Bike rack

[Joe N]

Hello everyone,
I have a 2019 Montana 3791RD. I am looking to put a bike rack on the back for 1 ladies bike and 1 Men’s bike. I don’t want to mount something that may bounce around and damage the back of the Montana.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Joe

[lightsout]

Almost all Bike racks have in their small print "Not For USE on Trailers" there is just too much bouncing back there. The Ladder racks I would be concerned with damaging the ladder over time.

would recommend adding a receiver to the front of the truck and and hauling your bikes there.

As for Racks i recommend getting a rack rated for Ebikes which weigh a lot more the standards bikes. Those bike racks will be more robust and if you do switch to e-bikes you are already good to go.

I recommend this rack it is rated for 200lbs (I own this rack and use for my Ebikes on the truck hitch when not towing, Our ebikes are foldable so we haul them in the 5er basement

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[AZ Traveler]

Joe,

We use the Swagman Traveler XC2 which came from Camping World. Has worked well.

[lightsout]

Originally Posted by AZ Traveler

Joe,

We use the Swagman Traveler XC2 which came from Camping World. Has worked well.

Swagman specifically says DO NOT USE ON 5th WHEELS. I also own the Swagman for our pedal bikes the 1-1/4" tubing is too fragile for the bounce on the back of the 5er. While some like yourself say you have used it with no problem they key word would be yet...

See for your self on E trailer

https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Bike-...an/S64650.html



Camping world sells it because it is ok for Motor homes not trailers. If and when a bike rack fails you are endangering others on the road.

[BB_TX]

I think the primary issue is that most all trailers come with a class II hitch if any hitch at all. Whereas a MH will have a class III or higher rated hitch. I know some people have added after market class III hitches on their Montes.

I have been behind trailers with bikes on the back riding smoothly. And behind some bouncing rather violently. I suspect the great majority of those carrying bikes on the rear have no real idea what their bikes are doing.

[Lakelife]

A front mount bike carrier is an interesting idea. I may need to do some more research. We had a plan to mount it off the ladder.

[lightsout]

Originally Posted by BB_TX

I think the primary issue is that most all trailers come with a class II hitch if any hitch at all. Whereas a MH will have a class III or higher rated hitch. I know some people have added after market class III hitches on their Montes.

I have been behind trailers with bikes on the back riding smoothly. And behind some bouncing rather violently. I suspect the great majority of those carrying bikes on the rear have no real idea what their bikes are doing.

Has nothing to do with the hitch it is the 1-1/4" receiver arm on the rack (it is 1-1/4" with a 2" adapter at the end) and the fact the back of a trailer really is a rough ride, you need to consider trailers do not have very good suspension like a car/truck/Motor home. This is a well discussed issue in the Bike world. Right now there is a lot of bike rack failures due to folks putting e-bikes on standard bike racks. Wagman , Thule, Yakima and the rest would be publishing these warnings if they were not valid. It is not their place to speculate what the hitch type is only the ability for their Racks to not fail.

My original point is Buy an E-bike Rack which is more than twice as strong (higher weight rating) rather than test fate with a rack where the manufactures say do not do it.

Just because you see it being done does not mean is is safe or OK. I could also pull my 16K 5er with a 3/4 ton but with risk to myself and others. While some get lucky and have no problems I assure you others have hence the Wagman and other major brands disclosures.

[lightsout]

Originally Posted by Joe N

Hello everyone,
I have a 2019 Montana 3791RD. I am looking to put a bike rack on the back for 1 ladies bike and 1 Men’s bike. I don’t want to mount something that may bounce around and damage the back of the Montana.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Joe

Joe we also have a 3791RD we bought foldable ebikes from Rad and here is how we travel with them (we leave the pedal bikes at home, besides the ebikes are more fun).

[akoske]

We got the Swagman E-Spec E-bike Carrier. Approved for fifth wheels. 2" receiver. Very stable. Had to get an extension tube in order to have enough clearance with back of camper.
https://www.campingworld.com/e-spec-...er-117313.html

[lightsout]

Originally Posted by akoske

We got the Swagman E-Spec E-bike Carrier. Approved for fifth wheels. 2" receiver. Very stable. Had to get an extension tube in order to have enough clearance with back of camper.
https://www.campingworld.com/e-spec-...er-117313.html

That is a nice rack it has the 2" framing so far more robust.

[Creeker]

We've used the Swagman XC2 for 10+ years, From one side of this country to the other several times over. We take our 2 mountain bikes every single trip every time. I wouldn't put E-bikes on it or those heavy cruiser style bikes but have absolutely no problem with regular mountain bikes.

I'm replacing the Swagman XC2 this year with another one just exactly like it. Its so rusted from hanging on the back of our 5ers for 10 years, it will no longer fold and the pins will no longer release. I hate to put the old boy to rest as its been on so many trips.

I've hauled our bikes on the front of our last truck a few times when carrying the genny/coolers on the back of the 5er. Bikes on the front were extremely annoying, distracting and even hinders visibility. Not to mention blocking your headlights at night. Its the absolute last option for me.

[Preston & Terri]

This is our setup.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079SW3XGK..._ON-IEb0V0S6H9

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KZ25Y26..._EQ-IEbX0CVXN7

[ACFD139]

Can you post a picture of the bikes on the slide?

[lightsout]

What many are not considering here when you install a hitch mounted bike rack you are extending the length of the trailer including the distance from the wheels to the rear, where we have all seen 5ers go up or down inclines where the rear of the trailer is just inches from ground on the transition you run the risk of damaging your rack and the bikes. You can use a hitch adapter riser but that will add more movement to the bikes and racks. I guess if the bikes have little value not a big deal but otherwise could be a expensive risk.

Here is a picture of the Ultra Tow e-bike Rack I posted a link to above we went riding today. You can see it is almost 4'' extension.

[Joe N]

Thank you for all of the information. After reading all of the posts I am not sure I am comfortable putting the bike rack on the back of my Montana. I do like the idea of using the rear slide out tray to store the bikes so that may be the best option.
All of the reply’s really helped me think about issues with the bike racks that I wasn’t even considering.
Thanks again.
Joe

[Golfmedik]

Search "pin box bike rack" on Google. There are many options, some homemade and some factory built. Arvika makes an excellent rack for the pin box. www.arvika.ca
Also, many have made them as I said at home. I did on our last unit and used a discount ramps 4 bike rack to carry 4 bikes on the pinbox behind the cab of the truck. It is still being used by its new owner.

[Starchey]

I have a Thule T2 in the receiver at the rear. I have a rear camera and have been able to watch. There is little to no movement of the bikes. I did however insure that the rack was very tight in the receiver. Just my experience, I moved the rack from my old Montana to the new one so I have 9 years of experience with it.

[yatyas81]

We also have a 2019 3791RD and we use the Curt 2-bike platform rack we purchased from eTrailer. It uses a threaded receiver pin that tightens it in the receiver, so there is almost no movement at all. Easy to load and it tilts, but you have to remove it to access the rear storage compartment. Even so, it works very well for us.

About the warranty. A few years back, I purchased a bike rack at the dealer and when I got it home, I saw in the fine print it wasn't warranted for use on a 5th wheel. It was warranted for any other RV, but not a 5ver. I called the manufacturer and found out they had a high failure rate on 5th wheels and they could not replicate the problem, so their legal dept said "no problem, don't warranty it for use on a 5th wheel", so that's what they did. However, that was only mentioned in small print on the next to last page of the instructions. Go figure

[Joe N]

Thanks for the info.
Joe

[mazboy]

swagman will work but you will get a bounce. and many bike racks damage the bike paint.