FRONT HITCH BIKE RACK

Compared to mounting on the front of the truck or back of the trailer, the pin box mount has advantages:
- a receiver with a couple of angle irons welded to it to attach to the pin box costs lots less than the kits to go on front or rear - $75 or so, or $20 if you do the welding.
- the pin box bounces less than either end of the rig.
- traveling, you can always see the bikes but they aren't in the way. They don't add to the length of the rig.
- in camp the bikes are overhead and away from casual mischief. That does make it harder to get them down, but standing in the truck bed works well.
- when backing and jacking the trailer too far, what hits the cab first is the bike tires - which bounce off doing no harm.

If you go with the pin box mount it doesnot keep the bugs off the bikes. I have a wing on my truck and that protects the bikes but still get bugs above the wing line.

We've had a front bike rack for years for our two Schwinn electric bikes weighing close to 100 lbs total; Saris Cycle-On model where the wheels set in a track. We had a 2 inch receiver made for our Suburban.
Helpful hints because of the bad roads:
use bunge cords to connect the bikes to the front grill work to dampen the oscillation
tie the wheels into the tracks to keep them from jumping out of the track.
we also tie down the J bracket that goes over the front wheel with strips of velcro
we never drive at night because of the headlight glare off the bikes
There is a newer model designed to look nice but it is basically a 1 inch model with an adapter to fit 2 inch receivers; not strong enough for us.

Have used mine for years and no problems. I have the one where the bikes are suspended by the frame.

RV daytrader wrote:
With the bikes being in front of the headlights, do they block the light much driving at night?

Nope. We've done this on our last two trucks. I like having them in the front. Then you can use the receiver for other things. I have a vise that slides in it, I put my shotgun reloader on it, I've put boats into tight places with it, etc. Most trucks you can buy them bolt on...

We have the Swagman bike rack and a front receiver. No problems, even in Canada. If driving a night, you do get some bugs but we feel it is the safest places for the bikes.

How in the world would you tow with a front hitch? I suppose you could drive in reverse all the way but that would be tiresome. And if you were pushing the trailer it might be hard to see where you were going.

Or was this a hitch guy with a sense of humor? :)

I used one on my motorhomes for about 25 years, till the kids stopped traveling with us. The hitch guy made me sign a letter saying I would not tow with the front receiver, since he put a 2" receiver on the front. We carried at least 2 adult bikes and 2 or three children sizes on the front. You do have to clean off the bugs every once in a while. Worked great for us.

With the bikes being in front of the headlights, do they block the light much driving at night?

owenssailor wrote:
We have used this for the past 2 winters during our "snowbird" travels. We are very satisfied with this arrangement.
I recommend getting a Swagman or similar bike rack that hold the Bikes in a rack for the wheels. This has worked much better than the racks that suspend the bikes from the bike frame. The wind at the front makes the bikes swing when they are hung.

Last year we traveled about 4000 miles with the bikes on the front Swagman rack. Easy to load. No wear on the bikes. No overheating issues with the truck.

Good luck.

We have used a front mounted bike carrier for many years and have found the bikes get a lot less dirt than if mounted on the rear especially if you ever go on dirt or gravel roads.

We are using a Swagman gooseneck rack which we have been using on another vehicle for years. Just had to drop the leg 12" as the trucks receiver is much higher than the other SUV so the bikes were impeding the drivers view a bit.

We put a security cable from the tow hooks through the wheels and frame and this keeps the bikes solid even on rough roads.


Dave