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Old 03-03-2017, 07:17 PM   #1
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Front hitch bike rack

Adding a 2" hitch to the front of the truck. One possible use is a bike rack. Currently put bikes in the truck bed. But have a bed cover, so have to remove front tires so the cover will close. PITA, and they take up a ton of space.

However, these racks look like they would wobble & shake a lot at every bump in the road. I'm sure some here carry their bikes on a rack up front. Any recommendations on racks? Any tricks to getting the whole thing firmly mounted?

Thanks,
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Old 03-03-2017, 10:21 PM   #2
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Buddy of mine uses Thule T2 hitch on the front of his Excursion. There is a collar with a clamping bolt you can buy to reduce movement that goes on the 2" hitch and the rack's hitch tube if you need it.
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Old 03-03-2017, 10:37 PM   #3
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We use a Curt Front hitch and a two bike rack.

We also have a bumper hitch mount on the camper BUT it is only used to hold the bike rack while in camp. We always move the bikes to the truck when traveling.
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Old 03-23-2017, 11:17 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Herk7769 View Post
We use a Curt Front hitch and a two bike rack.

We also have a bumper hitch mount on the camper BUT it is only used to hold the bike rack while in camp. We always move the bikes to the truck when traveling.
Lou,Laura,

Thanks for the pic. I wound up getting a Swagman XTC2, which looks very much like yours. The location of my new hitch is pretty high. So the rack also is high. The stinger part of the rack is a dogleg and swept upwards. I did a trial mount, and the bikes were way above the hood of the truck. So I drilled & flipped the stinger so it sweeps downward now. Looks like it got me about 8" of drop. Helpful, but still pretty high. I did a test run, looking for some rough roadway ( where are the pot holes when you want one ). The mount seems pretty solid. I'm a little concerned about the bike wheels partially blocking my headlights. I'll need to do another test run at night, to see how much a problem that might be.
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Old 03-24-2017, 09:51 AM   #5
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We bought an Arvika rack for our three bikes. When we were towing our Starcraft TT with our Toyota Sequoia they were a perfect match - the rack went over the propane tanks and was never in the way.






We even bought the hitch adapter so we could carry the bikes separately.






But now we have the Rockwood TT and the F150.

The trailer has the front window and the back rack has to come off if we want to open the rock guard.




Now the position of the battery and tanks is reversed so the rack has to come off if we need to disconnect the battery.


And we carry kayaks on the truck. If we're carrying bikes too, we need to worry about interference in turns.




So this year we decided to go for the front hitch. Like Herk, we've ordered a Curt, and like Herk, we'll put a bumper hitch on the trailer to store and secure the bikes when at the campground.

I imagine we'll look into something to stop the rack from bouncing around, though.
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Old 03-24-2017, 02:07 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tuckerdog1 View Post
Lou,Laura,

Thanks for the pic. I wound up getting a Swagman XTC2, which looks very much like yours. The location of my new hitch is pretty high. So the rack also is high. The stinger part of the rack is a dogleg and swept upwards. I did a trial mount, and the bikes were way above the hood of the truck. So I drilled & flipped the stinger so it sweeps downward now. Looks like it got me about 8" of drop. Helpful, but still pretty high. I did a test run, looking for some rough roadway ( where are the pot holes when you want one ). The mount seems pretty solid. I'm a little concerned about the bike wheels partially blocking my headlights. I'll need to do another test run at night, to see how much a problem that might be.
Wow, that is pretty high ...
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Old 03-24-2017, 02:49 PM   #7
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I mounted one on 2003 Duramax. Haven't used it for the bikes yet although that was one of the reasons I purchased it. My driveway and parking is kind of tight and it makes it about 1000% easier to get trailer into my shop without hitting anything. It isn't rated for the tongue weight, but didn't seem to be an issue for the short time it was hooked to the front of the truck.
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Old 03-24-2017, 04:08 PM   #8
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Hi,

I can carry two bikes and have a front support for my canoe with this one, which combines an aftermarket receiver with a mildly modified garage sale bike rack of an unknown brand.

Yes, there is some wobble, which I correct for with diagonal straps on both sides that go down to the tow hooks under the bumper.

FWIW.

Rich Phillips
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Old 03-24-2017, 04:08 PM   #9
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Unfortunately the Arvika system is hard to find in the US.
Plus there are much cheaper Aframe-mount systems out there now.
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Old 03-25-2017, 10:17 AM   #10
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Hi I am new here just saw this topic and had to respond. Just attach it to the back bumper of your trailer like we did. It works just fine. We take 4 bikes and a trike. You can get the rack at any pep boys or Napa. Just bolts to back bumper. Then your view from your pickup truck isn't blocked. Okay thanks.
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Old 03-25-2017, 10:36 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy NPS View Post
Hi I am new here just saw this topic and had to respond. Just attach it to the back bumper of your trailer like we did. It works just fine. We take 4 bikes and a trike. You can get the rack at any pep boys or Napa. Just bolts to back bumper. Then your view from your pickup truck isn't blocked. Okay thanks.
Thanks Jimmy,
Some trailers are beefy enough to haul around motorcycles and the like on the rear bumper. Others are really limited. Our Jayco recommended nothing on the rear bumper. But if you must, 100 lb. limit. Not sure what my limit is on our Windjammer ( anybody know offhand? ), but there is already a spare tire back there. Combine that with ladder access, and bike space is pretty limited.

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Old 03-25-2017, 11:51 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy NPS View Post
Hi I am new here just saw this topic and had to respond. Just attach it to the back bumper of your trailer like we did. It works just fine. We take 4 bikes and a trike. You can get the rack at any pep boys or Napa. Just bolts to back bumper. Then your view from your pickup truck isn't blocked. Okay thanks.
Since you're new here, I assume you haven't read any of the hundreds of threads about bikes on ultralight trailerf rear bumpers.
As you must not know, this is one of the most hotly debated topics on the Forum.

It's because ultralight TTs have thin metal bumpers, with very weak welds. The manufacturer often puts stickers on them, warning that any modification to the bumper, may void the warranty.
It's the physics involved with the bikes bouncing up/down and pulling back on the bumper.

The only safe way to do it, is to have a receiver welded and braced to the frame and bumper.
But doing this modification to a new trailer may void the frame warranty.

If the trailer is out of warranty, then there's no issues.
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Old 03-25-2017, 12:00 PM   #13
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Well we often carry things there like a grill or other stuff on the back. Just tie on or bungee cord. No big deal for us our trailer is 28' long . Bumper is there to bump stuff so a grill or even 6 bikes is nothing
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Old 03-25-2017, 12:05 PM   #14
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Well we often carry things there like a grill or other stuff on the back. Just tie on or bungee cord. No big deal for us our trailer is 28' long . Bumper is there to bump stuff so a grill or even 6 bikes is nothing
I hope you dont find out the hard way as I've witnessed 3 expensive mountain bikes dragging down the freeway from a broken TT bumper .
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Old 03-25-2017, 12:07 PM   #15
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For me I want to be able to put the kids bikes back there and possibly at times use a basket and keep to haul a little firewood and the Honda generators back there . But I will be either completely removing the bumper and making something stronger or really reinforcing mine . I hate to "BE THAT GUY"
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Old 03-25-2017, 12:13 PM   #16
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We have taken firewood. It isn't that hard you just put it in a cooler and strap it to the bumper. Unless.of.course the cooler is full of coors and ice!!
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Old 03-25-2017, 02:59 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy NPS View Post
Hi I am new here just saw this topic and had to respond. Just attach it to the back bumper of your trailer like we did. It works just fine. We take 4 bikes and a trike. You can get the rack at any pep boys or Napa. Just bolts to back bumper. Then your view from your pickup truck isn't blocked. Okay thanks.
I am so glad you have had good luck with this set up. I did exactly what you did and noticed that my bumper caps kept falling out. Once I realized the twisting of the bumper was the cause, I had my wife follow me down the road to see what was going on back there.

The first bump I hit she started screaming over the phone for me to stop. The bikes and rack were all over the place. We moved the bikes inside until we came up with a plan B.
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Old 03-25-2017, 03:15 PM   #18
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Looks like ours but that blue thing is a giant grill on ours. Nice setup!
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Old 03-25-2017, 03:26 PM   #19
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Looks like ours but that blue thing is a giant grill on ours. Nice setup!
Other than the Barker tank, there is nothing but the OEM spare tire back there now.

Barker 30844 Tote-Along Portable Holding Tank 42 Gallon

We "dry camp" a fair amount and we need to dump the holding tanks without breaking camp. The Barker hooks up to our truck's hitch ball and we drive it to the campground dump station.

This sticker is on all new ultralight campers:
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Old 03-25-2017, 03:36 PM   #20
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I am so glad you have had good luck with this set up. I did exactly what you did and noticed that my bumper caps kept falling out. Once I realized the twisting of the bumper was the cause, I had my wife follow me down the road to see what was going on back there.

The first bump I hit she started screaming over the phone for me to stop. The bikes and rack were all over the place. We moved the bikes inside until we came up with a plan B.
Ok, sorry.. Need to take this thread off a side track quick... Do you have a close up of how you mounted your turd hearse? I am trying to look at some other options and this is genius.
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