Bike Carriers

[Kingram]

Hello everyone,



I have a problem I need help resolving. How do we carry our 4 bikes with the 5ver?



I think we basically have 3 options.



1) Bumper mounted carrier on the rear 4" bumper on the coach. Is the bumper strong enough to carry 4 bikes? The rear bounces around a LOT on the roads we travel. I'm afraid of damage to the bikes or bumper. Plus, we can't use this carrier on other vehicles.



2) Mount a reciever hitch on the rear of the coach and use a standard 2" 4 bike carrier. This would be stonger than the bumper and the carrier is usable on any vehicle. But, we still have the bouncing problem. And it can get pretty bad.



3) Put a reciever on the front of the truck and use a standard 2" carrier. I have 2 concerns on this. Will the bikes block airflow to the radiator? I need all the cooling I can get towing in the mountains. Will our bikes get blasted by road grim and bugs??!!



What are you all doing? I've search for this but can't find a much good info.



Thanks for any help!

Chris

 

[parcher]

Why not put them IN the 5er? I'd either put 'em inside or mount a 2" receiver to the front, I don't think you'd block too much air.

 

[parcher]

Anothe option is a short roofrack on the truck, but loading would be difficult.

 

[Fireman Dave]

Chris,



I did option 2 on our TT. I don't think the bouncing is a problem. In fact, all I put on there is a bumper type receiver - not a full hitch. I mounted it with 4 C brackets (2 per side) since I didn't want to drill into the bumper because of the sewer hose. It will only carry the bikes - I'll never tow with it, so it's plenty strong rigged up that way. So far so good.



Dave

 

[BigMike]

Pretty tough to fit 4 bikes inside your 5er. Another option would be to hang two bikes off your ladder and put the other two either in the 5er, on top of your truck, or off your front fender. I've got one of the bike carriers that hangs off your ladder. CW has them. I pack my wife and I's bike everywhere we go on it. Sometimes a guy gets so many damn toys to have fun with when camping, you almost need a second vehicle to tow the toys.

 

[WadePatton]

I carry my bikes in an enclosed trailer. Then I sleep in a tent or cabin. But then riding is my gig, not camping.

 

[LJones]

I option 2: Took the old (class III reciever) and mounted it on top

of the rear bumper. Then added a backup plate on the bottom,

more like a c-channel beam, then a plate. Bolted through the

bumper with 1/2" bolts. Then welded the C-Channel to the I beams of the trailer with gussets for additional support.



This set up works very well, we have traveled all over the west

with three bike, in the rack. I can't remember the brand of

rack, but got it at REI. It then bolts on the truck reciever for either

around town or getting to our destination for biking. It also

swings down for access to the tailgate when attached to the

truck. The swig to the side doesn't work since I have a dually.

 

[FJfonda]

Option #4

The most secure mount would be to use a THULE type roof mount and fasten it vertically on the back of the camper.

http://www.thuleracks.com/thule/product.asp?dept_id=8&sku=599xt

Although this would be the most secure system, it will also be the most expensive unless you can find a used rack and requires some inginuity to mount to the camper.

 

[Tim Adams]

I carry my bikes on the front of my truck and it dose not seem to run any hotter than normal. As for as road grime and bugs, yes the bikes catch a little but my bikes are cheep ones, and thats that much less crap that gets on the truck. I used to Carrie them in my boat but it's hard to keep them from tarring up the upholstery.

 

[klenger]

Here's how I carry mine. I don't think I would want to put 4 bikes on it, unless you could secure the top of the bike rack to the traielr with a strap to keep it from bouncing.



http://www.klenger.net/arctic-fox/mods/bike-rack.html

 

[Jack in Alaska]

How about 2 on the front of the truck and 2 on a proper rack on the rear of the RV.



Be VERY careful hanging them on the rear ladder. Mine broke off and I have seen others do the same.

 

[SWC]

Bike rack on front of 5ver

I have seen some bikes mounted on the front of the camper. I have not looked at any of these closely just met them on the road.

They must have attached to the frame on the fifth wheel hitch and come forward and up. This would be as smooth a ride as you could get. Bugs would still be an issue.

Has anyone else seen this?

Stan

 

[parcher]

Klenger, That looks kinda like my Cannondale Bad Boy.

 

[dan_gilson]

Putting the bikes on the front will probably not hurt you water temps any. The stock raditor is rated around 420+ HP. It is the same as used on the V10. So if you are not seriously bombed you should not see any problems.



Bikes on the front will hurt the fuel mileage a little. You are disrupting the air flow.



Can't you take the wheels off the bikes and put them bed? That should give you enough clearance from 5th wheel.

 

[klenger]

parcher:

It's an REI Buzz, 9 speed single front chain ring beater bike. I ride it more than my Eddy Merchx / Dura-Ace road bike. It's great on bike paths and bad roads, lousy on long rides and single track.



Kingram:

Have you considered getting a lightweight flatbed trailer and putting a bike rack on it and pulling it behind the 5er. You mght be able to find a trailer that weighs around 200 lbs empty. Loaded you'd be at about 350 lbs. It would probably put less stress on a bumper mounted hitch than a bike rack.

 

[WadePatton]

OOh, Dura-Ace, is that a steel ride? I've gotten into steel after years of Al. My FS rig is Al(Turner), but I've been racing my steel SingleSpeed(SISS) and training on my steel/Ultegra-triple(VCW) this year. But I'm not serious. I take the summer off and watch the Tour and think about riding/racing in the Fall.

 

[klenger]

WadePatton



The Merckx is Columbus TSX chrome-molly (sp). I love it. The only thing better would be titanium. The Dura-Ace is the old 8 speed with the shifters on the down-tube. Can't afford to upgrade it right now.



Here's a pic of me and the Merckx on Ride The Rockies in 1990.

#ad

 

[WadePatton]

put "W1ADE" in the callsign look up box at http://www.qrz.com/ for a photo of me racing at Tsali this year. I'm on the SS--and yes that's a retro WOOL jersey with Merckx's team name on it.

 

[Kingram]

Thank you!

Thank you to everyone that took the time to post a reply. All of your thought and suggestions were helpful to me.



I tried the ladder mount carrier also, and it did start to pull my ladder off of the camper. So, I returned it.



I went to Tractor Supply and bought a 2"x12" receiver blank. Took a piece of 3" angle iron and welded the receiver to it using some plate steel as gussets. I drilled and bolted this to the i-beams on the trailer and used u-bolts to clamp it to the bumper.



Most likely this is overkill, but it seems pretty strong. I hope it holds and I don't cause an accident down the road.



Again, I can't thank you all enough for the suggestions and thoughts.



Chris

 

[ANutt]

Turners & Cannondales & Merckx on TDR? Small world, aint it? And if you race Tsali on SS, you are hard core!

We tandem there once or twice a year. Best trails in the southeast.

Road trip next year out west with the Ram and the trailer full of demo tandems... (that was my excuse for the truck)