Truck tailgate bike pad

[Grapelape]

We are thinking about getting a tailgate bike pad for our truck to haul 4-5 bicycles when we pull our 32 ft. camper. Any concerns with that much weight pushing down right above the the hitch? Or any other bike rack suggestions?

[Capt. Mike]

Originally Posted by Grapelape

We are thinking about getting a tailgate bike pad for our truck to haul 4-5 bicycles when we pull our 32 ft. camper. Any concerns with that much weight pushing down right above the the hitch? Or any other bike rack suggestions?

That might be a lot of bulk, but not really that much weight. If you can haul them in your truck, go for it. IMHO, that beats a rack on the front of your tt above the LP bottles, and it is way, way better than trying to hang 4 bikes some kind of a hitch on the rear bumper.

[gectisme]

We used a Thule Tail Gate Bike Pad for about 22 months of travel. For the most part it worked well. We had 4 bikes and no issues with weight. The only thing that I would be careful with is the mat can wear down the paint on the bike frame. I didn't notice until it had gotten down to metal. Short story, keep the mat clean or put something between the mat and the frame so it doesn't rub. They warn about the mat wearing on the tailgate so I made sure that was super clean and waxed and had no issues there. The dodge does have a plastic strip at the top of the gate so that probably makes a big difference too. Not sure about other manufacturers but this is what happened with the Thule on a 2010 Dodge.

[ImTravis]

We use a bike mat on the tailgate and a bike "stand" to hold the bikes in place (and a cargo bar to make sure they don't move), along with bike locks to keep them from riding away. So far no damage to bikes and/or truck. Our bike mat has padding at the top to help with the "rub" effect.

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by Grapelape

We are thinking about getting a tailgate bike pad for our truck to haul 4-5 bicycles when we pull our 32 ft. camper. Any concerns with that much weight pushing down right above the the hitch? Or any other bike rack suggestions?

Can you really get 4 or 5 bikes on your tailgate ??????????

[gectisme]

In our Dodge, 4 fit without issue, 5 should fit but would be pretty tight.

[Wolverine 1945]

Originally Posted by gectisme

In our Dodge, 4 fit without issue, 5 should fit but would be pretty tight.

I guess I did not know what a tailgate bike rack was !!!
Looks like it could be a problem if DW lets you Jack Knife the TT !!!

[jaseman]

Don't know what all you haul in the bed, or if you have a tonneau cover, but consider some bike racks for the bed.

I'm currently looking at these (Universal Truck Crossbars for Tonneau Covers, Fits All Trucks — KB Voodoo Fabrications and trying to figure out how to fabricate my own.

[ProfChuck]

We store our bikes inside the truck under the cap. They stay a lot cleaner that way. I built a slider that allows me to pull the bike out onto the back gate and then remove it. I use a fork clamp to keep the bike in place on the slider and keep it from bouncing around inside the truck. Only problem is that you do have to take the front tire off to put the fork on the clamp. I made the slider out of electrical conduit and clamps and use a screen door barrel lock to lock it in place when it is in the truck. While I keep modifying it a bit every few years, it has worked well.

[Ejs4029]

Originally Posted by jaseman

Don't know what all you haul in the bed, or if you have a tonneau cover, but consider some bike racks for the bed.

I'm currently looking at these (Universal Truck Crossbars for Tonneau Covers, Fits All Trucks — KB Voodoo Fabrications and trying to figure out how to fabricate my own.

I'd like to find some cross bars that would work on my BAK Revolver tonneau cover but I haven't found anything yet

[jaseman]

Originally Posted by Ejs4029

I'd like to find some cross bars that would work on my BAK Revolver tonneau cover but I haven't found anything yet

Look at how these mount. The bracket might be able to mount between the bed rails and the tonneau rails.

Here are pics of how it mounts and the bracket itself (they make a few different styles, depending on if you're going over a tonneau or not). Might not hurt to browse their site.

I plan on going to HD or Lowes this weekend, and just rooting around at various brackets/bar-stock that I can make work. I'm thinking garage door hangers might to the trick, with some bending and cutting.

These don't clear the tonneau, but the ones that do mount the same way


The small C-channels just clamp the bracket to the bed-rail, and the bracket Z's under and away from the cover


This is the one that actually clears a tonneau



A little ingenuity, and you can probably fab something similar for a fraction of the price. Then either find some old crossbars on Craigslist, or make them out of angle iron, 1" plumbing pipe, aluminum channel, or such, and you should be good to go!



Edit:
Another solution I'm looking at is stake-pocket antenna mounts for the base. Again, I think they could be modified pretty easily (or fabricated) to support crossbars over the tonneau.

[Grapelape]

Originally Posted by gectisme

In our Dodge, 4 fit without issue, 5 should fit but would be pretty tight.

Yeah, 5 will be tight. Thanks for the photo. What kind of stands do you have on the bed of your truck?

[Grapelape]

Originally Posted by jaseman

Don't know what all you haul in the bed, or if you have a tonneau cover, but consider some bike racks for the bed.



I'm currently looking at these (Universal Truck Crossbars for Tonneau Covers, Fits All Trucks — KB Voodoo Fabrications and trying to figure out how to fabricate my own.

I do have a similar cover. I’ll look into those cross bars. Thanks!

[Grapelape]

Originally Posted by Grapelape

I do have a similar cover. I’ll look into those cross bars. Thanks!

What will you mount on the crossbars to secure the bikes to them?

[jaseman]

Originally Posted by Grapelape

What will you mount on the crossbars to secure the bikes to them?

Quick release fork mounts up front. $12 on Amazon



For the back, you can just strap the wheel down to the bcrossbar with a bungee, velcro strap, etc (if you set the distance between bars correctly) or buy (or make) a wheel carrier. A piece of L or U channel about 12" long would be plenty to rest the wheel on, and strap it tight.






Between Amazon and Home Depot, you should be able to make the whole set-up for $50 - $75 dollars, depending on what you might already have around the garage. Much better than the $230 for the kit, which doesn't include the bike mounts.

[Grapelape]

Originally Posted by jaseman

Quick release fork mounts up front. $12 on Amazon







For the back, you can just strap the wheel down to the bcrossbar with a bungee, velcro strap, etc (if you set the distance between bars correctly) or buy (or make) a wheel carrier. A piece of L or U channel about 12" long would be plenty to rest the wheel on, and strap it tight.













Between Amazon and Home Depot, you should be able to make the whole set-up for $50 - $75 dollars, depending on what you might already have around the garage. Much better than the $230 for the kit, which doesn't include the bike mounts.

Thanks for the helpful info. Do you think it can fit 5 bikes?

[jaseman]

Originally Posted by Grapelape

Thanks for the helpful info. Do you think it can fit 5 bikes?

Don't know, haven't built mine yet... 5 might be pushing it simply because of the width of the handlebars vs the width of the truck. You'd probably have to mount every other bike facing backwards to get them all on.

Three quick-releases on the front crossbar, and two on the back (or vice-versa)

If you're gonna mount that many, I'd suggest being/making crossbars that will allow some sort of slide-plates to mount on, so you can adjust side-to-side as needed. This is my plan, but haven't figured what I want to use for crossbars yet.

[Grapelape]

Originally Posted by jaseman

Don't know, haven't built mine yet... 5 might be pushing it simply because of the width of the handlebars vs the width of the truck. You'd probably have to mount every other bike facing backwards to get them all on.



Three quick-releases on the front crossbar, and two on the back (or vice-versa)



If you're gonna mount that many, I'd suggest being/making crossbars that will allow some sort of slide-plates to mount on, so you can adjust side-to-side as needed. This is my plan, but haven't figured what I want to use for crossbars yet.

Ok, that will be in the future. I went ahead and got a tailgate bike pad:



Just now using it for first time.

[ImTravis]

Wow! All five actually fit! I'm impressed..

[Grapelape]

[emoji1360]