Traveling w Bicycles

We carry two bikes on the rear of the fiver. We use a swagman which is rated for use on an RV. Got rid of the Thule it was not rated for the RV.

Put 2 on the rear of the 5ver and 2 on top of the truck with bar rack. I've also seen rigs with 2 bikes on the front of the truck.

I've got a ladder mount with lots of straps. Even if the rack mount broke, the straps would hold the bikes, as long as the ladder stayed on the trailer. So far so good.

If you have a long-bed truck, the absolute best solution I believe is to bolt a receiver setup to the pin-box and front-mount a carrier over the bed of the truck in front of the trailer. I've been running that for several years now with over ~10k miles with a Swagman 4-bike rack. The bikes do not bounce, you can see them in the mirror, they don't extend the length of the trailer, and they clear the back of the cab with no problem at all. It's a great use of otherwise wasted space.

Downsides are limited to: The bikes accumulate more bugs and dirt (being in the wind-stream), you likely need a step stool to get them on and off, and you can't get to them with the trailer connected to the truck. All in all, minor trade-offs.

I made up the adapter by cutting and welding a receiver tube (at the appropriate pin-box angle) to a steel plate, with a brace, then bolted the plate to the pin-box. Works great, and the rack is easy to remove it you want to use it on the truck while the trailer is parked.

Consider an Arvika pin Box bike rack

Images of Arvika bike racks

Lantley wrote:
Consider an Arvika pin Box bike rack

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That's pretty sweet. Might have to get one, even tho we have a toy hauler.

We installed a Curt front mount receiver on our truck and carry our bikes on a Swagman XC rack. Works great, no movement and we ways have an eye on them.

I have no overheating of the truck or blockage of my headlights.

Have a better hitch welded to the frame. I had a welding shop weld one to my frame and he said I could pretty much tow anything I wanted to, even though it was only for my bike rack. We sold the 5th wheel and got a toyhauler. Now I have a bike rack I don't even use.

1UPUSA makes a very heavy duty and one of the few rear RV bike racks, and charges appropriately for it. Here's what they say.

"1up USA advises a two bike max for RV and travel trailer usage for our two inch models. The 1 ¼ inch models are not intended for RV and travel trailer use."

Put a front mount receiver on the front of the truck. Works great for us with 3 bikes.