Quote:
Originally Posted by mtlakejim
No disrespect intended and glad that works for you but I really don't like the idea of the bikes being 4'+ off the ground and more or less having to back the truck up every time I want to take one down.
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I am glad your system works for you. But it would not work for me.
First I do not have room between the truck and trailer for bikes. Mine is so close I have to back at a fairly straight angle so the lowered tailgate does not hit the trailer. And no, the hitch is not mounted too far forward. I have the factory hitch prep and my hitch can be mounted slightly skewed toward the front or to the rear. And it is to the rear.
Second, we like our bikes but are not avid cyclists and do not tour the local areas on bikes or seek local bike trails. We typically ride only in or near the park in which we are staying. We often visit attractions in the area (museums, memorials, entertainment attractions, etc.) or go out to a nice restaurant on occasion, all of which often have tight parking. And that 22' long truck is hard enough to park without a 3' extension. Sometimes the bikes never leave the bike rack depending on where we are staying and how long.
Loading/unloading the bikes is no issue. After unhooking, I just pull the truck forward until the lowered tailgate is just in front of the bikes. Then later after completing my setup, and if we plan to use the bikes, I just step in to the bed of the truck using the tailgate step, lift each bike off and set it in the bed, step down from the truck, and lift the bikes to the ground. And reverse to put them back when we get ready to leave the campground. Since we only ride near that park there is only one unload/load sequence. Not hard even for this 73 yr old.
