Family of 6 wants to take 5 bikes, but how???

[lavaweb]

Before I go on... I've read through dozens of threads on this forum, watched a bunch of Youtube videos and have seen a ton of options, but wanted to see what someone else who's in our specific position with 4 kiddos has done.

Basically are moving from just 3 to now 5 bikes to bring with us (littlest is two so she rides on mine), the adults have e-bikes which are heavier, and I'm trying to figure out how to get them all into/onto the camper with us when we go.

We tow with a 2015 Chevy Suburban and we have a 2011 25' Surveyor with the rear slide and up till now we have been putting the three bikes inside, in the middle of the trailer over the axle. The problem is that every time we move them in our out something gets banged up that we just painted! Plus we now have more bikes to take with us.

I know rear bumpers mounts are a big nono, so not going there. And I've looked at options to have a hitch receiver welded to the frame, but I'm seeing some threads here that say the Surveyor frames aren't built for this and may crack (the warranty is expired already I believe so I'm not worried about voiding that.)

I've looked at tongue mount options and am liking the Arvika but not hearing a lot of opinions on it, or seeing really where I can get it. I've also heard of people adding hitch mounts to the front of their tow vehicles, but how do you see through the bikes?

SO MANY OPTIONS!!! So please, someone with four kiddos, how do YOU bring all the bikes with you?

Thank you all so so much for your help!

[robo44]

Im just going to toss a few things out... I have no experience.

Can you mount a few on the roof of your Suburban via roof mount rack,
1 or two smaller bikes on the front using a front hitch?

Good Luck!

[Cabinfever97]

I would stop by a local weld/fab shop. Explain what you want to haul and want.to correctly add to the rear of the camper to accommodate the bikes. Any decent shop should be able to correctly fabricate what you need to do the job without harming the camper. You may need to move some weight forward to balance things out. If not to you GVW on the camper maybe just add some permanent weight forward. Add a couple batteries would increase dry camping capabilities and balance the weight. Even just add some lead forward.

[clarkbre]

Adding weight out past the rear bumper is a bad idea on most trailers. Think of a teeter totter....if the rear goes down due to weight, the tongue will come up with less weight.

You've got about the biggest SUV on the market. Invest in a good Yakima or Thule roof rack system. Get the bikes up there and they will be secure and out of the way. And, if you are camping and want to take the bikes somewhere to ride, you can leave the trailer and still put them on the Suburban.

[dmctlc]

So for years I towed a 30' trailer with my Suburban. We had 4- 5 bikes usually with us depending if we had a neice or nephew or friend. Anyway I mounted a trailer hitch on the front of the Suburban and could slide a hitch mounted bike carrier there which usually held 4 of our bikes. Worked great for many years until the kids outgrew camping and we moved to a Class A. The bike carrier I used on the Suburban I still have today because I can also mount it on the shaft of the tow bar to motorhome's trailer hitch. Works great 20 yrs later for just the 2 of us.

[kawac14]

When our daughters were traveling with us, we had 2 bikes on the T.V. roof (along with 2 kayaks), two folding Dahon bikes under the dinette, and one bike on the T.V. front bumper.

[Richy R]

Perhaps you have just throwing it out there as a suggestion. Obviously it only handles two bikes.

[rsdata]

I think you are overlooking the obvious TV roof IF you have some travel bars already up there. Three of the smaller bikes on racks up there would be the best.

look at roof rack options at etrailer dot com