X-Track, E-Track, ??-Track on garage walls

[jjbbrewer]

I'm hoping for some advice here - I need to install some X-Track (similar to E-Track) on the walls of my Momentum.

I have plans for multiple activities with my 349M that involve motorcycles and bicycles along with rolling tool chests, storage cabinets, gear hangers, and the stuff like that.

I already have a BoltItOn system to handle the 2 wheeled contraptions, and I want to be able to secure the toolbox(es), store chemicals, gear, spare parts, wheels/tires, etc. in a way that I can reconfigure it for roadracing, dirt riding, and recreational bicycling.

Finally - my question - I'm going to mount the X-Track horizontally (parallel to the floor surface) on as many walls as possible. Has someone done this and, if so, do you have stud location finding & fastener suggestions?

Any ideas would be really cool! TIA!

 

[CoChris-MGRV]

I'm hoping for some advice here - I need to install some X-Track (similar to E-Track) on the walls of my Momentum.

I have plans for multiple activities with my 349M that involve motorcycles and bicycles along with rolling tool chests, storage cabinets, gear hangers, and the stuff like that.

I already have a BoltItOn system to handle the 2 wheeled contraptions, and I want to be able to secure the toolbox(es), store chemicals, gear, spare parts, wheels/tires, etc. in a way that I can reconfigure it for roadracing, dirt riding, and recreational bicycling.

Finally - my question - I'm going to mount the X-Track horizontally (parallel to the floor surface) on as many walls as possible. Has someone done this and, if so, do you have stud location finding & fastener suggestions?

Any ideas would be really cool! TIA!

Try contacting Grand Design and explain what you are doing. They were very helpful with my requests and sent me the framing drawings which showed the "studs" as well as the reinforcing/mounting plates (and other details) in my kitchen wall. Their only request (which I still honor) is not to share the drawings.

Good luck

Chris

 

[jjbbrewer]

Try contacting Grand Design and explain what you are doing.

Outstanding! Thank you much for that pointer. I'll let you know if I hear back from them.

 

[CoChris-MGRV]

Outstanding! Thank you much for that pointer. I'll let you know if I hear back from them.

Good luck. One tip, I have found most GD support people to be very helpful if asked nicely, but there is the occasional one that just can't be bothered. If I get the latter and I can wait, I just call back in few days and hope to get a different person.

Chris

 

[JCR GD]

I installed E-track down each wall of my 385TH. I did it mostly for securing chairs to the walls. I was able to hit several "studs" but didn't worry about every one since the tracks won't be carrying and real weight. 6 years now and nothing has loosened or pulled away from the wall. I definitely wouldn't secure toys or anything very top heavy. I used 1" cap screws.

 

[stimpee]

I'm hoping for some advice here - I need to install some X-Track (similar to E-Track) on the walls of my Momentum.

I have plans for multiple activities with my 349M that involve motorcycles and bicycles along with rolling tool chests, storage cabinets, gear hangers, and the stuff like that.

I already have a BoltItOn system to handle the 2 wheeled contraptions, and I want to be able to secure the toolbox(es), store chemicals, gear, spare parts, wheels/tires, etc. in a way that I can reconfigure it for roadracing, dirt riding, and recreational bicycling.

Finally - my question - I'm going to mount the X-Track horizontally (parallel to the floor surface) on as many walls as possible. Has someone done this and, if so, do you have stud location finding & fastener suggestions?

Any ideas would be really cool! TIA!

Following this, as I will be using our 395MS (on order) for very similar purposes.

Hos many bikes are you typically hauling with your bolt-it-on system? I have been considering adapting Pitbull TRS plates into mine, but at different times, maybe hauling different numbers and types of bikes, including the possibility of a bigger touring bike or similar for street use. The bolt-it-on system has a lot of flexibility and does not require any permanent mods to the trailer floor, which is good. Also when removed will not leave any tripping hazards.

But still trying to think about overall best options.

E Track or similar on the walls is also part of my plans for rollaways, etc.

 

[jjbbrewer]

Following this, as I will be using our 395MS (on order) for very similar purposes.

Awesome! I think we'll have about the same type of garage if you opted for the 2nd bathroom.

Hos many bikes are you typically hauling with your bolt-it-on system?

I have three use cases I'm planning on:

• Roadrace events - 2 Ducatis, 1 Kawasaki 300, pit bicycle
• Dirt/Rally events - 2-3 250-500cc dirt bikes
• Trail inventory work - 3-4 250-500cc dirt bikes, 2 mountain bikes

I really like the PitBull equipment, but I needed a lot of flexibility in what I carry, so the BoltItOn seem to be the best way to go for me. I've only used it for 1 roadrace event, and it worked wonderfully.
I also want to carry my road bicycle/Zwift/Wahoo Kickr with me, but I can fit that in around other things.

I have been considering adapting Pitbull TRS plates into mine, but at different times, maybe hauling different numbers and types of bikes, including the possibility of a bigger touring bike or similar for street use.

I think the BoltItOn would be able to stabilize a big tourer just fine. I think there area others on this forum that have done that.

E Track or similar on the walls is also part of my plans for rollaways, etc.

Exactly! For temporary, I had to mount a couple of drawer pulls on the wall next to the interior door to hold my rollaway box in place. I want to do something like this - https://youtu.be/rffWx6VRA8c

I'm planning on 2 parallel horizontal runs of of X-Track (which I think is a little more flexible than the E-Track) on as many wall areas as I can to secure gear, supplies, etc.

I'll definitely post up what I find. I already emailed to Grand Design requesting some info on structural members in the garage.

 

[orbiker]

I too did our Solitude's garage with a bit of e-track. There are not very many studs, but I found a few. KEN

 

[jjbbrewer]

I'll definitely post up what I find. I already emailed to Grand Design requesting some info on structural members in the garage.

Well, that was fast. Grand Design wrote back to me this morning and provided the structural blueprints for the exterior walls of my unit. Pretty cool! (It'd be cooler if I had a background in construction and could read them better, but I think I can manage).

As I add railings, I'll continue to post up here (with photos) on my progress ..

 

[the old one]

That looks great. We have a 381m coming in shortly.

 

[stimpee]

Well, that was fast. Grand Design wrote back to me this morning and provided the structural blueprints for the exterior walls of my unit. Pretty cool! (It'd be cooler if I had a background in construction and could read them better, but I think I can manage).

As I add railings, I'll continue to post up here (with photos) on my progress ..

That is great news. At this point I guess I will wait until our trailer is built, and then ask for the info.

Right now FBP is looking like 12 weeks, so we probably won't get our unit until Mid August at best. Looks like I have plenty of time to figure out my tie-down situation!

On the Bolt-It-On setup, anyone have any experience with using the "cruiser style" wheel holders? They appear to have a drive-on cradle to hold the bike up, which would be very useful for when I am by myself loading/unloading. Would those work ok for sport/track bikes? Says the tire width range is ok.

 

[orbiker]

That is great news. At this point I guess I will wait until our trailer is built, and then ask for the info.

Right now FBP is looking like 12 weeks, so we probably won't get our unit until Mid August at best. Looks like I have plenty of time to figure out my tie-down situation!

On the Bolt-It-On setup, anyone have any experience with using the "cruiser style" wheel holders? They appear to have a drive-on cradle to hold the bike up, which would be very useful for when I am by myself loading/unloading. Would those work ok for sport/track bikes? Says the tire width range is ok.

In my picture above you can see my Lock N Load Motorcycle Wheel Chock.
I got the BK-1000 Lock N Load Deluxe Wheel Chock Combo. KEN

 

[jjbbrewer]

On the Bolt-It-On setup, anyone have any experience with using the "cruiser style" wheel holders? They appear to have a drive-on cradle to hold the bike up, which would be very useful for when I am by myself loading/unloading. Would those work ok for sport/track bikes? Says the tire width range is ok.

I'm not sure if this is what you're talking about, but here is one of my racebikes on the roll on wheel holder from BoltItOn. It works great.

 

[jjbbrewer]

Yesterday I dummied up the location where I'm going to mount the X-Track. I took an idea from screamingeagle's post about his cabinet and planned on leveraging the HappiJack rail mounts.

I didn't want to put the X-Track directly against the wallboard so I found some flexible 1/8" thick plastic lining material the exact width I needed. It's called garden edging.

Here's the edging cut and placed where I'm going to put the track. Next I need to make a couple of backing plates for under the HappiJack track and for the corner and cut the X-track to the right lengths. I'm going to do my best to use matching (black) hardware so it looks half way decent.

 

[Lobster Poutine]

Following too

 

[Sickday]

what size screws did you use to fasten the etrac to the wall/studs

 

[jjbbrewer]

I finished the X-track on the walls yesterday.

First, I took some advice from screamineagle on this post about his cabinet in his 395 and cut some 1/8" sheet steel to use behind the HappiJack tracks as mounting supports. In this picture, the sheet steel is behind the track and showing on the left. It's behind the plastic lining on the right.



The idea is that the HappiJack track is a solid support and I ran the sheet steel outside both sides of the track to support X-track on either side. I also created single sided sheet steel pieces for where I wasn't going to run X-track on both sides.

Here's where I mounted some track on the passenger side of the garage. I used an extra screw to mount the plate inside of the track for stability, then here I have one (of the two) screws mounting the track showing. I have the couch lowered here to make sure I didn't create an interference problem with either the extra track screw, the steel plate behind. or with the X-track itself.



As to what screws I used, for the extra screws in the HappiJack track to mount the sheet steel behind, I used the same screws as Grand Design did to mount the HJ track. For mounting the X-Track onto the sheet steel, I used some self tapping screws with a finer thread for more strength. I wanted the same heads, though, for a little bit of a cleaner look.



I used a stud finder, a long finishing nail, and a little hammer tapping to find the studs for extra mounting holes. (I didn't find the Grand Design blueprints all that useful since I didn't know the reference points from which they measured stuff - and I'm not a construction person - so .. )

Here's the mostly finished setup. The X-track is on both sides under the HappiJack and extended to the bathroom on the driver's side. I added a PitPosse supply cabinet to the wall since I really like having my motorcycle supplies handy for racing, riding or working. Finally, I'm using a couple of BoltItOn configurations for the various 2 wheeled devices I want to carry. I ran out of X-track so the toolbox is secured to the wall with a couple of stupid/temporary drawer pull handles and tiedowns. I'll probably run another length of X-track along that wall in the future.



Finally, here's a pretty close to completed version of the garage. All of the mods are:

• 40" TCL TV with securing pin instead of stupid strap
• PitPosse supply cabinet with folding work table
• Temporary pull handles to secure rolling toolbox (X-track coming)
• BoltItOn system for various motorcycle/bicycle holding
• X-track along the walls for cargo securing

I took some black spray paint to the new screw heads so they'd kind of match the existing screws in the HappiJack tracks.



I want to use the space above the window (like screamineagle) and where the original cabinet is above the door for more practical and efficient storage of light items. I'm still thinking about what to do there, so any ideas would be appreciated.

 

[MotoMullet]

Thanks for the great post! Lots of useful info! I just bought a 2017 328m and am moving myself, my 2017 KTM 300, 2022 KTM 500 and my pup! I have a 52” husky (Home Depot) Rolling tool chest I’m hoping to secure to the front wall….