Front mounted bike rack

We have been carrying our 40# road tandem on the front hitch for several years now. (Because of its length, I remove both wheels but that isn't a concern with singles.)

It is carried with an older style Thule double arm rack. Never a problem.

I did try it using the rear hitch but IMHO it stays cleaner on the front- no filth sucked up off the road by the truck/TC.

When we mounted the bikes in front, we took the seats off to improve visibility, and put the handlebars on the passenger side. It also kept the seats cleaner. It killed our mileage on cross country trips though. Now we hang them off our rear ladder now, and strap them down against the ladder using hard foam blocks and a 2" thick quick cinch strap across the back jacks.

stevenal wrote:
It's not the visibility past the bikes that is the problem, it is the glare from your own headlights bouncing off the rims messing up your night vision. Tried a night time test drive once, and ended up putting the bikes in a trailer.

Never had that problem of glare but it could be that all of our bikes have black rims.

Dave

It's not the visibility past the bikes that is the problem, it is the glare from your own headlights bouncing off the rims messing up your night vision. Tried a night time test drive once, and ended up putting the bikes in a trailer.

jimbob3ca wrote:
A lot depends on the style of bike you intend to carry and the type of rack you use. Bikes with a tubular cross bar can be carried with a rack that clamps on the bar and will keep them lower out of the line of vision. You can also remove the seat. This does mean that the wheels are lower in front as well. If the bikes are a style that cannot use this type of rack, then you need a rack that will carry the bikes supporting them on the wheels. This raises the bikes more into the line of vision.
I carried some high-end mountain bikes once that required that they use a wheel supporting rack, and the vision impairment was such that I finally had to put them in the camper which was a big nuisance. Carrying them on the back wasn't an option.

We have used an older model Swagman "gooseneck" for ten years which fits into a 2" receiver. It can carry up to 4 bikes. On our touring bikes, you just clamp the top tube . On our mountain bikes, we have a top tub adapter which clamps on the seat post and the handle bar post. Because the receiver is fairly high, I dropped the rack 12" so visibility would not be impaired.

A lot depends on the style of bike you intend to carry and the type of rack you use. Bikes with a tubular cross bar can be carried with a rack that clamps on the bar and will keep them lower out of the line of vision. You can also remove the seat. This does mean that the wheels are lower in front as well. If the bikes are a style that cannot use this type of rack, then you need a rack that will carry the bikes supporting them on the wheels. This raises the bikes more into the line of vision.
I carried some high-end mountain bikes once that required that they use a wheel supporting rack, and the vision impairment was such that I finally had to put them in the camper which was a big nuisance. Carrying them on the back wasn't an option.

I think they will all restrict visibility a bit, but not that bad. I have a cheap one that I bought 25 years ago. Any of the newer ones are probably better. You could also get a ladder mount rack. The problem with those is they block the camper door.

https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Bike-Racks/Lets-Go-Aero/VME-V2.html

I have used the swagman rack with a front mount hitch for 4 years on two different SUV's and it's been great. But it does take some getting used to and added tie downs to keep it from moving while I drive. It WILL be in your line of sight no matter what.

Halmfamily wrote:
We use a Curt Front Mount hitch with a Swagman XC bike rack. Easy install, bikes are rock solid and zero visibility issues.

X2 We have used this combination for the last 5 years.