Bike Rack

[GreatWhite]

Howdy folks. I'd like to carry a pair of bicycles on our new rig. This 5er, 2013 Mountaineer 295RKD, does not have a hitch of any kind. It has a fixed square, sewer hose type, rear bumper. I think I've read somewhere on this forum that you can't add a receiver w/o voiding the warranty.

Are there any decent bike racks that cradle the wheels and fit the square receiver? I don't know if the metal on the bumper will stand a receiver being welded to it.

The two bikes I have are the folding type from CW.. and don't have a horizontal bar like most "boy" bikes.. so, they can't be supported that way. The other bike I have is a recumbent with a longer wheelbase.. It also can't be supported by a single center type bike rack.

Any help, ideas, appreciated.

[DQDick]

Take a look at racks that fit the ladder.

[bncinwv]

Personally, I would not advise using any ladder mounted bike rack, there have been reports on this forum and others of the ladder mounts pulling loose from the rig due to the bouncing weight of the bikes on the rear. We actually mounted a receiver (Hidden Hitch) to the front of our truck and have successfully transported bikes on the front of the truck. I have also carried bikes in the bed of the truck as well as in the rig itself.
Bingo

[Ozz]

I had a Keystone Sprinter trailer with the square bumper, I learned the hard way that without reinforcement any additional weight won't turn out well. I welded steel around the bumper to make it strong, then it worked.
I also would not add any weight to the ladder, based on others having bad luck with that.

[Art-n-Marge]

Those bikes are pretty light. Then there are clamp on style bike racks that attach to a bumper like you described. Then for the bikes you just need to purchase a cross bar adapter to create the cross bar for the bike rack and you're all set.

The horizontal bar is like this:

http://www.rackwarehouse.com/thule-9...ttachment.html

It is stong and adjustable in length and should hopefully fit between the handles and seat of your bike to create the cross bar needed for mounting on the bike rack.

The bumper on that trailer should be strong enough for this use. Where is the spare for the trailer kept (underneath, I hope)?

[HOOK]

We have ladder rack and have had no troubles. Lets face it, I weigh 240 and climb it often to clean roof and toppers . IMHO

[bncinwv]

Larry,
There are exceptions, but there have been many documented failures on this forum in the past. You may well never have a problem, but likening going up the ladder and down on occasion does not compare to a hundred pounds or so of bikes bouncing up and down on the ladder for hours at a time. Strictly my opinion here, and as usual, no warranties or guarantees accompany that statement and furthermore no animals were harmed during this post, and I did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Makes me wonder what the ladder manufacturer recommends?
Bingo

[cdaniels]

We carry 2 bikes and 2 scooters we take with us. We also do not have bar on 1 bike. Our bikes drop in the rack by tires. We did take off the factory hitch and replaced it with a more stable hitch. I can send pic if your interested. Email me.. We have a 36REQ.

[Art-n-Marge]

We forget that when we put whatever weight on a ladder that the weight increases DRAMATICALLY as kinetic energy when this same weight now increases during a bump on the road. It's the same reason you can break a piece of wood with the weight of your hand but it is followed by a kinetic force.

This is the same force that happens with up to 100 lbs of hardware and bicycles then gets slammed downwards on a ladder at a fast rate of speed like hitting a bump at a high speed. This is why the ladder can withstand a 240 pound person going slowly and up and down. However, consider this scenario. Extend a small platform from the ladder large enough to stand on on the lowest rung. The have this same 240 person climb to the top rung, then jump down to this platform. This is no longer 240 lbs of force and I can't venture to guess how much it could be. How do you think it would do? And after repeated attempts?

This is what the ladder incurs with any weight on it on bad roads. Guess what might happen over time. It's all on where you drive and what type of conditions. This is why even under normal conditions weight ratings can still break things.

The fine print on ladders is not to have anything hung on it. Then assume the risk if you do. That simple. Some have had success, many other have not.

[F3fifty]

This is what I bought for our 5ver. Really nice and portable as it will also fit the hitch our truck if we want to leave the camp site for another bike riding location.

http://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Bike-R...an/S64680.html

[GreatWhite]

OK, I agree with what F3fifty posted... but, I've heard that...
1. Keystone voids any warranty if you add a hitch.
2. If you add a hitch to the square bumper/sewer hose container.. it's not strong enough to hold more than itself.

So, what do i do? Wait until the warranty period is over or is there another solution that will work with that bumper. I think I've read some older posts, either here or on iRV2 where folks have attached to the flimsy bumper and lost their bikes.. same as the ladder scenario.

[F3fifty]

Well, I have to say that if keystone voids a warranty because that hitch falls off from two bikes that can't weigh more than 30 lbs it doesn't say much for their workmanship or bumper / frame design. This rack bolts on with (2) 5" u-bolts. You can buy the rack at Camping world as well. My warranty is out in two months and that rack is way down on my list of worries, top of the list is the Marathon Tires.....

[subra1228]

Ya know, we purchased one of those bike racks for the a ladder, but it was a pain. We now just leave the bikes int he back of the truck - between the hitch and the cab - works great - much easier to access and never gets in the way.

Something to think about......

[TLightning]

We put our bikes in the bed of the truck, as far forward as possible, perpendicular to the direction of travel.

[Recumbent]

To solve this problem we are considering putting on a front receiver hitch on the truck to carry two Recumbent Trikes in a Hitch Rider double trike rack for our north/south snowbird trips. I don’t believe there will be any issues with the head lights or turn signals being seen. Although the trikes are larger than bikes they should fit ok on the front. We don't take the trikes when just doing sight-seeing trips. Does anyone know of legal issues that could arise with law enforcement from having the trikes out front as we travel (except in Goodyear,AZ ).

[GreatWhite]

Wow Recumbent.. what's with Goodyear.. not the tires

That's what I have.. a 'bent trike. Can't afford to have that baby drop off the rig. Front mount is an option.. as, might be, adding a carrier to the top of the pin box. I've seen heavy Honda generators mounted that way.

With a trike, I don't know if there would be enough room between the dual wheels on the front of the trike and the cab when making a tight turn.

[Art-n-Marge]

LOL, Greatwhite, we can guess you aren't familiar with the Goodyear, AZ story from Ozz. With Ozz's help the membership has found that the local LEOs (well at least one) in Goodyear believes that anyone traveling through their town must follow THEIR requirements for license plates no matter what is allowed in your home state. Upon further investigation (yup, Ozz actually contacted many other states about this) the other states treat visitors within THEIR states requirements for license plates. Specifically, Ozz's home state allows only one plate and for Towing the plate is allowed in front even when not towing. Apparently in Goodyear, AZ, this is not respected and Ozz got a ($115) ticket for complying to his State's law, and not changing when he got to Goodyear, AZ. So many of us decided to boycott Goodyear (west of Phoenix). I used to stop there when traveling through but no more but if they don't respect other states' laws then why bother!

Back to the subject, a front mounted hitch is on our wish list so we can carry the bikes in that manner. I have the weight margin to support that. If needed, I could remove the front wheel on the bikes and slide it over to clear the headlights.

[BB_TX]

Bill, you don't say whether you have a long or short bed. But with my long bed I can easily carry 3 26" bikes on my pin box mounted bike mount. Might could even get 4, but have not tried that yet.
Don't know how wide the recumbent is, but it may well fit there also.
And for my DW's ladies bike I use one of the cross bars noted in the link posted by Art. For my daughter's bike, I did not have an extra cross bar, so I used a 1" wooden dowl and plastic wire ties to create a makeshift cross bar, secured to the seat stem and handle bar stem. Carried all 3 bikes on a 2,000 mile journey back in June with no problems.
Don't know if you saw them on previous posts, but here are pictures of it with two bikes mounted.
pin box bike mount

[Billorn]

The front hitch works great, I purchased it from E-Trailer, it was built for my truck and was an easy install. I am sure a lot more comfortable traveling and not worrying how the bikes are doing.

[GreatWhite]

Wow, BB_TX.. I haven't heard the term "might could" in a coons age. Used to use that up tip '58 when I left La. Haven't since.. I don't think.

Yah, for the trike, I'm considering the top of the TV.. but, be nice to have both away from both 'front enders' and ' rear enders'. It's too long and too wide and too tall to work in the bed when towing.

However, I do have a pair of folding bikes (CW style Dahon's) that I can put in the bed while towing. That'll get me some exercise.. but nowheres near as fun as the trike.