Best Front Mount Bike Rack

[clange]

I'll soon be mounting a receiver hitch to the front of my pickup to carry a couple of bikes there. We've got a factory mounted bike rack on the back of the camper that works well, but the kids have grown to a point where we can't carry five bikes back there for all of us to use. I'm not sure what bike rack I should mount on the front of the pickup and am looking for suggestions for a very secure and stout bike rack.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[davel1971]

Transfer – Kuat Racks

I use one of these. Very sturdy. Fold up when not in use. Holds bikes by the tires. Can load both in under a minute. No straps to deal with.

[360true]

Has anyone added a rack to the front of a F53 chassis. It would be helpful as I travel summers with 5 bikes.

[davel1971]

Originally Posted by 360true

Has anyone added a rack to the front of a F53 chassis. It would be helpful as I travel summers with 5 bikes.

https://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Hit...t-5_Bikes.aspx

You can get a rack for 5. Can you use your rear receiver or are you towing a car? I'm sure you could add one to the front, but I doubt one is available. Would have to be custom made.

[360true]

I have a Thule in the coach back, and yes towing. Thought also to add a second rack to the toad but have to check road clearance as it is tipped up on a dolly.

[DanLE]

with our former TT and TV we used a front mounted carrier and we're very happy with it. We now use the same carrier on the rear bumper of our current TT and I also used addition bungees and ratchet tie downs since the bikes are now out of sight and I want the added assurance that they aren't bouncing around and coming loose. Had THAT experience way back in our early trailering days in the '70's. We have an early rendition of the etrailer.com carrier that supports the bike by there wheels. I'll not use any other style of carrier. The bikes ride so much steadier/sturdier on their wheels than hanging from their frames. https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Bike-...s/PS63134.html

[markb422]

What kind of truck do you have?
On our E350 SD chassis MH, I use a fold up trunk mount style bike carrier like you normally would see on the back of car. Amazing how well it works on the front of the MH. The top straps that would usually hook on to the front edge of the car trunk I hook on the back edge of the hood. The side straps hook on the sides of the grill and the bottom strap on the bottom of the front bumper. Most of the weight rest on the top of the front bumper. Takes about 3 or 4 minutes to put on and you can take it off when not needed.

[uhduh camping]

Originally Posted by clange

I'll soon be mounting a receiver hitch to the front of my pickup to carry a couple of bikes there. We've got a factory mounted bike rack on the back of the camper that works well, but the kids have grown to a point where we can't carry five bikes back there for all of us to use. I'm not sure what bike rack I should mount on the front of the pickup and am looking for suggestions for a very secure and stout bike rack.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

We use the Kuat NV 2.0 with add-on to carry four bikes. Works great for us.

[DanLE]

We're now towing a F.R. Flagstaff V-Lite 3001w with a Chevy Silverado 2500 HD 4WD crew cab short bed with cab high topper. The vehicle we had the front carrier on was full size Chevy Hi-Top conversion van with a frame mounted front receiver for the front mounted bike rack. As I stated in an earlier post to this same thread that carrier is now mounted on the rear bumper of our current TT and serving us well with the added precaution of an extra ratchet strap and bungees for my own peace of mind since the bikes are out of sight where they're now mounted. The thing I like about a receiver mounted bike carrier is that we can easily transfer the carrier to the TV receiver when we want to take our bikes along on side trip excursions away from the camp site as well as easily use the same carrier on other vehicles that are set up with frame mounted receivers. I referenced the carrier we use in my earlier post above.

[Moosey1]

There are plenty of hitches available for the front and then any bike rack would fit in a hitch reviewer would work. I was thinking of doing that with my F150, I have a Yakima 4 bike carrier I would put in the front. The front hitch is only $136, but the overall length with my TT, the truck, and the front bike rack would be over 64 feet. So I am looking now at the Yakima Bed rock which would allow me to put the bikes like even with the top of the bed line which allows full bed storage,

[itat]

For 5 bikes, I’d suggest a roof top rack for at least a couple of bikes. There would be too much weight on a hitch mounted rack and it would stick out a long way.

For a hitch mounted rack, I’d suggest one like those suggested previously where the bike tires sit on the rack rather than hanging on a rail or two.

[kurtsont]

I have the up n front hitch on my trailer tongue. It is more expensive than the others but it is 1000 times better built and once installed there is no movement and it has a 200 lbs capacity. Plus it is not really in the way of anything.

[PhillipT]

I purchased a Curt front mount hitch and had it installed at a local trailer supply for less than $300. It has a 5,000 lbs. capacity and 500# tongue weight. This hitch can be installed two ways: with the hitch in a lower or higher position. I placed mine in the higher location since I drive off road quite a bit. For that reason I bought an 8" drop hitch to use when traveling with bikes so that the seats and handlebars are out of my line of vision. The drop hitch is easily removed and installed when not in use.

I purchased a Saris Superclamp EX rack for two bikes but they also have one that will carry four bikes. This cost more than the hitch but after shopping around we found this was one of the most secure models available and it is very easy to install.

I have found this to be a very good system. I really enjoy having our bikes with us and find we now look for towns and sites with bike trails.

Enjoy!

[Carl Patterson]

Nice

[RSW3]

Originally Posted by davel1971

Transfer – Kuat Racks

I use one of these. Very sturdy. Fold up when not in use. Holds bikes by the tires. Can load both in under a minute. No straps to deal with.

Great rack!

I just installed one on a heavy duty hitch kit on the back of my TT.

Enjoy!

[dwayneb236]

We also have a Kuat. I love it. So easy. Loads quick and not too heavy at all.

[Ron045]

How is driving at night effected with Bikes on the rack? Seems like there would be some degradation of the light.

Ron

[Sierra360PDEK]

We use a Swagman XC2 bake rack with a Curt front mount hitch. Bikes don't move at all. Very solid platform.

[ChibullsAN]

Swagman from etrailer. On my 2015 f150.

[lewisra]

We used this. https://goo.gl/8kAfSn on our 2003 Savana.
There are attachments to put tires in and hold bikes upright. Also great for carrying cargo when not taking bikes. Also had one on the back of trailer when we took 7-8 bikes with us.