Bike racks in the rear

rhagfo wrote:

ford truck guy wrote:

Michelle.S wrote:
If you have a "Good" 2" Receiver hitch you can mount a good bike rack there. We have a Swagman 2 Bike rack that has made several trips from Western New York to Central Florida and back. Once mounted properly the bikes are rock solid.

I have the same as Michelle, but in the 4 bike version... I use 2 of the 1" ratchet straps wrapped around the mount and receiver to stop the little bit of wiggle I get..

We have the Swagman 2 bike rack on our Pin Box mount rack, it came with a Bolt instead of a pin for holding in the receiver. We get no movement between rack and receiver.

YEA..... EVERY TIME I use it, I say that I am gonna get a bolt for next time....:B

Ralph Cramden wrote:

TXiceman wrote:
What ever you do, DO NOT mount any bike rack or carrier on a 4" square tube bumper. The thin material rips out at the weld to the frame.

That is a broad statement if one takes into account square tube bumpers can be found in different gauges, and every RV manufacturer, uses a different connection method depending on the model / floorplan.

There is a huge difference in strength / capability between one simply butt welded into the end on a frame rail, or one where the frame rail is notched to make the connection, or one that they used angle gussets to attach it to the frame, or some other connection design.

Some actually have enough common sense, knowledge, and skill to evaluate how a bumper is connected, and know if it will handle the intended use or to make modifications to same if it appears it's not capable. Some also know the difference between a good weld and a bad one.

Of course on an RV forum you always have the fear mongering bumper police to chime in, just the same as the tire police, weight police, so on and so forth. Just like a tire thread one should know better than to even comment in one of these bumper bike rack threads. One day I'll learn to avoid them.

To save someone the effort, here are the two pictures that get put up sooner or later in every thread since RV forums have been around, where bumper and bike rack were used together in a post.

I have yet to see any trailer with a 4" square tube bumper of sufficient strength to carry bikes. The manufacturers use the thinnest possible tubes.

And in our travels around the US, I have seen plenty of the square tube bumpers ripped off.

There is an aftermarket bolt on bracket to support the square tube bumpers.

Ken

I built a six bike, bike carrier and two inch rear receiver hitch for a fiver. It worked great for years. Now I carry an 800 lb motorcycle on a home made carrier behind my fiver. Anything is possible.l

IAMICHABOD wrote:
One of the things is the rocking and the damage it can do when the bike carrier is mounted in a RECEIVER .
You need a good anti rattle device so you don't get so much play in the receiver,thus magnifying the movement and doing more damage to the bike carrier.

I have tried almost every Anti Rattle device on the market, most have been no good or so complicated and cumbersome that they are useless. Including the Roadmaster type,totally useless.
Until I found the one at Hitch Rider.

Their Hitch Vice is the best and easiest one I have come across and it really works.

Or you could drill a hole in the side/bottom of the receiver, weld a nut onto it and screw a bolt into the nut to tighten against the insert... :B

Lyle

ford truck guy wrote:

Michelle.S wrote:
If you have a "Good" 2" Receiver hitch you can mount a good bike rack there. We have a Swagman 2 Bike rack that has made several trips from Western New York to Central Florida and back. Once mounted properly the bikes are rock solid.

I have the same as Michelle, but in the 4 bike version... I use 2 of the 1" ratchet straps wrapped around the mount and receiver to stop the little bit of wiggle I get..

We have the Swagman 2 bike rack on our Pin Box mount rack, it came with a Bolt instead of a pin for holding in the receiver. We get no movement between rack and receiver.

IAMICHABOD wrote:
One of the things is the rocking and the damage it can do when the bike carrier is mounted in a RECEIVER .
You need a good anti rattle device so you don't get so much play in the receiver,thus magnifying the movement and doing more damage to the bike carrier.

I have tried almost every Anti Rattle device on the market, most have been no good or so complicated and cumbersome that they are useless. Including the Roadmaster type,totally useless.
Until I found the one at Hitch Rider.

Their Hitch Vice is the best and easiest one I have come across and it really works.

I have one of those to take all the slop out of the hitch for the rack. I messed around for quite some time before stumbling onto that device. It is the cat's meow.

Michelle.S wrote:
If you have a "Good" 2" Receiver hitch you can mount a good bike rack there. We have a Swagman 2 Bike rack that has made several trips from Western New York to Central Florida and back. Once mounted properly the bikes are rock solid.

I have the same as Michelle, but in the 4 bike version... I use 2 of the 1" ratchet straps wrapped around the mount and receiver to stop the little bit of wiggle I get..

TXiceman wrote:
What ever you do, DO NOT mount any bike rack or carrier on a 4" square tube bumper. The thin material rips out at the weld to the frame.

That is a broad statement if one takes into account square tube bumpers can be found in different gauges, and every RV manufacturer, uses a different connection method depending on the model / floorplan.

There is a huge difference in strength / capability between one simply butt welded into the end on a frame rail, or one where the frame rail is notched to make the connection, or one that they used angle gussets to attach it to the frame, or some other connection design.

Some actually have enough common sense, knowledge, and skill to evaluate how a bumper is connected, and know if it will handle the intended use or to make modifications to same if it appears it's not capable. Some also know the difference between a good weld and a bad one.

Of course on an RV forum you always have the fear mongering bumper police to chime in, just the same as the tire police, weight police, so on and so forth. Just like a tire thread one should know better than to even comment in one of these bumper bike rack threads. One day I'll learn to avoid them.

To save someone the effort, here are the two pictures that get put up sooner or later in every thread since RV forums have been around, where bumper and bike rack were used together in a post.

rhagfo wrote:
I will post pictures later, but think about carrying your bikes on a pin box reciver. Bikes ride smother, and always in your view.

OK, Here are the pictures.

Prep for welding.



Receiver on pin box.



Bikes on rack ready for road.

Just slightly off topic but, depending on how strenuously you ride, you might consider the Dahon foldups which can be stowed almost anywhere like luggage. We had two of their three speed models way back when and put literally hundreds if not thousands of miles on them over the 10 years we had our sailboat.