Bicycle Carrier in FRONT?!

[Oscarvan]

I'm with Gordon. Attach it to the Generator slide, they'll slide out with it and access will be the same. That said, I have a Brompton and it lives in the basement.

[zuckerburg]

You might attach it to the front but no way would I attach it to the gen frame. The chassis frame is above the gen and a good fab guy could rig something sturdy. I still think you will look like the Beverly Hillbillies going down the road but we'll you are from Alabama so...

[gordonsick]

Here are some thoughts and measurements to help a planning discussion for installing a front bike rack on a Berkshire. My 2015 Berk 34QS may have slightly different details, particularly regarding the headlights, but it is a common configuration.

The first image below shows my Cummins QD 6000 mounted on a slide that holds the front fibreglass bodywork. Node that there are several bolt holes already drilled into this sturdy slide, which is supplied by Freightliner. FL doesn’t supply the generator, but it does supply the slide. Also, note that ALL of the frame shown slides with the generator. The chassis is much deeper into the motorhome. So, it seems that the slide frame is the only useful attachment point for a bike rack. It also means that the bike rack would not impede access to the generator, air chuck or windshield washer tank, even if it is still attached.

The second image below shows a more complete picture of the front slide. If one is to mount a 2” or 3” receiver to hold a bike rack, it could be bolted to the slide frame and a discrete hole made in the lower body work to allow the bike rack to slide into the receiver.

Here are some dimensions:
• Inside distance between high beam headlights (these are the inside headlights) is 69”.
• Typical bicycle from tip of front wheel to tail of back wheel: 68”. So a bike wouldn’t get in the way of the headlights, no matter what height it is mounted at.
• Generator width (green part) is 23”, so the slide frame is slightly wider.
• Bottom of generator slide frame to ground is approximately 16”.
• Height of my rear receiver for towing car is 14”, which is about the height of the generator slide. This gives an idea of a representative height for a front receiver to hold a bike rack.

If one gets a welder to work on this, it would be good to have the welding done off of the MH, to avoid potential damage to electronics. Then, the welded receiver frame could be bolted to the slide frame.

–Gordon

[gordonsick]

I think I figured out how to get around the rotation problem on this website. The website's picture manager doesn't understand EXIF information about picture orientation that you get on high-end cameras and iPhones. So, it displays them in what it regards as the native format, which is landscape. No doubt this comes from the way the JPEG array reads out.

The solution is to edit the picture in some software, such as Preview on a Mac. For example, crop it slightly. This causes the JPEG array to be rewritten in a format that the picture editor understands.

–Gordon

[gordonsick]

I visited my RV yesterday and paid more attention to making sure that the mounting plate on the generator slide doesn't hit the frame or slide mechanism when the slide closes.

There is a roller on the frame to hold the slide up and the attached picture shows the roller marks as a line that ends below the bolt hole that I've circled in yellow. Thus, you can't use this bolt hole, since it will foul on the frame.

But, the 4 holes that I've marked in red are clear of the frame and can be used. You can bolt a plate inside these holes that extends down to about the bottom of the generator. Then, make an L shape to go horizontally and connect to a prefab 3" hitch receiver. You might be able to find the right parts to bolt together, and not have to weld.

The hitch receiver would go through the fibreglass front of the slide and come out on the lower part that is curved inwards. It would be very inconspicuous.

–Gordon

[aeblank]

Originally Posted by gordonsick

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The solution is to edit the picture in some software, such as Preview on a Mac. For example, crop it slightly. This causes the JPEG array to be rewritten in a format that the picture editor understands.

–Gordon

Windows 7 native picture viewer doesn't read exif either. There are batch files for PC, and likely Mac, that will read all the pictures' exif and rotate them properly.

All that said, it's a pita. You took the pic on the phone, you're posting with the phone. So now insert a PC, copy picture, edit picture, find where you want to post, and post it? Yeah, right.

I do imgur (used to do photobucket), which is a similar pita. Upload from phone, then on a computer put them in the right album, crop, resize, etc. It's sorta a scrap book for me though, so worth the time (for me).