I've just bought two new bicycles and would like to bring them with me to Florida for the winter next year. I'm trying to figure a way to transport them and wondered what some of you have done. My Bighorn has no rear bumper so I thought maybe I would install a hitch receiver and a hitch mounted bike rack. But in researching bike racks I found that most if not all of them say they are not to be mounted on a towed vehicle. Do any of you have a hitch mounted bike rack on your fiver?

While I use a Thule T2, Swagman has racks for RVs. I wrote them and asked whether they were warrantied for fifth wheel applications and was told yes.

We have had lots of experience in this area. Our last fifth wheel was a lightweight and we were strongly advised against mounting a bike rack on it. It had a bumper. So we hauled them inside the camper--YUK. You will be best with a hitch mounted rack where the bikes sit upon it rather than hanging. There's lots of bouncing back there. Even with that be sure the bikes are secured with straps or whatever. We now have a new Arctic Fox and the receiver was mounted on it at the factory so it is frame-mounted. The bumpers on campers are not strong enough to take the weight and bouncing. We got a Kuat NV rack. They are pricey, but very good sturdy racks and easy to use. Second brand I would recommend is Yakima such as the Holdup2. You can haul your bikes and then use the rack on the truck to haul the bikes to bike trails. Our friends have a Saris rack of same style as ours and mounted on their older Arctic Fox Fifth wheel. Their receiver was not factory-installed. I believe it is clamped on the bumper, but reinforced by a welder underneath?? Not sure about that. They have traveled this way for 8 years 6 months at a time with no problem. I just recommend getting a really sturdy rack.

Frame mounted 2" Receiver Hitch and Swagman Two Bike Rack. Hauls ours back and forth from Western New York and South Central Florida.

I carried 2 26" bikes for several years by removing the front wheels and laying them flat in the bed in front of the hitch. Then I built a pin box mounted receiver and carry them on the pin box mounted bike rack now.

hitch mounted bike rack? | Good Sam Community

31 Replies

Trlrboy
Explorer
Jan 18, 2015
Winged One wrote:
I already had a hitch on the 5th so this worked very well.

Swagman

I have had this rack for several years on the back of my trailer and it works terrific. Very solid attachment to the hitch receiver and the bikes can be locked to the rack using a cable lock. I also have Velcro straps I put through the wheels to the rack and on the back of the bike to the ladder. Never had a problem.
hermandutchman
Explorer
Jan 18, 2015
I use the pin box rack for the main reason that when you travel in South

Dakota in dec. they pick up lots of road salt and every thing get very rusty if they are behind the trailer.
kevden
Explorer
Jan 18, 2015
We put the adult bikes on a Yakima roof rack (on the Yukon suv), and the kids bikes on a hitch haul carrier on the rear of the camper (camper came with a frame mounted receiver). They get a pretty bouncy ride back there, so I have to tie them down really good and check them at every stop.
Winged_One
Explorer
Jan 17, 2015
I already had a hitch on the 5th so this worked very well.

Swagman
Nunyadamn
Explorer
Jan 17, 2015
I have a travel trailer, and am looking to put on a receiver on it. Just ran across this thread and thought others might want to look into this bike rack. I think I am going to sell my frame mounted bike rack, after I get the receiver put on, and go with this one -
http://www.kotulas.com/deals/garage-and-auto/scooters-and-bikes/2in1-cargo-carrier-with-4bike-rack-500lb.-capacity
RWalt
Explorer
Jan 11, 2015
We have had experience with both a Yakima and Thule hitch mounted rack. Both are decent racks however neither are recommend for a trailer. It doesn't matter which brand or model. In the summer of 2014 we broke our Yakima rack. It just bent over and cause $1500 damage to the bikes. There would have been more damage if another driver hadn't let us know. While on the road we purchase the Thule rack and called Yakima CC who let us know there is no warranty or a rack for a trailer. We then called Thule and they said the same thing.
WE_CAMP2
Explorer
Jan 09, 2015
We carry 2 bikes on our pin box mounted bike rack with no problem. At one time we carried 4 bikes (full size) back when the kids came along. Mounting the bike rack on the pin box actually gives a smoother ride for the bikes than if it was mounted anywhere else (even of the back of a car or truck will create more bounce).
ependydad
Explorer
Jan 07, 2015
packnrat wrote:
why not just put them in the coach when traveling?

For me, I did that for a while- 2 years, actually. I didn't like the space that the giant stack o' bikes took up. It meant we effectively couldn't use our dinette while travelling. And we often drive a day or two to get where we're going- being able to stop and sit at the table was something that we lost. Putting them on a bed or in a hallway would have been worse.

Different strokes for different folks.
packnrat
Explorer
Jan 07, 2015
why not just put them in the coach when traveling? put them outside at camp...with good very strong cable/chain and locks on them.

but then both of my bikes cost well over a grand each. not k-mart blue light specials.

.
Lantley
Nomad
Jan 06, 2015
I have an Arvika pin box bike rack. The total solution.
Bikes are supported from beneath. Bikes are always in view. No bouncing. This rack is available off the shelf and is not custom fabricated. It is the same rack I used on my prior TT as shown in the last photo