Luxury loadstop design
Phase 1 - Overview
Project background
Yakima is the world leading brand of car racks, roof racks, and bike racks. As an Industrial Design Intern, I was given the opportunity to help create a loadstop for Whispbar, Yakima's luxury line. The rest of team consisted of staff industrial designers and engineers.
Team:
Yakima's Internal Design Team
Tools Used:
Adobe Creative Suite, Solidworks, Keyshot
My Role:
Industrial Design Intern
Timeline:
6 months
The challenge
To design a premium loadstop, that fits inside the Whispbar product line, for high-income consumers who desire a product with form as well as function.
Phase 2 - Research
What is a loadstop?
A bracket to prevent things from shifting on your roof rack.
Loadstops can be used...
• carry canoes, kayaks, fishing prams, etc.
• with load straps (sometimes bungee cords)
• to carry supplies/ furniture (ex. wood, pipes, ladders, tables, etc.)
• to add security and ease of mind for the user in carrying large things on top of the car
What is currently out there?
Comparitive analysis on current leading brands and their load stops.
Possible opportunities
Easy to reposition
Multi-use for various products
Tool free installation
Self-locking mechanism
Requirement prioritization
Must haves
• Pass all Yakima test standards
• Incorporate Whispbar CFM and VBL
• Fast install onto the crossbar
• Fits most t-slots
• Uses Whispbar t-slot scheme
• Low profile
Should haves
• No rattling when loaded or unloaded
• No assembly out of the box
• Fits Whispbar HD t-slot mounting
Areas of focus
• Aesthetic
• Easy user interaction
Who are we targeting?
This is Tyler Johnson
• Lawyer
• Owns 2 luxury vehicles
• Uses his roof rack to carry home improvement supplies
• Occasionally uses his roof rack for family road-trip vacations
How might we design a loadstop for today's high income consumers?
Phase 3 - Design
Initial ideation: two options
I drew up some ideation sketches for how the loadstop will look and work.
We decided to move forward with two options:
Option 1 (Quickdock Loadstop): Premium loadstop utilizing Whispbar's Quickdock technology
Option 2 (Screw-On Loadstop): Alternative, cheaper option. Premium look without the premium price.
Bringing the two options into 3D
Quickstop Loadstop (Premium Option)
The base is from an existing Quickdock
Sizing is between a large L-bracket and smaller load bracket
Sizing is between a large L-bracket and smaller load bracket
Screw-On Loadstop (Alternative Option)
Base shape is taken from the Quickstop Loadstop
Placement of screws and the center hole had to be exact
The fun part - stylizing the design!
3D printing to test the designs
I SLS 3D printed all the designed components. The Quickstop loadstop components and screws were placed into the 3D prints.
Testing the Quickdock on the Whispbar
Testing out the Quickdock mechanism
Ensuring the screws fit perfectly
SLS 3D prints have 95% of the strength of manufactured parts
Both designs passed (and exceeded) Yakima test standards
Phase 4 - Final Solutions
Whispbar Quickdock Loadstop
Premium
Loadstop
This premium option is an attractive purchases for consumers desiring form as well as function to carry materials, supplies, and other products on top of their vehicle.
Quickdock technology is incorporated to provide an easy and secure way of placing/ removing the loadstop from the bar.
Quickdock
Technology
This loadstop can be used either way (front/ back) to carry objects with different tapers.
Dual-Use
Whispbar Screw-On Loadstop
Alternative
Loadstop
This alternative, budget option is ideal for those who desire to have the Whispbar premium look without the premium pricetag.
Center hole allows users to tie straps or ropes directly through the loadstop.
Strap Up
With Ease
Like the Quickstop loadstop, this loadstop can be used either way (front/ back).
Dual-Use
Phase 5 - Takeaways
Ideate, ideate, ideate!
What a great experience! I was able to take an idea literally from a Bic pen sketch to a 95% working prototype and hand off the final designs to Yakima for potential future use.
Next Steps Forward:
• I presented the final prototype to the Yakima team. Yakima can use this (or any ideas based off my findings) in future projects.
• Yakima has a better understanding moving forward what it will take to create products utilizing Quickstop technology.
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What I Learned:
• Keep on ideating! The team spent countless hours sketching, engineering, and then sketching more before coming up with the final solutions. I learned not to get stuck on the first idea, but to keep my options open and ideas wild.
• Make sure it's feasible. I had to communicate constantly with engineering to ensure my ideas were feasible from both a cost and manufacturing standpoint. More often than not, some things had to be tweaked and I had to learn to be adaptable to changes.