Bicycles in a Pickup Truck (with everything else)

[MtView]

I'm starting to think about the upcoming camping season as the temperature hits 60 today during a New England winter. It's exciting and therapeutic - should have done it sooner LOL.

This year I want to bring two of the kids' bikes with us. How do you bring the bikes in a pickup truck along with everything else we need to put back in the bed like our Coleman stove, cooler, bins that don't fit in our TT storage compartment, etc?

This is my first pickup and I thought it would be easy, but it looks like the bikes take up a lot of space.

[a-d-s]

Over the tailgate for sure. You don't even need a fancy pad, I use a piece of old carpet. 2 adult bikes, a 24" and 2 x 20" bikes. Leaves room I the rest of the bed for firewood, chairs, road hockey gear and whatever else the kids want to throw in.

[epeters]

bobndot wrote:
I just found the pics of someone's setup that I liked. It allows use of the bed under the bikes.

Hey! I recognize that. That's my rack on my old truck. I painted it so it would weather fine in the rain. I had to modify it to fit the newer truck as the post holes are slightly further apart.

And you got it, allows me to carry additional items underneath the bikes as needed.

[Lwiddis]

“You just remove the front wheel and attach to the blockhead”

And store the front wheel in your RV or inside the TV. MUCH less attractive to a would be thief provided it’s not a high quality bicycle.

[Las_Vegas_Proud]

I just bought a Camp Thunderbolt 16 speed folding bike. Works great and folds awesome and has a carrying case small enough that will fit in a car trunk if need be.

[BarneyS]

Essay wrote:

downtheroad wrote:
We carry our two (adult) bikes with one of these. Also use a couple of bungee cords to help secure them. Works great in the bed of our truck and still lots of room for other stuff.

Bike rack....HERE

Menards often has these on sale.

Not quite as large but on sale right now for only $5.99. (That is not a typo)

[Frenchy33]

My local bike dealer actually recommended this product. Yakima makes a blockhead ($25) that you can mount to a piece of wood and then bolt into the truck bed. You just remove the front wheel and attach to the blockhead. They also sell a locking version for $50 each

[lawrosa]

bob2194 wrote:
here is a fairly new front mounted bike rackJack-it bike rack

Im looking to get weight off the tongue... Not add it...

Why some would prefer the front truck hitch, or the back of trailer...

[bob2194]

here is a fairly new front mounted bike rackJack-it bike rack

[FF286]

The gate keeper and the crash pad look to be the same except the gatekeeper has straps to secure the bikes, which would be useful but not necessary. I assume the larger opening at the tailgate handle is designed for a backup camera, I don’t have one on my tailgate so I don’t know if the old style blocked the view or not.

[mikefos]

rbpru wrote:
How do they keep the bikes over the tailgate from slopping around and falling over?

Most of the time I place objects around/between them to sort of pack them in; for example, rubber wheel chocks, wood used under the tongue jack, small cooler, etc. Worst case is I use a couple of bungees to the bed hooks along the sides. They stay pretty steady w/o anything actually. The friction between the front wheel and front forks together w/ the type of fabric they use works pretty good.

[SoundGuy]

rbpru wrote:
How do they keep the bikes over the tailgate from slopping around and falling over?

Fireman286 wrote:
Not sure how it works so well but when you put the bikes over I would push down on them to make sure there set well and they never move. I still use it if when we ride around home and it’s by far the fastest and easiest way to carry them. Only problem with this way over a rooftop carrier is 4 bikes take a lot of bed space. Make sure with the pad to get the longest one you can so the bike doesn’t touch the tailgate, I went with the Yakima brand.

Presumably you mean the Yakima Crash Pad but I notice the company now offers a much more expensive Yakima Gatekeeper Pad ... not sure why there'd be such a large price difference. :h My '12 Silverado does have a rear view camera which I'd prefer to still use for hitching up even with the pad in place ... seems the Gatekeeper allows that but not sure if this is possible with the Crash Pad. :@

[FF286]

rbpru wrote:
How do they keep the bikes over the tailgate from slopping around and falling over?

Not sure how it works so well but when you put the bikes over I would push down on them to make sure there set well and they never move. I still use it if when we ride around home and it’s by far the fastest and easiest way to carry them. Only problem with this way over a rooftop carrier is 4 bikes take a lot of bed space. Make sure with the pad to get the longest one you can so the bike doesn’t touch the tailgate, I went with the Yakima brand.

[SoundGuy]

DavidP wrote:
Works excellent.

SoundGuy wrote:
It may ... but your pic doesn't, it's WAY too big. :M Please edit your pic by inserting "width=600" or some similar value after .jpg in your pic link.

DavidP wrote:
Yes, I know. I have posted many pictures over the years and for some reason it is not allowing me to edit. Will try again later.

PS: Does that really make you mad? If so, ease up Francis!

"Mad" isn't the issue Francis :S ... I'd like to see your pic but not at that size. Thanks for downsizing it. 🙂

[DavidP]

SoundGuy wrote:

DavidP wrote:
Works excellent.

It may ... but your pic doesn't, it's WAY too big. :M Please edit your pic by inserting "width=600" or some similar value after .jpg in your pic link.

Yes, I know. I have posted many pictures over the years and for some reason it is not allowing me to edit. Will try again later.

PS: Does that really make you mad? If so, ease up Francis!