2004 with a Surco trunk mounted luggage rack

[ChuckH262]

Hi. I wonder if anyone has experience with the Surco trunk deck mounted luggage rack. We got one and it went on fine. Everything cleared. I put it on early for a trip. Then after about two weeks, I opened the trunk and the back strap rubbed and chipped the paint. It is strange to me that it didn't do it to start with. The only difference that we can think of is the weather had been warm and sunny for a while. However on the day it did a job on the paint, it was cool and had been raining. Thanks.

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[BluByeU]

Nice looking.
Have had no experience with such a thing, can only offer you my regrets that this has happened to you & your beautiful car. Apparently the strap must move or vibrate in the wind currents of the moving car.

 

[ChuckH262]

Nice looking.
Have had no experience with such a thing, can only offer you my regrets that this has happened to you & your beautiful car. Apparently the strap must move or vibrate in the wind currents of the moving car.

Thank you. No, it was when I opened the trunk. I felt it and heard the pop. It opened and closed find before and the rack is pulled back as far as it can go to hold the back strap tight against the trunk deck.

 

[vinnie]

I had the exact same experience with the same rack. Pulled it back as hard as I could and tightened the strap. Had plenty of clearance, 0pened it later and it chipped the paint. It had to move forward somehow but I'm at a loss to explain how!
It happened again after repositioning and re-tightening everything. I'm going to line the outer edge of the strap with some rubber, or leave it off entirely if that doesn't work. 😡

 

[blorenz]

I have the same rack converted to a two-bike rack. I saw potential problems with that strap from the get go. Removed it immediately with not problems. Past summer I hauled a lightweight bike 2220 miles without problem. This winter I hauled a fatbike 500 miles again without problems. Also hauled. 100+ pound boxed workbench just fine. Great rack!

 

[ChuckH262]

I have the same rack converted to a two-bike rack. I saw potential problems with that strap from the get go. Removed it immediately with not problems. Past summer I hauled a lightweight bike 2220 miles without problem. This winter I hauled a fatbike 500 miles again without problems. Also hauled. 100+ pound boxed workbench just fine. Great rack!

That's great to hear. I was concerned with the wind pushing on the suitcase and causing the rack to migrate further back on the trunk deck. Did the bolts ever loosen up on you while driving?

 

[ChuckH262]

I had the exact same experience with the same rack. Pulled it back as hard as I could and tightened the strap. Had plenty of clearance, 0pened it later and it chipped the paint. It had to move forward somehow but I'm at a loss to explain how!
It happened again after repositioning and re-tightening everything. I'm going to line the outer edge of the strap with some rubber, or leave it off entirely if that doesn't work. 😡

Thanks for the feedback. It sounds like we had the same experience.

 

[General Patton]

I had the exact same experience with the same rack. Pulled it back as hard as I could and tightened the strap. Had plenty of clearance, 0pened it later and it chipped the paint. It had to move forward somehow but I'm at a loss to explain how!
It happened again after repositioning and re-tightening everything. I'm going to line the outer edge of the strap with some rubber, or leave it off entirely if that doesn't work. 😡

I contacted Surco about the paint chipping their racks cause to T'Bird trunk lids. Their rep said that there had been no reports to them about such a problem and if there ever had been, it was corrected long ago. Yeah sure. Nonetheless I bought one of their racks, but I have not installed it yet on our '04 PCR. I'm thinking of leaving off that topmost clip, the one that causes the problem. Has anybody done this with any success? Does it compromise the rack any?

 

[vinnie]

My first thought was to rubber coat the hook with something like PlastiDip. Then I saw those flat rubber straps with hooks either end. Now, the hooks needn't "hook" to anything in the trunk Once closed the hook can't pass thru the trunk joint. Plus, the hook end in the trunk can be modified or replaced with some object that allows more confidence. The straps which I found for cheap in Walmart have minimal stretch, unlike bungees, but soft enuf to compress in the joint.

 

[General Patton]

My first thought was to rubber coat the hook with something like PlastiDip. Then I saw those flat rubber straps with hooks either end. Now, the hooks needn't "hook" to anything in the trunk Once closed the hook can't pass thru the trunk joint. Plus, the hook end in the trunk can be modified or replaced with some object that allows more confidence. The straps which I found for cheap in Walmart have minimal stretch, unlike bungees, but soft enuf to compress in the joint.

Thanks, Vinnie, you have some good ideas. I'm familiar with PlastiDip and will try it first. The only place I can find it in cans for dipping is on Amazon. All of the local auto parts stores want to sell the product as an aerosol spray. Although I've seen the strapping idea used on other trunk mounted luggage racks, I'm a little hesitant about running anything between the trunk lid and the body of our T'bird. My concern is that on a long trip that strapping could compress and possibly abrade the trunk's rubber weatherstripping. Although our car seldom gets wet, on our upcoming cross country trip we expect to encounter rain several times. Keeping the trunk dry is important too. Appreciate your ideas.

 

[ChuckH262]

I contacted Surco about the paint chipping their racks cause to T'Bird trunk lids. Their rep said that there had been no reports to them about such a problem and if there ever had been, it was corrected long ago. Yeah sure. Nonetheless I bought one of their racks, but I have not installed it yet on our '04 PCR. I'm thinking of leaving off that topmost clip, the one that causes the problem. Has anybody done this with any success? Does it compromise the rack any?

I'm going to try it next week without the back strap. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[ChuckH262]

I called Surco and left a message on Saturday morning. I'm waiting on a truly.

 

[Mach5]

Rather than a trunk rack, I had toyed with the idea of adding a trailer hitch (there is a thread somewhere on adding a trailer hitch), and then "plugging-in" one of those trailer trays to the hitch (when needed) to haul around stuff that wouldn't fit in the trunk. Personally, visually, I'd prefer the site of the small trailer hitch receiver, rather than seeing a trunk rack. (I do realize I would be carrying around a large, heavy chunk of very infrequently unused metal. Bad for gas mileage but -hey, cheaper than lowering springs for the rear - right!)

Also along my thought lines, for a longer trip, I would pull the spare tire, etc. out of the trunk and strap it to the tray, then I could fit all my luggage in the trunk and out of the weather. (Minus the spare, the trunk is actual quite deep and spacious.)

We actually had an aluminum tray for our Suburban to carry the Chuck Box and fuel for our Scout trips up and down the east coast. Later used it on our Expedition to haul back some monster mud tires for my Blazer - but that's another story. . .

 

[ChuckH262]

The company never returned my call from Saturday. So I called again and spoke with Amir. He assured me they have not had this issue before (I am reluctant to believe that). He asked me to send photos and he would investigate the problem.

 

[ChuckH262]

 

[vinnie]

Except for the color your damage looks just like mine.