Forum Discussion

Mickeyfan0805's avatar
Apr 23, 2018

Dual purpose bike rack - seeking recommendations.

We are looking for a dual purpose bike rack...

Purpose 1 - hitch mount to the back of our vehicle for local usage.

Purpose 2 - mount above A-frame (above propane tanks) on travel trailer, without interfering with the back of our Suburban.

Don't know if there are options that would actually work for this. We'd want at least 3 bikes on the carrier, preferably 4-5.

Any suggestions?

4 Replies

  • Stromberg Carlson makes a rack that mounts on the A frame, but wouldn't fit on the tow vehicles.
  • Another thought, put a front mount hitch receiver on the Burb. Helps return some of the weight to the front axle and it's easy to get the bikes on and off. Only downside we've found is it can make it hard to get in and out of parking lots with very steep approaches. Then you can use whatever 2" equipped rack you want to use (probably don't want to go smaller if you're putting 4 adult sized bikes on it unless you've got very light bikes).
  • As SoundGuy suggests, put a receiver on your trailer and you can put most any bike rack you want in that receiver (assuming there is clearance between it and your tow vehicle, etc).

    I have a Yakima RoadTrip Bike Rack (four bikes) that I've used on my motorhome and it works very nicely indeed and is quite sturdy. There are any number of other good bike racks made, of course.
  • Mickeyfan0805 wrote:
    Any suggestions?


    Arvika offers a 2" receiver mount designed specifically to fit your trailer's A frame that will accept different brands of bike racks like these that slide into any 2" receiver, including your tow vehicle when not towing. You could easily carry 3 bikes but I doubt you'd find a rack that would carry 5. Arvika is based in Quebec but sells in the US as well. I had a swing down Swagman years ago that I used to mount on our Explorer but it rattled around so much I had to also secure it with nylon tether straps tied to the vehicle's roof rack to prevent it from moving so much, otherwise it worked fine.