rest of the 80/20 from?

James Cook - We would be honored! How do we make this happen?

Thanks
TheManys
 

OldWest

2004 T1N Westfalia
Welcome.

1. Spare Tire Carrier

The proposed rear door mounted spare tire carrier is often used on Sprinters and has one caution for Westies: The rear doors on Westies do not have the dual hinges found on most Sprinters and thus can open only 180 degrees (after releasing the hinges). The bottom corner of the spare tire carrier closest to the hinge protrudes and will dent the side of van if one releases the hinges to open the door 180 degrees.

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48775

2.. Westy Map

Info is on a sticky thread at top. Many options on how to participate.

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=52068

3. Rack Options

Although cumbersome to use, the advanced search function should give you lots of posts on various racks on Westies, including hitch racks for spare tire and storage, rear door mounted racks foe kayaks and surfboards, roof mounted custom racks using original Westy bolt inserts and 80/20 framing, the original Translift, etc.

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50810

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57693

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46583

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17495&highlight=Surfboard

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30210&highlight=Surfboard



Also, the James Cook Friends forum has a whole section on storage options.

http://forum.james-cook-freunde.de/index.php?sid=67738b32ddaf589eeeb3eeb196021414

http://fotos.westfalia-freunde.de/index.php?lang=english

4. Westyfest

Don't forget the tenth annual Westyfest this Labor Day weekend in the Finger Lakes area of NY state. This would be the best opportunity for you to learn about the various quirks of the Westies.

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55840


Whatever you decide to do, please continue to share. Thanks.
 
Last edited:

OldWest

2004 T1N Westfalia
Note: According to a Bend, Oregon, Westy owner, the six recessed bolt inserts on each side of the fiberglass top use tapered bolts.

The awning uses four of these recessed inserts on the one side (the other two are on top of the fiberglass top). One could confirm size of bolt by removing one of the awning bracket bolts.

Westfalia also issued instructions on how to mount a third bracket for the awning (of interest if one want to drill more holes in fiberglass top versus using 3M VHB double-sided tape).
 

Kiltym

Active member
Thanks for the responses GSWatson and James Cook. We have decided to go with this method for adding a spare tire carrier - http://eighteenfeet.blogspot.ca/2006/01/sprinter-spare-tire-carrier.html

Here is a link with good info on installing that carrier. We are in the midst of this project ourselves on our Westy:

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43736

and

https://sprinter-camper.com/rear-door-mounted-spare-tire-carrier/

The later suggests another coat of paint onto the carrier to avoid future rust.
 

GSWatson

2013 144
You don't need the solar rack for the side racks; I was designing the complete system for myself and that's why they interact. It's certainly stronger to have a connection that goes to both roof rails, but not necessary.

I got the suction cups from SeaSuckers - they make roof racks that use these instead of clipping to a car's roof rails or rain gutters. The EBay STore for them had a better price. https://www.seasucker.com/


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Kiltym

Active member
Here is a link with good info on installing that carrier. We are in the midst of this project ourselves on our Westy:

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43736

and

https://sprinter-camper.com/rear-door-mounted-spare-tire-carrier/

The later suggests another coat of paint onto the carrier to avoid future rust.

Both these links refer to clearance issues between the bolts inserted into the hinges (for the tire carrier) and the adjustment bolt on the hinges that go into the van. We have no clearance issues on our Westy hinges (and in turn did not have to file, or change the adjustment bolt), so I presume the hinge on the Westy is a bit different than most vans, as OldWest stated previously.

Based on the photos of the hinges in the above links, ours do appear different, which makes the install pretty straightforward.
 

Riptide

Active member
If it were me, I would go the trailer route. Yakima makes a nice lightweight trailer that is pretty versatile. Yep, it's not cheap, but it's really nice, and could be used by any vehicle in your garage, not just the Westy. Plus, the full range of Yakima stuff fits it, all of which can also be used by your other vehicles.

Plus, the low loading height is great.

https://www.yakima.com/rackandroll-78-trailer#customer-reviews
 

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