Best place for bike rack? Yoke or front of truck?

[oughtsix]

I have 2 adult and 2 kids bikes that I would like to bring camping with us. My 26' coachman has a nice receiver on the bumper... great! It took all of reading 5 posts on the subject to rule out the idea of using the trailer bumper!

So I am trying to decide between the Yoke of the trailer (Between the trailer and the truck) or putting a front hitch on my 2006 Duramax and putting the bikes up there? What have you guys found to be the pros/cons of each location?

I have a decent MIG welder and I am not afraid to use it. I am thinking that I can weld together a stand above the propane tanks with a couple bars like a roof rack. Then I can use the Yakima or Thule bike sleds that hold the wheels and don't require you to take the wheels off.

I already have a heavy duty 2" receiver mount bike rack with the hooks for holding the bikes by their frame for the rear receiver of my truck... it does an OK job of carting around bikes. If I add a receiver to the front of the truck this seems like this might be the easiest, cheapest way to go.

[oughtsix]

I didn't think about the bikes blocking the headlights. I will have to check that out before purchase a front hitch. Some night travel is inevitable and my truck lights already feel weak because my daily driver car came with HID's and the truck standard light really do not measure up.

I do like the easy of a front hitch if I can make it work!

Thank you everyone for the replies!

[Lantley]

By far the tongue is a better location. There is no bounce. There isare no air flow or lighting issues. No visibility or additional length concerns.
Bikes are always in view in the rear view mirror.

[Tequila]

My choice would be rear of the trailer. I RV in Mexico and have to cover the bikes to protect against humid salt air. Also they can block airflow to the radiator if covered.

[JN_B]

Oh, and one more advantage to the way I mounted them, I can add my thule boxter as well as 4 bikes, so I get added locked storage when needed.

[JN_B]

There is another solution.

I have my bikes mounted on top of my tonneau cover. That way I have "secure" storage under my tonneau, I can roll up the tonneau with the bikes loaded, to access the bed. Mind you, it is a bit more difficult. Yes, there still is the lifting of bikes, but with careful planning of the box, I can step inside to load them.

I do NOT like the idea of bike on the front of the truck. And I would highly recommend against putting 4 on the front. reduced visibility & use of headlights should be enough of a reason. Plus, as mentioned, having expensive bikes up front just screams rock chips.

I don't mind the idea of on the trailer tongue, and that would be my choice if I could mount them on the tongue, but due to the internal propane tanks being there, limiting access to them is not an option for me.

Mine looks very similar to this
http://www.carrackadvice.com/category/tonneau-cover-racks/
Except I use the trays instead.

Another advantage to truck mounted, is it gives you to option to drive with your bikes to another location vs having to unload the bikes from the trailer, remove the bike rack, remount the bike rack on the truck, then load the bikes. We drive to trails, so that is a huge pain.

[Campfire_Time]

owenssailor wrote:

Campfire Time wrote:
Any reason you can't carry them in the truck bed?

Yes - a couple.
First I like the easy on and off from the rack on the front of the truck. No real lifting and twisting.
Second - I want the bed covered since carry a few things in there. My choice is a tonneau cover. Putting bikes in the back messes up using the truck bed.

Oh yes, I certainly get that. We just bought our truck and it had a cap. I struggled with how we were going to use the bed. The cap made it look like a work truck and we felt it was limiting. We sold the cap and bought an Extang Solid Fold tonneau because I wanted security. But we can easily remove it to haul stuff, especially our bikes. We thought about hauling them on the front, but they weren't cheap bikes and we don't like the idea of having our bikes pelted with insects and stones. Its all just a matter which of the hundred ways of using a PU works best for each of us.

However my question was directed at the OP and he never came back. 😞

[owenssailor]

Campfire Time wrote:
Any reason you can't carry them in the truck bed?

Yes - a couple.
First I like the easy on and off from the rack on the front of the truck. No real lifting and twisting.
Second - I want the bed covered since carry a few things in there. My choice is a tonneau cover. Putting bikes in the back messes up using the truck bed.

[Halmfamily]

Curt hitch and Swagman XC bike rack on front on our truck. Carry two bikes on front and two in fiver.

[wrenchbender]

I carry mine on the front bumper with the handlebars in the back seat.No view obstruction this way.

[tvman44]

I use the front of the truck. 🙂

[Campfire_Time]

Any reason you can't carry them in the truck bed?

[owenssailor]

We have carried our bikes on the front of our trucks for the last 3 winters. It has worked very well. Easy on and off.

It is best to use a bike carrier that holds the bikes resting on their tires. Hanging from the bike frames causes them to swing around in the wind.

This past winter our bikes rode up front for around 13,000 miles.