Bike Rack Questions-- Again

[rdemore]

We have a family of 5 and 32' fifth wheel. Bikes are a standard part of our camping experience. Last year I added a RV receiver hitch and 4 bike rack to the camper. Well, in the first hundred miles the arms on the bike rack begin bending, and I have spent the last year with various modifications, and improvements to the rack. I am ready to abandon it and start over. It appears to me that a rack with "bottom" support will be better, but I have not found one that is made / warrantied for the back of a fifth wheel.

What is the best rack available that fits a receiver hitch for a 5th wheel. If it is not "made" for the camper, what mods have you made to strengthen it.

[camperforlife]

Arvika makes one for the front of a 5th wheel.

[CND_SuperCrew]

If you look at my mods page, you'll see what I did:

Trailer Mods

[gotsmart]

I have a 2-piece system from Thule - that is no longer available. The 1st piece is the Thule Space Station. It is a tilt-away unit (for pickup trucks) that is the base for Thule's bike racks, snowboard racks, ski racks, cargo trays:

The 2nd piece is a 2-tray fork-lock bike rack (there was a 4-tray option as well):

The 2 pieces combined are very heavy, and solid. Since the Space Station was designed to hold a cargo tray, it can support a lot of weight. The added benefit of the tilt-away is that it allows me to tilt the bike rack away (with bikes on it) and put a step ladder behind the coach to reach the top of the window and marker lights.

[rdemore]

Just returned from a 2300 mile trip in North and South Carolina. We purchased a Swageman rack and it was perfect. Thanks for the help

[Camper_Mama_Bea]

what nremtp143 has is what we have, just use a different bike rack. 🙂

[nremtp143]

I carry our bikes on a pin box mount that I made and purchased a bike rack to slide in it. Here is what I did. You can make them fit either a long or short bed.

[ArticFox_676]

X2 on Swagman. Ours is the type that the wheels sit down in a hoop and a bracket over the bar between the seat and handlebars. Never had a problem.

[Dick_B]

Did you search this Forum for `bike rack'? We carry two adult bikes on the front of our tow vehicle on a Saris CycleOn rack. Camping World sells foldup bikes for around $180.
I would be reluctant to carry more than two bikes on the back of the RV on a receiver-mounted rack.

[Grchristens]

Swagman 4 bike rack is awesome! It does not budge!

[BB_TX]

Having seen too many bikes bouncing up and down and side to side on the back of trailers I would not put ours back there. Removed the front wheels and carried them (3) laying in front of and behind the hitch in my long bed truck. Removing the wheels was a pain and stacking them caused some scratches. But I recently fabricated a pin box receiver to hold the 4 bike rack. A few feet of 2x2 angle iron and a cheap receiver tube from Harbor Freight and it works great. Not sure I can get 4 bikes on it, but 3 works. We normally only carry two anyway.

[Camper_Mama_Bea]

we took an idea from a camping friend. we have a bike rack for 4 bikes that goes into a hitch. we had a sheet metal shop make a custom plate with a receiver hitch mounted on it, the plate is then attached to the fifth wheel hitch on the trailer. the bikes ride in front of the trailer. a family that we camp with has 4 kids. they have 4 bikes on the 5er hitch rack and 2 bikes on a roof rack on the truck, along with 2 kayaks, and the rest of the kayaks inside the trailer. I don't have a close-up picture of the bracket that is on the truck. bikes will go on this coming weekend, if you are interested I can take pictures and post them in a week.

[Lantley]

Rear mounted bike racks can be done however they are problematic due to the excess bouncing that occurs (school bus effect)and the simple fact you can't see the bikes while traveling.
For those reasons I prefer an Arvika pin box bike rack. There is no bounce at the front end of the RV and bikes are always in view.
Arvika racks are made for 5'er and TT's.
I have been using an Arvika rack for about 7 years. I used the rack on my TT for a few years and the adapted it to my 5'er.
Arvika bike rack images

[jfkmk]

We have a small TT, and when we bought it, the dealer advised against any bike rack in the back of the trailer, for just that reason! We tried roof top racks, didn't work, and settled on a front receiver hitch for the SUV. Bick rack fits on perfectly and they don't bounce around quite so much. The receiver was from Curt, cost right about $200 and took less than an hour to install myself.

[Gdetrailer]

Have you ever road in the back seat of a large school bus?

That back seat tends to get a lot of "air" when going over bumps in the road.

The exact same thing happens with bike racks hung on the back of any trailer.

Basically there is no real safe bike rack when it is hung on the rear of a trailer.

Some folks have even resorted to DRILLING HOLES from the outside THROUGH to the inside and running a bolt all the way through. Then using that bolt as a means to MOUNT the top of the bike rack to the trailer.

The idea is to stabilize and reduce the swing forces on the rack.

Personally after almost losing a bike rack along with two bikes I abandoned the idea of hauling bikes on the back of a trailer. Just to dangerous (not just for the bike but other drivers).

In my case I bumper pull so I make a rack that sits over top of my truck bed.

In your case I think there may be a bike rack mount you could get which uses the 5th wheel mount on the trailer to attach a bike rack. If not the case perhaps consider a front mount on your truck. Or as others do, put the bikes INSIDE the trailer, lots of creative ways which are safer...