Bike Rack for Roo ?

[fedrocker]

Anyone attach a receiving hitch or what have you done? I already have a 5 bike rack, but it requires a receiving hitch. Any other racks that you use?

Thanks,

[rockfordroo]

Bike racks are a big can of worms on this forum. See here:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ler-59998.html

You'll see pics of my receiver. I have 2 bikes on it. I would never put 5 bikes on it.

[bikendan]

There are literally thousands of posts here, about this subject.
a quick search will give you hours of reading.

No hybrid has a bumper strong enough to support even a two bike rack.
the only way to do this safely, is to have a receiver welded and braced to the frame and bumper.
problem is this kind of mod will void the frame's warranty. Most newer hybrids have stickers on the bumper stating this.
if your frame warranty has expired, go for it.

It all has to do with the physics of a load being held out and away from the back of a bouncing shockless trailer.
as an avid cyclist, there's no way I'd put my valuable bikes somewhere I can't see them until I see them and the rack bouncing down the road in my rear view mirror.

[Stormrider151]

I wanted to put a receiver on the rear bumper for a bike rack. After doing the research and talking to my dealer I learned it was a big no no. It seams the bouncing that occurs at the back of the trailer will tear the welds loose at the bumper. I ask about a frame welded receiver. That too is to light a weight to support that kind of weld. And as Bikendan stated you can say by to the warranty. What my dealer did suggest was a receiver that slides over the draw bar behind your tow vehicle. He showed it to me but I would have to change hitch's to use it as it requires a longer draw bar. It's a tough question and not just for hybrids. Good luck.

[bikendan]

when i don't have room in my truck bed, i use a ball-mount Swagman folddown rack. i mount it on the rear bumper's step notch, where you mount a trailer ball.
it's high enough to clear the batteries on the trailer, except for extremely tight turns.





that way i can see them in the rear view mirror. my mtn. bike is worth $2000. not likely to stick that one on the back of my trailer.

if you've got the money, there are A-frame mounted bike racks that are the best solution for TT's/HTT's.
Toppoprails are the best out there but costly.
Stromber-Carlson has another type that i think you can get at CW.
and there's another one i can't find in my bookmarks. if i find it, i'll post it too.

[rockfordroo]

The problem with A-frame mounted racks is that you can't take it with you. You're stuck riding your bike in the campground. If you want to take the bikes anywhere, you need something that can be put ON the truck. OR you take two racks, one for the trailer and one for the truck. Some people have put front mounted receivers/racks on their trucks. There are a number of options, but they all have their pros and cons.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

The problem with A-frame mounted racks is that you can't take it with you. You're stuck riding your bike in the campground. If you want to take the bikes anywhere, you need something that can be put ON the truck. OR you take two racks, one for the trailer and one for the truck. Some people have put front mounted receivers/racks on their trucks. There are a number of options, but they all have their pros and cons.

the Stromberg-Carlson bike bunk, uses a standard 2" bike rack to fit in its bike bunk.
and i think the Toppoprails system has an option, to use with a TV's receiver.

[dernst]

Dan and Shawn, I see the picture of your bikes on the front of the trailer. That is exactly what I am trying to do but I do not understand how your bike rack is attached. Is it attached to your truck or to the trailer? Thanks, Doug

[dado39]

I have been looking at A frame mounts tlhink this is the way for me. the bike rack goes into a 2 " recover so we can use t on the truck the only down fall is clearance for the front bunk when its down. so rack and top bar have to come off.my deals suggested quick release pins to make it easier to remove. I hate putting them inside the trailer! So may be this spring i will try it.

[rsdata]

I have added a 2 inch bumper hitch
CURT
and a 500# capacity aluminum (Harbor Freight) carrier onto the back of my 2014 Shamrock 183. I also added a pair of these 4 Square Safety Struts to help augment the bumper-to-frame support.

4 Square Safety Struts

I also have offset the carrier to one side of the trailer from the middle and removed the heavy spare-tire mount (factory stock) from the bumper. I now carry the spare in the tow vehicle. I figure if the factory can mount a heavy spare tire, then the bumper must be able to hold some weight stock.

I have only carried about 150-160# max in the carrier (including the weight of the carrier) and I have only hauled the trailer on two trips of less than 400 miles each. However, so far there appears to be no fatique showing on the bumper welds.

I really do not plan to load the carrier much more than the 160# I currently have on the bumper. I use the carrier to haul my propane fueled fire-pit around. Something that can get messy and I don't want to put it in the trailer.

I agree that putting 3, 4 or 5 bikes hanging on the bumper might be a little more torque than you would want on a un-reinforced bumper. Maybe if you added two bikes racks, putting one on the left side and the other on the right side and added some reinforcing, like the 4 Struts...

just my 2 cents...

[onei]

Well, I have to tell you, I had a receiver professionally welded to a pop up and carried 3/4 bikes that way from Mi. to Wyoming on too many occasions to count and never had an issue. I just had to insure they were secured to the bumper with straps to prevent them from swaying and load the trailer to limit rear end weight. Now I have a 233s and my dealer had the receiver installed before I even picked up my trailer. Still use straps to limit sway and load with them in mind. I would keep an eye on the welds but no issues to date.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by dernst

Dan and Shawn, I see the picture of your bikes on the front of the trailer. That is exactly what I am trying to do but I do not understand how your bike rack is attached. Is it attached to your truck or to the trailer? Thanks, Doug

Dernst, if you read my previous post and look at the rack pic I posted, you'll see it's a ball-mount rack. The rack mounts to my truck's rear bumper, not to the trailer at all.
check out my pics gallery for other pics of the setup.
or e-trailer has a great video showing the rack and how it mounts.

[slide5r4fun]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

The problem with A-frame mounted racks is that you can't take it with you. You're stuck riding your bike in the campground. If you want to take the bikes anywhere, you need something that can be put ON the truck. OR you take two racks, one for the trailer and one for the truck. Some people have put front mounted receivers/racks on their trucks. There are a number of options, but they all have their pros and cons.

Although our fiver came with a factory mounted bike/cargo rack, we wanted the ability to haul our bikes outside the campground if we wanted to. We bought a swagman bike rack that fits in the receiver but it is fairly heavy and bulky so we wanted a better alternative. We ended up buying a pretty slick setup from a company called Rec-Rac that allows you to secure and transport the bikes in the bed of the truck. Although it's a bit pricey, it's very compact and lightweight. We went with the 2 bike economy package. We use it frequently and feel it is a quality product. Here's a link.

Pickup Truck Bike Rack - Bicycle Racks for Trucks

[rockfordroo]

The down side of the Rec-Rac is that you can't have a tonneau cover over the bed with the bikes in the truck. Therefore you can't really protect whatever else is in the bed. (Not that a tonneau cover provides a lot of protection, but it keeps the honest people honest.) Don't know if the bikes would fit inside if you had a topper on the bed.

As I said above, pros and cons with all of them.

[Glindz233s]

Anyone have bike rails ON their tonneau cover? I've seen that done and I'm considering that route.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Glindz233s

Anyone have bike rails ON their tonneau cover? I've seen that done and I'm considering that route.

i've explored installing a Yakima rack to the top of my Avalanche's hard bed cover. saw one like it at the Sea Otter Bike Festival.
it would allow me to detach the rack and towers, leaving only mounts that are almost flush.
but i've been able to store them in bed so far. so, haven't needed to spend the money to do the setup.

[rockfordroo]

Anyone have bike rails ON their tonneau cover? I've seen that done and I'm considering that route.

Someone on here installed those rails that run from the front stake pocket to the back pocket, then built cross rails across them (which would be above the tonneau cover, if it was the rollup kind), then attached Yakima or Thule roof rack type bike holders on the cross rails. I think he made the cross rails out of C-channel that they use for electrical work, see here:

www.grainger.com/product/SUPER-STRUT-Half-Slot-Channel-WP34067/_/N-8ai?s_pp=false&picUrl=//static.grainger.com/rp/s/is/image/Grainger/5YB79_AS01?$smthumb$


Try doing some thread searching and you might find his pic.

[husky family]

I found a bicycle rack from Support Rack out of Canada that fit my needs and my 233S perfectly. It took about an hour to install and is very sturdy and solid. I use a Thule bike rack that fits a standard 2" receiver in addition to the Support Rack. The Support Rack is low enough to clear my bunk in the dropped position, so I only have to remove the Thule rack when camped. That comes in handy when we want to bike a trail that is too far away from the campsite - I use the Thule rack to transport the bikes on my truck hitch receiver.

I'm not sure this place is still in business, I could not find an active website when I just checked. If you're interested I probably still have the guy's email/phone number. I talked to him many times before deciding to purchase. I did find a youtube post that is an animation of how the system is installed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn7DBCc776s

[Evereddie]

This is the model I want. As you found out, they must be out of business. I guess I'll have to go with the Bike Bunk model.

[itat]

Either the Bike Bunk (on sale now at eTrailer)
Stromberg Carlson Bike Bunk Trailer-Mounted Bike Carrier for A-Frame Trailers - 2" - 100 lbs Stromberg Carlson Trailer Cargo Control CC-275

or the Arvika from Quebec, Canada
Arvika - Home

The Bike Bunk will be a lot less expensive.