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I bought this trunk bicycle rack on Amazon and I'm trying to effectively solve one issue I'm having with it before I use it...

The hooks that fasten it to your trunk are metal. There is no padding whatsoever. If I was driving a junker I wouldn't be so concerned, but that isn't the case as my car is barely a year old.

For reasons that should be obvious at this point, I'd rather not fasten even the empty rack to my trunk by the bare metal hooks as I really don't want to scratch or damage anything.

The pictures in the Amazon link above don't really show the hooks that well, but they are L/J-ish in shape, and maybe 3/4"-1" wide.

Does anyone have any (preferably) permanent solutions for how I could pad these hooks and prevent damage to my car? By "permanent" I mean something that won't/shouldn't deteriorate from reasonably long drives, while not impacting the integrity or intentions of the rack itself.

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  • These ones?
    – Just Do It
    May 5, 2016 at 18:37
  • @JustDoIt - Correct. Those are the hooks. Or at the very least, extremely similar.
    – Broots Waymb
    May 5, 2016 at 18:38

4 Answers 4

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If you have an old bike tube laying around (or even a new one, if you're willing to spend a few bucks), you can cut it up and stick it between the hook and the trunk/hatch. If you don't plan on taking the rack off all the time you can just place them in there and they should stay. If you plan to remove the rack on a regular basis, you might consider two-sided taping them in, and/or keeping a little baggie full of spares in case you lose one.

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  • After trying some of the other suggestions, many ended up too thick to "safely" close my trunk. I am not using the tube, but something similar (thin rubber tubing stuck to the hooks with gorilla tape) and it seems to be working fine.
    – Broots Waymb
    May 9, 2016 at 17:51
  • Thats odd, considering grip pads arent that thick but as long as you got it working now is good @DangerZone
    – Just Do It
    May 9, 2016 at 20:23
  • @JustDoIt - Yeah, I can definitely see them working on some car. The gap between by trunk and rest of the car is just a tad too narrow. I could maaaaybe close it if I slammed it down, but I'd rather not take that risk in damaging something.
    – Broots Waymb
    May 9, 2016 at 20:26
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You could easily do a custom size padding made out of lifting grip pads (pads weight lifters use to have a better grip of weights/bars) they're fairly cheap, durable and easy to custom size it to your needs. These will keep your car's integrity at ease while providing some extra grip for your bike rack.

enter image description here

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  • The grip aspect is pretty nice! I went ahead and ordered some along with a bottle of super glue for good measure.
    – Broots Waymb
    May 5, 2016 at 19:23
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May be shrink wrap may help you. Adjust the size (initial and final diameter), reel the rubber or foam-rubber into inside (or just skip this step), then combine and heat it via lighter, then cut the result to needed size.

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  • I assume you mean heatshrink tubing as used for cables. On that assumption, +1.
    – Chris H
    May 10, 2016 at 14:08
  • Chris H, yes, exactly heatshrink. Sorry for my english.
    – Maksym Shysha
    May 10, 2016 at 15:17
  • I think "shrink wrap" is more commonly used for this material in American English than it is in British English (the sort I know). "Shrink wrap" is certainly used and understood in the context of cables. Ther's nothing wrong with your English!
    – Chris H
    May 10, 2016 at 15:49
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Simple/cheap would be pipe lagging, available from any DIY store

enter image description here

It's slit right down one side [not easy to spot in the photo] & easy to lap over any flat edge. Comes in as many sizes & thicknesses as there are types of water pipe.
Costs mere pence per foot.
Also available in coated versions which are more resistant to wear.

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