Car rack for golf carts

An apparatus for transporting an elongated load on the rear of a vehicle, comprising:

• a rear bumper-attached frame assembly oriented generally vertically;
• a lightweight elongated carrier rack including load retaining means, said rack being connected to the bumper-attached assembly by pivot means on a horizontal axis generally parallel to and above the bumper, said axis being below the center of gravity of the carrier rack and the attached load when the carrier rack is upright, said pivot means including aligned apertures on the rack and on the upper part of the bumper frame, with slidable, removable shaft means extending through the apertures, so that the rack may be disconnected from the bumper frame;
• means extending from the forward side of the carrier rack, near its upper end, for engaging the rear deck of the vehicle when the carrier rack is rotated to a forward position;
• and
• collapsible, quick-release compression brace means connected to the lower end of the carrier rack and to the lower part of the bumper-attached assembly, below said horizontal axis, for exerting an upward pushing force on the lower end of the rack so that the rack is tightly urged in the forward rotated direction to a forward position with the engaging means tight against the rear deck of the vehicle, with means for holding the brace means in a bracing position wherein said brace means exerts said upward pushing force and with means facilitating removal of the brace means from the bumper-attached assembly;
• whereby rear deck of the vehicle may be raised and lowered with the carrier rack in an upright position, the load may be easily mounted on the carrier rack in the upright position, the loaded carrier rack may be rotated to the forward position and locked to distribute weight between the bumper-attached assembly and the rear deck of the vehicle, and the carrier rack may be easily removed from the vehicle, with the bumper-attached assembly remaining on the vehicle, for periods of nonuse of the rack.

A fully adjustable apparatus for carrying golf bags and attached carts on the rear of a vehicle, comprising:

• a bumper frame oriented generally vertically, having a pair of spaced side arms extending upwardly;
• means affixing the bumper frame to the rear bumper of the vehicle;
• a lightweight elongated carrier rack having means for securely retaining at least one golf bag and attached cart to itself in a generally upright orientation;
• removable shaft means pivotally connecting the carrier rack to the side arms of the bumper frame for rotation about a horizontal axis generally parallel to the rear bumper and located below the center of gravity of the rack and attached golf clubs and carts, said side arms and said rack having alignable apertures for slidable receipt of the shaft means;
• means associated with said shaft means for adjusting the position of said horizontal axis with respect to the length of the carrier rack, so that the position of said center of gravity can be controlled;
• pad means mounted on the forward side of the carrier rack toward its upper end for resting upon the vehicle's rear deck when the rack is pivoted forward, said pad means being adjustable in the distance to which it extends forward from the carrier rack, to accommodate different rear deck shapes;
• and
• collapsible, quick-release compression brace means connected to the lower end of the carrier rack and to the lower part of the bumper frame, below said horizontal axis, for exerting an upward pushing force on the lower end of the rack so that the rack is tightly urged in the forward rotated direction to a forward position with the pad means tightly engaged against the vehicle rear deck, said compression brace means having a collapsed, relaxed position when said rack is in an upright position and an extended, locked compression position with said rack is in the downward position, with means facilitating easy removal of the brace means from the bumper frame and means for adjusting the position of the brace means between the bumper frame and the carrier rack so as to provide adjustability in the degree to which the rack is pivoted in the extended position of the brace means;
• whereby the vehicle's rear deck may be raised and lowered with the carrier rack in the upright position, the golf clubs and carts may be easily loaded onto the carrier rack, the loaded rack may be rotated to the forward position and locked to distribute weight between the bumper frame and the vehicle rear deck, and the carrier rack may be removed without removal of the bumper frame, for periods of nonuse.