I'd have to use a ladder to get anything onto the roof of my car! It's quite high and I'm relatively low!

timmmay:

 

I'd have to use a ladder to get anything onto the roof of my car! It's quite high and I'm relatively low!

 

Are you in AKL?  If so I have a towbar rack I could sell you pretty cheaply as it seems budget is something you're interested in, never used it.   I'd have to find it amongst the garage stuff though so I'd need to know you're local before I bothered hunting it out.

duckDecoy:

 

Are you in AKL?  If so I have a towbar rack I could sell you pretty cheaply as it seems budget is something you're interested in, never used it.   I'd have to find it amongst the garage stuff though so I'd need to know you're local before I bothered hunting it out.

 

Wellington. Thanks for the offer, I want to keep the cost down but not at the cost of quality. I'll probably end up with a good quality unit that will take three bikes and has the lights built in.

tanivula:

 

@mudguard - have you had any issues/wrist slapping with your not official supplementary plate?

 

Ah the paper one wasn't on there too long. Something weird happened, a friend borrowed the rack with the supplementary plate on it, took it off, then left the plate at home when they returned the rack.

So it was very temporary!

Supplementary plates (real ones) are surprisingly cheap.

Bought my first in 2012 (17$) and a second (new car) in 2017 for 19$.

May be the only reasonably-priced things the government has ever sold me...

pdh:

 

Supplementary plates (real ones) are surprisingly cheap.

 

Bought my first in 2012 (17$) and a second (new car) in 2017 for 19$.

 

May be the only reasonably-priced things the government has ever sold me...

 

its gone up a lot then, currently $33.72

Jase2985:

 

pdh:

 

Supplementary plates (real ones) are surprisingly cheap.

 

Bought my first in 2012 (17$) and a second (new car) in 2017 for 19$.

 

May be the only reasonably-priced things the government has ever sold me...

 

 

its gone up a lot then, currently $33.72

 

I got some last year and paid about $40 for the plates and a holder with velcro straps. 

Didn't think that was outrageous. 

Can't you just make a supplementary plate?

I mean .... it's supplementary.

MikeAqua:

 

Can't you just make a supplementary plate?

 

I mean .... it's supplementary.

 

It still needs to be a legal plate to ensure it complies with size, material, reflectiveness for Police cameras, eyes, etc.

Interesting that the police are so uptight about this.

With trailers they don't seem to give two hoots about plate visibility.  I've been towing around a boat trailer with a barely visible plate for close to 20 years and it's never been an issue.  

^^same, also use a bike rack regularly and never been pulled up for it?

MikeAqua:

 

Interesting that the police are so uptight about this.

 

With trailers they don't seem to give two hoots about plate visibility.  I've been towing around a boat trailer with a barely visible plate for close to 20 years and it's never been an issue.  

 

Slack enforcement?  - https://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/licensing-rego/number-plates/

"Only plates issued by Waka Kotahi are legal, which means you can’t make your own plate. Displaying a non-approved plate or something that could be mistaken for a plate could mean a maximum fine of $5000.

If your vehicle requires plates, then they must be displayed. If your vehicle requires a front and rear plate then they must bear the same set of characters."

hsvhel:

 

^^same, also use a bike rack regularly and never been pulled up for it?

 

To be fair it's probably one of those things, profiling. I have driven maybe half million kms for work in the last ten years, with my bike on the back a lot, always in modern cars and slowly. I've been pulled over once, and that was in a rental car and I was unsure what the speed limit was. 

I've just finished a project car, which is a little low, a little loud and is a thirty year old Japanese Import. I've had more attention in that in 2000kms than I ever have in my other cars. 

MikeAqua:

 

Interesting that the police are so uptight about this.

 

With trailers they don't seem to give two hoots about plate visibility.  I've been towing around a boat trailer with a barely visible plate for close to 20 years and it's never been an issue.  

 

I don't think the police are (South Island experience). For a long time we had a paper one and never had issues. Then moved to roof bike racks. But been at many bike races where barely anyone has plates on rear bike racks and the police doing marshalling and closing roads never seemed to stop people! Personally we were more worried about the light board to help avoid people rear-ending us.

Considering three racks below. Mostly used around Wellington (ie on motorways) with three bikes, but occasionally might take them up to Taupo or something, maybe annually. Any thoughts?

• Ezigrip folding $200. Looks ok.
• Thule Folding $260. I like the build in gripper things.
• Ezigrip big sucker $600. Huge thing with lights and number plate holder, looks great and fully legal, but I wonder how difficult they are to take on and off

Update - have ordered the Thule.