Bicycle Rack

[haste_maker]

Looking for info from those that are carrying 2 bicycles on a rack mounted on the receiver hitch for the tow bar, while towing a car. I have a Blue Ox tow bar that I pull a Honda Element with & want to carry 2 bicycles between the RV & the car...what should I get to do this?

[willald]

Problem we found with attaching them to the back (or front) of the Motorhome is, sometimes we like to be able to take the bikes places with the towed vehicle. Didn't want to be tied to only carrying the bikes with the Motorhome. That, and if you look carefully at the fine print, most hitch mounted bike racks are not even recommended/warrantied to be used on the back of an RV, due to all the bouncing that takes place back there. I seem to recall there is only one or two makes out there that support this use.

For a while, I did use a hitch mounted rack and attached it to the back of the towed vehicle (Ford Fusion at the time). That didn't work too good for us, either. Hated how trunk access was taken away. Last straw for it was one time we hit a large bump that snapped the bikes around so bad, the strap connecting the rack to the trunk lid jerked so hard it twisted the trunk lid and caused some pretty major damage (trunk lid had to be replaced). Fortunately, insurance covered the damage, but that was the end of my days using hitch mounted racks.

I ditched the hitch receiver bike rack for good, and went with a Yakima roof mounted system. Now, we carry our bikes on top of the towed vehicle. Can carry up to 4 bikes this way if I need to, and can be just about ANY kind of bicycle. Roof rack can be used to carry several other things, too, if the need arises (kayaks, storage bins to name a few).

Yes, this approach is more expensive, but you can minimize the cost by buying many of the parts on Craigs List or Ebay slightly used. I saved several hundred $$ going that route. And, when towed vehicle (Ford Fusion) was totaled in an accident a few years ago and we were forced to replace it, the roof rack fit perfectly on the new towed vehicle (Taurus) that replaced the Fusion.

Now, bikes don't touch (scrape against) each other or anything else, are held in place by the wheel only. Completely out of the way, and very easy to take down and put up. And no more (or at least nowhere near as much) bouncing around for the bikes. I highly, highly recommend you at least look into this approach. It works great for us.

[Mooshaker]

IAMICHABOD wrote:

Mooshaker wrote:
the Swagman XCS mounts to the tow bar shaft. Raises the bikes to clear the car. I made a 2x2 bar to transfer the bike mount easily to my car. Work real well

That XCS2 looks to be the same that I posted above but with the bar to raise it,this looks very interesting I may have to look into getting a bar to raise mine if I decide to tow something,the rack slides off the main bar and can be located to another bar.

The mounts are different. The XCS has a square tube that fit on the towbar shaft. The XC2 has 2 plates that bolt together to hold onto square shaft. As mentioned the XCS raises the bikes up and out of the way.

[way2roll]

X3 on the swagman rack with a dual hitch receiver. Been using this setup for about 8 years and zero issues. Swagman rack is easy to load and much cheaper than comparable options from other brands. My bikes are pretty expensive and I trust this rack completely. I have fat bikes also and swagman makes a wheel adapter for those that simply slide on. The arms also fold up for storage - well thought out product. It has a threaded nut internally so the bolt/pin snugs it tight with no rattly/movement. The combo of the dual hitch receiver and the rise in the bike rack easily clears our CRV.

Swagman rack


dual hitch receiver

[DrewE]

Another possibility might be to carry the bikes on the back of the car...just something to think about if you hadn't yet.

[IAMICHABOD]

Mooshaker wrote:
the Swagman XCS mounts to the tow bar shaft. Raises the bikes to clear the car. I made a 2x2 bar to transfer the bike mount easily to my car. Work real well

That XCS2 looks to be the same that I posted above but with the bar to raise it,this looks very interesting I may have to look into getting a bar to raise mine if I decide to tow something,the rack slides off the main bar and can be located to another bar.

[Mooshaker]

the Swagman XCS mounts to the tow bar shaft. Raises the bikes to clear the car. I made a 2x2 bar to transfer the bike mount easily to my car. Work real well

[dodge_guy]

My buddy uses a dual receiver with a 2" rise and 4" drop. His bike rack goes in the top and the tow bar goes in the bottom. Whatever you do, just get a quality bike rack.

For me, my Explorer has a hitch and I put the bike rack on that. This year I'm buying a new rack to replace my 12 year old 4 bike rack that hangs he bikes from the frame. I'm going with a wheel mounted rack. Tired of watching the bikes move on the rack. The wheel mounted rack will be more stable. I just need to shop for a good rack.

[IAMICHABOD]

I can speak to the bike rack part.

I use Swagman RV Approved Traveler XC2 mounted in my 2 inch receiver on the rear of my Class C.

Very happy with it,easy to load.

As for the bouncing that others have talked about to make it less pronounced You need a good anti rattle device so you don't get so much play in the receiver,thus magnifying the movement and doing any damage to the bike rack.

I have tried almost every Anti Rattle device on the market, most have been no good or so complicated and cumbersome that they are useless. Including the Roadmaster type, or blue ox totally useless.

Until I found the one at Hitch Rider.

Their Hitch Vice is the best and easiest one I have come across and it really works.

[ncrowley]

Another option is to put a hitch in the front of the coach. I had this done and I really like this option. I do not have to worry about the heat from the radiator. I lock the bikes to the carrier when we get into camp.

[wa8yxm]

A lot depends on the RV and towed car
For example I tow a car that's about 4" lower than the receiver on the Motor home so I had Blue Ox build a custom drop hitch for me. It has both a 4" drop with a standard 2" receiver on it and on top is a "tongue" for a standard ball hitch. My bicycle carrier is one designed to bolt on in place of the ball.

They also make one that slips over the 2" square shaft of the tow adapter and clamps on..

OH I did add an "Anti-Rattle" clip also called a Hitch Immobilizer (made by blue ox)

One option is a dual receiver adapter usually one is straight through and the other is drop/rise.

If car and base plate and motor home receiver are same height you use the "Straight through" to the car and put the 2nd receiver on RISE and that's where the bicycle rack mounts.

If the car is LOWER turn it over

If the car is higher This will not work.

[Lwiddis]

I carry one (could carry two) bicycle on my TV’s receiver hitch with and without the TT attached and it works well. Purchased from eTrailer. The good bikes, however, are carried inside the truck bed shell to stay out of the rain and sun.