Rear Storage Rack - Backs

[jeshoffstall]

Hi all, I have a 201RBS with the fold down rack in the rear. For the life of me I can't figure out how this thing is supposed to securely transport bikes? Does anyone have a picture? Google came up short.

Thanks,
Jack

[Scottyb1707]

No picture at the moment, but I found it works best to use 2 ratchet straps per bike, 1 at the front and 1 at the rear. Then use an additional strap to wrap around all of the bikes, pulling them slightly away from the trailer so they don't bump against it during travel.

[jeshoffstall]

Thank you, do the bars on either end that swing up or down come into play at all?

[Scottyb1707]

I swing them up and route 1 end of the ratchet straps through it. Mine have quite a bit of play when they are up, so I make sure to tilt them in as much as possible while tightening the straps so that they don't tilt in during travel and cause the straps and bikes to loosen up.

[jeshoffstall]

So took a bike over to storage today to try and figure this out. Seems the folks at Lippert don't camp. The lift up bars are useless - would make sense if they lifted up in the middle so the frames could be lashed to them. Guess for this trip they get to ride in the bed of the truck.

Going to take off the rack and have a fabricator make me a cross piece that uses the original brackets with a 2" receiver in the middle. Then I can use a real rack or any other accessory.

Thanks for the inputs guys, just not my cup of tea for $1,300 in bikes.

[RAshcraft]

I had the same problem with the OEM rack that was supplied and as a result I had a fabricator make this bracket that attaches to the same points that the factory rack does. He welded a receiver hitch in the center so my bike rack will attach. I have only used it once but so far it seems great. This gives me the option to remove it and put back the original rack whenever necessary. Disclaimer -- A friend has a receiver hitch on the back of his TT and for reasons I don't fully understand - it put additional stress on his bike rack and caused damage to it. He took the rack back to the dealer he bought it from and the dealer recognized the damage and asked him if he had been using it being a travel trailer.

[Mrkbntn]

Very Nice.
My rack tilts down on the sewer hose storage bumper which concerned me. I emailed Lippert and they say some weight is supposed to be on the bumper.
Racks says 450 pound capacity evenly distributed, placed my Honda 150 lb genny on the rack and drove on a 1200 mile camping trip.Hose storage bumper's welds are starting to crack. Hopefully my welder can come up with a solution. I don't think the rack should touch the bumper at all!

[clarkbre]

Originally Posted by RAshcraft

......as a result I had a fabricator make this bracket that attaches to the same points that the factory rack does. He welded a receiver hitch in the center so my bike rack will attach.......

This is by far the most AWESOME solution to the factory rack! I haven't used ours as it:

1. Is in the way of the hot water heater
2. Is very challenging to mount bikes on
3. Is extremely heavy. The removable rack itself is 78 pounds!

I like the idea of adding a 2" hitch that supports many of the already available, lighter weight racks that are much more suited for carrying bikes.

Thanks for the idea.

[B and B]

There is only i certified bike rack for rear of RV use. Swagman makes a RV rated rack good for 2 65 lb E-Bikes. I have this rack on the back of my Heartland Bighorn. Solid as a rock.

[chaps2018]

Not sure if your rack is like mine but I could not figure out how to mount a bike on it as the bike wheels sat so far below the rack surface the bike was resting on the crankset.

My solution here. 360IBL fold down bike rack
360IBL fold down bike rack
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink?sha...5&share_type=t

[RRGuy55]

I just ran a ratchet strap from the upright post, under the rack and back up to the other post. It held the bike down perfectly.

[JohnD10]

Isn't there a post lying down along the back edge of that rack that is supposed to be mounted vertically for bike transport?

I almost got the flip-down rack, but decided not to, but the one I saw at the dealer had the post, which I had on my previous TT's slide-out rear bumper.

It was such a PITA to mount the bikes on this that I hardly ever took them off while camping, which is why I opted out on the flip-down rack on my 5'ver.

You can see that post in this shot between the spare tire and the bikes:

[wirides]

I was quite disappointed the first time I tried to use the fold down rack on ours too. It was a huge pain to mount a few bikes securely. We have since opted to toss the little kids bikes in the truck bed and the adult bikes on a purpose built rack on a second vehicle we normally have traveling with us. Too bad, it looks good on paper.

[chaps2018]

Originally Posted by RRGuy55

I just ran a ratchet strap from the upright post, under the rack and back up to the other post. It held the bike down perfectly.

What are your tires setting on? Your rack looks like mine above.

[Coolharts]

Bikes are hard to mount on the rack, you have to be careful they do not touch the camper. I frequently use the rack on the back for my blue tote tank.

[Kaadk]

Originally Posted by Mrkbntn

Very Nice.
My rack tilts down on the sewer hose storage bumper which concerned me. I emailed Lippert and they say some weight is supposed to be on the bumper.
Racks says 450 pound capacity evenly distributed, placed my Honda 150 lb genny on the rack and drove on a 1200 mile camping trip.Hose storage bumper's welds are starting to crack. Hopefully my welder can come up with a solution. I don't think the rack should touch the bumper at all!

450? I'm pretty sure my rack had a sticker on it saying it had a 150 lb limit.

So far, we've never used it for bikes. Kids bikes go in the trailer, adults don't come. The rack makes a decent towel/swim suit drying rack though once we're setup at camp. Either drape stuff on it vertically, or if I have a lot to dry, pin it out at 45°.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by Kaadk

450? I'm pretty sure my rack had a sticker on it saying it had a 150 lb limit.

So far, we've never used it for bikes. Kids bikes go in the trailer, adults don't come. The rack makes a decent towel/swim suit drying rack though once we're setup at camp. Either drape stuff on it vertically, or if I have a lot to dry, pin it out at 45°.

The day I bought my previous TT back in 2012, as the dealership was hitching up my truck to the TT I looked at the 5'ver sitting next to it by the service garage and it had the rear slide-out bumper rack just like the one on my brand new TT...

Only it was completely broken off from the 5'ver and on the ground under the trailer.

I asked the service guy what happened to it and he told me that the owner tried traveling with his generator on it and it broke off on the highway!

Glad I wasn't behind him...

He told me that those bumper racks were rated for 200 pounds, with 50 pounds already used up by my spare tire, and proceeded to tell me that they were basically useless...which I found out by using the TT for two years that he was absolutely right.

[chaps2018]

Here are pics of my rack and label

[Mrkbntn]

Originally Posted by Kaadk

450? I'm pretty sure my rack had a sticker on it saying it had a 150 lb limit.

So far, we've never used it for bikes. Kids bikes go in the trailer, adults don't come. The rack makes a decent towel/swim suit drying rack though once we're setup at camp. Either drape stuff on it vertically, or if I have a lot to dry, pin it out at 45°.

My rack is the same as Chaps2018, 450Lb cap.

[Kaadk]

Originally Posted by chaps2018

Here are pics of my rack and label

Originally Posted by Mrkbntn

My rack is the same as Chaps2018, 450Lb cap.

Man, I need to upgrade my rack then. Mine looks identical to yours, but my sticker says this: