Tailgate Bike Pad - any experience?

Plenty of DIY posts on the internet on how to make your own in bed bike rack. Some even use 2X4’s and the tires slip in between those. Much more secure and you don’t have to worry about damaging anything.

They’re fine if you keep everything clean. Expect scratches On tailgate if not.

I have to believe the there will be some scuffing Over time. It’s inevitable with anything that can rub on the paint.

Don't have them, but had friend in TX who used them for years on their high-dollar new chevy to carry their high dollar fat tire mtn bikes as well as their real-high dollar road bikes....i.e. $1X,XXX. No complaints, but I did notice that they routinely would remove the pad and clean the tailgate, often in the middle of a trip if it was overnight or longer.

Don't own one and have looked at them out of curiosity

Won't use it with my plastic bicycles and only a receiver mounted carrier with foam pads to keep the plastic from touching anything else. I'd rather have my plastic bicycles on a carrier, rather then risking a $10K Madone and $5K Farley on a pad and the potential the bicycle might bounce out on a bump or gravel road...

Also, if you take off a wheel that has a disc brake on it...make sure to place a piece of plastic/etc material in place of where the disc would be on the caliper

If you bump the brake lever and move the caliper piston, it will NOT easily allow the disc to go back on...been there done that... Opening the bleed screw is nothing I'd like to do when just placing a spacer in there will do

An okay thing for my metal bicycles, but since have a receiver mounted carrier, not anything I'll need to do.

Edit...locking them up is also a concern with these cushions...

fj12ryder wrote:

Geo*Boy wrote:
Just install a 2X6 in the front of the bed of the truck, attach a couple of skewer mounts to the 2x.

That works great for road bikes, but you do have to store the wheels somewhere. But mountain bike tires are getting bigger, and removing the wheel isn't as straight forward as on a road bike. Something that allows you to carry without the hassle of front wheel removal is a real advantage.

Both of our bikes are mountain bikes. Front wheels are bungee corded right next to the frames. We transported them this way may times, one trip was out west on a 7,500+ miles.

I've had one for 4 yrs now that I use to transport my mtn bike to and from trails and for longer trips. I love it, super easy to load your bike. bike stays secure with the velcro strap. I do run a cable lock thru the tie down hook if I'm going to leave the bike on there for an extended time. No damage to tailgates on either truck I've had it on.

fj12ryder wrote:

Geo*Boy wrote:
Just install a 2X6 in the front of the bed of the truck, attach a couple of skewer mounts to the 2x.

That works great for road bikes, but you do have to store the wheels somewhere. But mountain bike tires are getting bigger, and removing the wheel isn't as straight forward as on a road bike. Something that allows you to carry without the hassle of front wheel removal is a real advantage.

Agree with this...I don’t use a pad since I’m not really worried about further damage to the truck beyond the desert pinstriping and also not worried about my low-end bike. Removing larger mtn bike wheels and tires has become a hassle. I have friends who use Dakine pads and are happy. I also have a PVC bike rack that I built to use in the garage...if the whole family is going I can put that in the bed of the truck to hold all 4 bikes nicely.

I have never personally owned one, but transported my bike ,any times on friends vehicles with them. I can’t say much about long term tailgate damage, but the pad is between the tires/fork and the tailgate. I think the biggest risk of scratching would be installing it on a dirty tailgate. Some of the better ones have a hole for the tailgate handle and backup camera. Depending on clearance on your particular rig you can probably use this option with a bumper pull travel trailer with no issues.
Some advantages:
Fast loading and offloading of the bikes at the trailhead
Minimal timing required. On most the included Velcro loop and maybe an additional bungee is enough
Don’t have to remove front tire, no risk of accidentally squeezing hydraulic brakes with the rotor out
Saves some truck box room. Bikes are getting longer and slacker. I have to put mine diagonally in the 5.5’ bed F150’s

I have a friend who uses one and loves it. No damage thus far that I can see. He did have a concern about the bikes coming out or moving around on rough roads, so he runs a strap through the bikes to the tie down loops in the bed. I've been behind him on some pretty rough roads and haven't seen the bikes move or shift.

If you get one and have disc brakes, make sure you turn the bars so the brake rotor faces out. He did bend a rotor because he had it on with the rotor facing in.

Yep I looked into building my own system our of PVC pipe. Only issue that I have is the tool box being mounted right where the homemade rack would go, hence the problem. I’ve seen several guys make their own , and others used the tailgate pad to haul up to 4 bikes. The pads are nice and your bikes don’t fall out either, despite how it looks. Yes the bike tires are getting larger for sure. I ride full suspension Giant and older model but plan to upgrade in year or so and keep this one as a back up. That bike pad system keeps all bikes upright without getting damaged supposedly. I’m still searching out ideas as well, I can pretty much build most things easily so I’m sure to come up with an option that works out if I don’t go the tailgate pad route either.