Bike rack for 5th wheel

[Flyenb]

Just purchased a rockwood 2887mb. It has a 2 in receiver on the back bumper. Sorry for the typo earlier. Hope it will be delivered soon. I need a 4 place bike rack for my family’s bikes. Looking for any and all suggestions. Thanks in advance.
Brian

[ependydad]

A truck top bike rack and be used but it can be difficult to get them up there.

Smaller bikes can go into the truck bed as long as they don't stick up above the truck rails.

You can store them inside. Some people add a bike mounts to the underside of their dinette cushion seats and flip them over for travel.

Some install a frame-mounted hitch to the rear of the fifth wheel.

Here are more thoughts on those ideas:
https://learntorv.com/bikes-and-fifth-wheels/


I went with a bike rack that gets attached to the kingpin. My father-in-law is a welder by trade and had access to a friend's shop to build me 2 of them now. I carried up to 3 bikes on mine with the 4thi being a kid's bike that went into the truck bed.

Here are step-by-step build pictures of our bike rack. You could take this to a welder/fabricator and get one built fairly inexpensively:

https://learntorv.com/diy-fifth-whee...rack-pictures/

[5er_tom]

You might consider a 2” receiver hitch on the front of your truck. With a hitch platform you can secure several bikes. There is no issue with blocking airflow to the engine and it is easy to keep an eye on them as you travel. That was my solution for several years.

[TowPro]

I used to mount 2 bikes behind the cab in my 8' bed.
I took a piece of 2x4 and had it setup where I could camp it to my forward hitch rail.
using the mount shown below I could mount 2 bikes with handlebars turned.
the front tires would set between the bikes or front of bed and bike.
than I laid the 3rd bike down behind eh hitch, covering areas that would rub on the spray in liner. might have been enough room for 3 bikes in forward position.

[5picker]

I can's seem to find a Rockwood 2888mb listed anywhere so I don't really know what 5th wheel you have?

As you can see by the replies, everyone is steering you clear of a rear bumper mounted bike rack (especially for 4 bikes) since many of the bumpers are simply not strong enough (without modifications) to handle much weight. There have been reports of the bikes/bumper falling off and being dragged down the road.

Let us know for sure what rig you bought (or put it in your signature/profile and we can better steer you.

[Skip12]

I searched for your camper and can't find it. I do see a 2888ws which has a rear rack. I'm able to carry 3 bikes on my rear rack with a two bike bike rack, ties for the tires and ratchet straps. The ties for the tires to keep them from moving is absolutely critical. Two bike are in the rack and one is sandwiched in between facing the other way. I'm good at keeping the pedals out of the way.

I put a 4th bike in front of the hitch in the bed of the after removing the quick release wheels.

This works well for regular well-worn family bikes. I would find a better solution if we had very expensive bikes.

Two improvements I'd like to make eventually;
- A rear camera would be nice to allow me to keep any eye on them.
- I'd like to move the spare tire to under the camper.

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by 5picker

I can's seem to find a Rockwood 2888mb listed anywhere so I don't really know what 5th wheel you have?

As you can see by the replies, everyone is steering you clear of a rear bumper mounted bike rack (especially for 4 bikes) since many of the bumpers are simply not strong enough (without modifications) to handle much weight. There have been reports of the bikes/bumper falling off and being dragged down the road.

Let us know for sure what rig you bought (or put it in your signature/profile and we can better steer you.

Just a guess but a Rockwood 2887MB does exist. I wonder if that's what the OP meant.

[Flyenb]

Sorry forgot to add that I have a 2 in receiver on the back and I fat thumbed the camper number. It is a rock wood 2887mb.
Brian

[cbvp]

You will need a good HD receiver hitch to carry 4 bikes behind your 5er.

If your unable to fabricate one yourself, find a good metal fab shop near you.

Here's some pictures of a Buyers Products universal trailer receiver hitch # 1801125 mounted on Cedar Creek.










C.B.

[ckeeling]

You want to make sure that your 2" receiver is substantial, not a bolt on to the bumper. When you are happy with the receiver, Swagman makes several bike racks that are RV rated. Pick the one that you think will work best for you. I have a Swagman and I am very pleased with it. Good luck!

[rjb16fq77]

I am on my second prototype of a very versatile rear mount carrier for RV trailers / motor homes.It is a frame mounted rack with 3 attachments to allow you to carry a wide variety of items easily loaded by 1 person as follows A.10 ft. alum. boat c/w oars-troll motor-battery. B. and C. 2 kayaks/paddle boards or 2-3 bikes with generator and gas cans on the flat deck below. I have about a 1000 miles on the second prototype and it is working very well and causing a sensation where ever we park at a public place.Because of this pandemic we are going through I have not had the engineering done nor a patient applied for.I will be following up this spring after being vaccinated. The boat rack will pick up a 12 ft. lund boat with ease but of course it is too tall to take it on the road.I have it mounted on a 2020 Forest River 16fq Patriot, that can also be purchased with a rear mounted rack as a factory option.I like my rack better.I tow it with a 2009 Ranger sport- tow package-engine oil cooler- air bags-4:11 gears and soon to be mounted rear sway bar. This may be of interest to you as well as others who like to take a few toys with them. Rob

[Tundra 2014]

I use a Kuat rack w/ additional bracing to the frame w/ weld on 2' hitch. I have used the rack on my truck and trailer over 6 years, rock solid. I like this rack because it a tray rack, w/ lock cables built in. Like others, I would caution on using any bolt-on 2' receiver, not enough support in the bumper. I tried the front receiver on my past truck, I did not like looking around bikes and had to take mount off to change oil.

[shadows4]

I would recommend putting 2 bikes in the front of the truck and the other 2 on a pin box rack at the front of the camper. We take 2 adult bikes on the front of our truck with a Curt front receiver hitch. If I had a welder I would have probably went with the pin box rack. Good luck, John.

[jimmoore13]

Opinion: The rear bumper of an RV is a horrible place for the bikes. The hitch and bike rack may be fine, but the rear of the RV is the roughest ride for the bikes. If you get behind any trailer/fiver with bikes on the back, you quickly realize that the highest amplitude motions of the trailer are at the rear bumper. This might be OK for cheap, steel kids' or adults' bikes, but it is torture for an expensive alloy or carbon fiber bike.

One other point. It nasty weather, the wake turbulence behind an RV will embed grime and grit into every tiny part of your bikes. The derailleurs, brakes, cables, levers and so on can get impacted with this grime. Road spray at the front bumper will be considerably cleaner, because the particulates have had time to precipitate out of the water.

My recommendation: Find another place for your bikes. The front receiver/rack on the tow vehicle is a FAR smoother, cleaner ride.
Obviously, riding inside the rig is the best option for the bikes. A Fiver should have plenty of room inside for bikes.

[lcv800]

I have a nice aluminum one I will sell you cheap. It's actually a 1 1/2" inch with a 2" adapter. I live in Chicago (in Florida for the winter). PM if you're interested.
Rusty

[acadianbob]

Originally Posted by TowPro

I used to mount 2 bikes behind the cab in my 8' bed.
I took a piece of 2x4 and had it setup where I could camp it to my forward hitch rail.
using the mount shown below I could mount 2 bikes with handlebars turned.
the front tires would set between the bikes or front of bed and bike.
than I laid the 3rd bike down behind eh hitch, covering areas that would rub on the spray in liner. might have been enough room for 3 bikes in forward position.

I mounted those on the plywood under the seat cushion of our dinette booth. Carry our bikes inside the trailer. Of course, that's not going to work for 4 bikes.

[5er_tom]

Originally Posted by 5er_tom

You might consider a 2” receiver hitch on the front of your truck. With a hitch platform you can secure several bikes. There is no issue with blocking airflow to the engine and it is easy to keep an eye on them as you travel. That was my solution for several years.

The reason I went with the front hitch/platform was my DW uses a three wheel trike. It would not fit inside the fiver.