How Do You Carry Bicycles?

In our research to select the right bicycles for campgrounds and trails, we were advised on a mountain bike forum by a bike mechanic that carrying bikes on the back of an RV is not very good for them. Many of the bikes he fixes from RVers are in the worst condition of any he sees, due in part to water being forced into every nook and cranny at highway speeds.


I've thought of covers, but they'll probably get ripped to shreds in no time unless we can find some designed to withstand 60-80 mph winds. Most of them are intended for covering a bike in your driveway or on your balcony to keep dust and rain off it.

We have a 36' 5er with 3 slides, which occupy most of the interior in travel mode. Besides, I'm not sure I want two more potential projectiles riding in the trailer.

Our truck has a RollNLock tonneau cover on the bed that can be locked at intermediate stages. In other words, it would be possible to create a somewhat "weather resistant" compartment forward of the hitch. This would require the bikes to lie flat though, and I cannot find any truck bed "bike rack" in this configuration. All of them support the bike vertically.

How does everyone else transport their bikes?

What tricks have you learned for keeping your bikes protected?

Has anyone seen or heard of a bike rack designed to carry two bikes horizontally under a truck bed tonneau?

 

We've had exactly the same problem. Two years ago we bought a bumper bike rack for our fifith. By the time we got back to Maine from AZ, our bikes were a wreck. Last year, we slipped them (with some difficulty) under the retractable tonneau cover in the truck bed.....and by the time we got back to Maine from AZ our bikes were again a wreck. This year, we didn't take them.

 

Same problems here also.

Used to have them mounted on the back of the RV. In those days we did not tow a car back there. Bikes got a wierd sand blasting, depending on the road/weather conditions. Spent more time fixing and oiling, than riding!

Now that we tow, we got them inside the car one year. (Honda Element back seats fold out of the way.)

Bikes rode beautifully, but were a small pain to take in and out. AND with the Element, visibility is not so good once you have unhooked to drive about, IF you leave those back seats folded up (block the side windows), with a couple bikes then blocking the back window.

It worked however, and the bikes stayed in working condition all summer!

Have decided to leave the bikes at our winter 'snow bird' destination (storage), this year.
Simplicity... and have evolved to prefer hiking over biking all those summer destinations.

Not much help, sorry.

 

MaineDon,

Thank for your reply and the feedback. Sorry to hear about your bikes. We haven't carried bikes up to now, partly for fear of the same thing. We wanted them for the trips that were too far to conveniently walk, but not worth dropping the trailer to free up the truck. Also, we really need the exercise.

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FosterImposters,

Thank you for your reply. Interesting to hear about the "sandblasting" effect. The mechanic had recommended a toad as a good place to transport them, but with a 5er that isn't an option.

You wrote, "Not much help, sorry." On the contrary, knowing what hasn't worked for others is an immense help. It saves me a lot of time and expense with inevitably poor results.

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All:

I had a few responses to the same question on the Escapees forum, with recommendations of racks and covers that have lasted for reasonable lengths of time and miles. The covers keep most, but not all water out, and keep the bikes in fair shape. Diligent maintenance is the key, but should be done anyway. Here are some links:

http://www.swagmanbikeracks.com/shopnew/pr...=253&page=1

http://www.rvwholesalers.com/catalog/bicyc...ap-01-3250.html

A good book to have is "Zen and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance"

 

QUOTE(Land Yacht @ May 29 2011, 12:20 AM) [snapback]26251[/snapback]

In our research to select the right bicycles for campgrounds and trails, we were advised on a mountain bike forum by a bike mechanic that carrying bikes on the back of an RV is not very good for them. Many of the bikes he fixes from RVers are in the worst condition of any he sees, due in part to water being forced into every nook and cranny at highway speeds.
I've thought of covers, but they'll probably get ripped to shreds in no time unless we can find some designed to withstand 60-80 mph winds. Most of them are intended for covering a bike in your driveway or on your balcony to keep dust and rain off it.

We have a 36' 5er with 3 slides, which occupy most of the interior in travel mode. Besides, I'm not sure I want two more potential projectiles riding in the trailer.

Our truck has a RollNLock tonneau cover on the bed that can be locked at intermediate stages. In other words, it would be possible to create a somewhat "weather resistant" compartment forward of the hitch. This would require the bikes to lie flat though, and I cannot find any truck bed "bike rack" in this configuration. All of them support the bike vertically.

How does everyone else transport their bikes?

What tricks have you learned for keeping your bikes protected?

Has anyone seen or heard of a bike rack designed to carry two bikes horizontally under a truck bed tonneau?

 

Hi Reocco,

I received your reply but all it shows is my original post in quotation. For some reason, your text didn't make it. Would you mind resending please.

 

I'm also trying to figure out how to carry my 4-5 bikes with my family. We have a travel trailer so our truck bed is available but it has a hard tonneau cover on it. I'm probably going to fashion a rack that I'll bolt onto the cover.
Another option is to put a front reciever on your truck with a rack of your choice, but they'll be at the leading edge while driving.
I was thinking that if your truck is a long box perhaps you could fashion (ie: make your own) mounts so the bikes are held across the width of your box up near the rear window. That way the roof of your truck would "hide" them a bit from the wind-blown elements. Could be close with a short box though with regards to how much space between your 5th and where the bikes would be.
I believe Thule and Yakima make rack systems for tonneau covers like yours but they usually have them mounted front to back - maybe they can be used cross-ways as well?

Hope this helps a bit,

Mike

 

have you thought of a folder?

have a dahon - folds up real small and fits easily into the basement of the suncruiser

regards, pdq

 

QUOTE(pdq @ Jun 10 2011, 10:35 PM) [snapback]26391[/snapback]

have you thought of a folder?

have a dahon - folds up real small and fits easily into the basement of the suncruiser

regards, pdq



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Hi pdq:

Yes, we had considered the Dahon and the Montague. The only problem was the price. We also cruise a sailboat in the off-season, so we're familiar with both brands and their great reputations.

 

QUOTE(puckdad @ Jun 4 2011, 02:11 AM) [snapback]26336[/snapback]


Another option is to put a front reciever on your truck with a rack of your choice, but they'll be at the leading edge while driving.

I was thinking that if your truck is a long box perhaps you could fashion (ie: make your own) mounts so the bikes are held across the width of your box up near the rear window. That way the roof of your truck would "hide" them a bit from the wind-blown elements. Could be close with a short box though with regards to how much space between your 5th and where the bikes would be.
I believe Thule and Yakima make rack systems for tonneau covers like yours but they usually have them mounted front to back - maybe they can be used cross-ways as well?

Hope this helps a bit,

Mike


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Hi puckdad:

Thanks for the response. We'd ruled out the forward mount for the reasons you stated. We have a long-box, but the problem would be the clearance between the cab and the front corners of the 5er during tight turns.

 

We used a ladder-mounted bike rack last year and by the middle of the trip, it had warped the ladder. So we tried putting them in the fiver's "basement" but had to remove the front tires to get them to fit, which was a hassle when you wanted to use them. Left them home this year but want to come up with some sort of solution for next year. Can't put them in the bed of the truck. Guess we may have to put them inside the fiver. Not ideal, but.....

 

This may work for some applications. We purchased a 4 bike rack that mounts in the hitch receiver of our motorhome and the allows for another hitch bar to be put on the other side of the hitch mount. The rack was designed for SUVs because it allow for the rack to "fold rearward" with bikes mounted to allow for access to the cargo door of SUVs without unstrapping bikes. This may be a solution for the bumper pulls. For the 5ers there may be a way to weld a receiver mount to the rear bumper of the 5er. The rack carries the bikes high and close to the rear of the vehicle so somewhat protected from the wind and road grit. We purchased ours from cabela's. If the stock application doesn't exactly work yor purposes you might try to have it modified (reinforced for bumper pull trailer weight) or something similar made for your exact application from a trailer hitch installation shop.

 

When I choose to take the loss bikes on a trip, I just tie them down on the roof of our motorhome. I climb on the roof and have the kids hook the rope around the bike frame and haul it up.

 

I have seen racks on the pin box,in the front of a fifth wheel. I don't know if they were homemade or not. If you use an air foil or wing on the roof of your truck,most of the elements would go over the bikes. I have checked the bug line,I use a wing. It's high up on the front of the trailer. If you buy a good cover it might be alright.

 

We use a bike rack on the back of our two car. Yes bikes get dirty and grubby, but we have old bikes and they still work fine. Having them on the tow car means they are ready to go when we take the car out and explore.

 

We have a family of 4 and I just put them in the bed of my truck. I just keep a can of WD40 handy to lube up any lube points when needed. Havent had any problems as of yet!

 

Hoo..... I say Hoo BOY ! We just bought an Allen 522RR bike rack ($90) which we have attached to the hitch. The price was right for carrying 70 lbs of bikes (2), but I hadn't thought about the possibility of road grime making the bikes unuseable.

As we've driven around, I've seen some with covers over them.... maybe I'll look into that.

 

We have a popup camper and we currently carry our three bikes on a 'strap-on' rack on the back door of our tow vehicle (an SUV). However, as our popup has the built-in rails to accommodate roof racks, I am seriously considering getting a Thule or Yakima bike rack to mount to the top of the popup and carry the bikes on there, as once the bikes are on the back door or the SUV it is very difficult to open that door.

 

I put the kids bikes forward of the 5er hitch and the adult bikes on a ladder mounted rack. We don't generally go long distances so it hasn't been a huge issue. Going to Myrtle Beach this year, the adult bikes were on a rack on my in-laws SUV and the kids bikes were in the truck bed. They needed some WD-40 on the chain after a week at the beach, but I haven't seen any additional wear and tear. The adult bikes are 10+ years old though, so I'm not as worried, and the kids outgrow their bikes every 3 years at a minimum.

 

Hi folks,

Just a cautionary note to those who use WD40 to lubricate bike chains, gears and bearings, etc. It is also a de-greasing agent. You'd be better of buying a small bottle of chain oil for your bike parts and applying a light coating of that instead.
I ruined my wheel bearings with WD40 after it stripped the oil base from them