How I Travel with Bikes

[lcurrie]

When I first got my AS, I was really perplexed on how I was going to travel with two bikes. My TV is an SUV, so I couldn't put them in the car and I had read that adding a hitch to the back of the AS was a major no-no.

After a bit of thinking, I came up with the following:
I added two locking fork mounts under my cushions at the kitchen table. I break the table down into sleep mode and put the cushions on the bed when I needs to have the bikes mounted for travel. I've used wingnuts on the bottom so that I can remove the mounts if needed but we've actually found that they don't get in our way.

Here's a link to the mounts:
http://www.amazon.com/Delta-Bike-Hit...9501877&sr=8-1

Here are some photos of the bikes after returning from a 5 hour drive this weekend:

Carrying Bikes in Airstream by LToTheYnn, on Flickr


Carrying Bikes in Airstream by LToTheYnn, on Flickr

Hope that helps some of y'all still trying to work out how to solve this problem!

Lynn

[Goal15]

Nice solution.

Just bought an Xport rack for the back of the Tundra this weekend.... worked great. Will add the wheel forks later but four zip ties kept the removed front wheels nice and snug to the rack cross bar.

Dana

[65CV]

Lynn,

That is a really great idea. Even though we just sprung for a roof rack for the bikes, we may do this as well this January. We're running south from Connecticut to Austin in January and it would be great to keep all the salt and stuff off the bikes on the drive there.

I have to commend you -- I looked at a bunch of boat parts that might work, but required a lot of tying lines. In case you are looking for another cool part that may help on another project, see this : Seadog Brass Round Ring Pulls

John

[knunut]

Two great ideas. We have Dahon Folding but securing them with Seadog rings ,or could do a partial fold and use the Fork Mounts. Cool

[TouringDan]

Lynn

Thanks for the neat bike carrying idea.

Terry

Thanks for the link to the round ring pulls. I may install two of these to hold down my microwave while traveling.

Dan

[Wayne&Sam]

I've done a similar thing (but on the floor) for years and it works well. But mine only works for one bike. The boards interlock for stability but lift right out.

[MrUKToad]

Originally Posted by lcurrie

Hope that helps some of y'all still trying to work out how to solve this problem!

Lynn

Excellent idea, Lynn. I'm filing that one away for when we travel without the kids because four bikes in the trailer might be a problem!

[lcurrie]

Wayne&Sam,

The way you've done it Is similar to my initial idea but I hadn't come up with the interlocking idea and couldn't figure out how to keep the board from sliding without somehow attaching it. Your solution is genius.

Lynn

[mutcth]

Thanks for the clever solutions. If we go to an SUV from our minivan, we'll need to figure out where the bikes will go. Our sea kayaks take up the whole roof of the tow vehicle...

Tom

[Scott J-24]

Great idea, we have been thinking about this and were leaning towards a bike rack on the front of our TV but I think i like this method more. Very cool idea.

[Ginga69]

I had a chat with my AS Dealer up here in Canada and he told me that AS have brought out a bike rack for either 2 or 4 biles. He didn't have a picture but he said it mounts to the A frame in the front, it sits above the LPG tanks and folds down behind the tanks when not in use. I am concerned about the height and subsequent ease of access to the bikes? I am still in debate mode and looking for alternatives?

Paul

[dkottum]

We had a rack from Fiamma on our VW camper. It was light, solid, and exceptionally user friendly not only good for carrying the bikes, but a good place to keep them locked securely and from blowing over in the wind when not riding.

I see they make a model for the Sprinter vans that mount on body supports rather than on the frame. I wonder if this mounting system could be riveted or attached somehow to the back of the Airstream shell so the whole shell/frame assembly carries the weight, rather than just the frame? This system with careful weight management of bikes and inside storage to keep within normal load parameters for the trailer rear section ought to be a solution ?

doug k

[Wayne&Sam]

Originally Posted by Ginga69

I had a chat with my AS Dealer up here in Canada and he told me that AS have brought out a bike rack for either 2 or 4 biles. He didn't have a picture but he said it mounts to the A frame in the front, it sits above the LPG tanks and folds down behind the tanks when not in use. I am concerned about the height and subsequent ease of access to the bikes? I am still in debate mode and looking for alternatives?

Paul

I saw the prototype of the AS rack when I was at Jackson Center several weeks ago. It will mount on the bumper and also attach to the back of the trailer.

[FinnSwede]

I also have been looking for ways to carry bikes.
I considered mounting a rack on the back, but after calling Jackson Center and being told that bike racks are "not recommended", I have carried a bike in the back of my truck.
I am also trying to find a way to carry a motorcycle.

[rebelstand]

Well since we full time with 2 kids and have 4 bikes getting the bikes in and out of the trailer every weekend was bugging us. We ended up buying a roof mounted bike rack for the kids bikes.

Our bikes are the folding kind and have bags for easy loading.

[Rawn77]

Tom
Andy has made custome bike receivers that go on the rear of the airstream.
Ask him for a picture or two.
They're real nice!
Hope all is well,
Ron

[DMT]

Originally Posted by Ginga69

I had a chat with my AS Dealer up here in Canada and he told me that AS have brought out a bike rack for either 2 or 4 biles. He didn't have a picture but he said it mounts to the A frame in the front, it sits above the LPG tanks and folds down behind the tanks when not in use. I am concerned about the height and subsequent ease of access to the bikes? I am still in debate mode and looking for alternatives?

Paul

These folks already make them. Saw it mentioned in a thread on the forum but I do mr remember which one. Check out the website.
http://www.arvika.ca/

[Wingeezer]

Front of the truck for me - but then our mountain bikes are cheapies, (and old, and well used!) not your multi-thouasand $ jobbies! so bugs and dirt aren't a concern!

Works very well for us though and has for the last 13 years since we first tried this method.

Many years ago, I used to carry a small Honda Passport scooter inside a lightweight UK designed twenty foot "Sprite"travel trailer we owned.


I'd like to bring our present motorcycle along, but at 900 pounds, the only way would be the bed of the truck - but we have a cap on the truck and rely upon the space to keep clutter out of the trailer, so I'm afraid the motorcycle stays home in the garage!


Bian.

[Kamiak]

That’s a very clever solution, with an added advantage that the bikes are out of the weather while traveling. The “fussy” in me would be concerned about the accumulated nicks, gouges, and smudges that would accrue over time on various parts of the Airstream from taking it in and out of the coach. And the fact that it would require relocating the bikes to use that portion of the trailer, whether you were going to use the bikes at that particular stop or not.

I also tow with an SUV, and I installed a receiver on the front of my Yukon so that I can mount a bike rack up front. I think I got the receiver from autoanything.com, and it bolted easily to the Yukon frame using existing bolts and bolt holes. Currently, I use a relatively inexpensive Swagman bike rack, the basic type that clamps on the bicycle crossbar. It’s built to hold four bikes, so it easily holds the two we carry, and it doesn’t block my view of the road while traveling. It transports the bikes from point A to point B, including a recent 4,000-mile odyssey, though I’m still somewhat dissatisfied…largely due to the time required to mount and dismount the bikes in a fully-secured manner. From that trip, I’ve decided that my current configuration is fine for multi-day, single destination outings, but it’s not particularly suited for multi-destination adventures. I’m looking for something that will mount/dismount the bikes quickly, within a couple of minutes, without the bungee tie-downs, and other necessary gyrations to fully stabilize all part of the bikes. Both Yakima and Thule offer products that support the bikes from below, at the tires, and those I need to look at more closely, making sure they don’t raise the bikes too high, obstructing my view of the road. I’m looking forward to reading other's suggestions.

[Wingeezer]

Kamiak,

I do agree that on a road trip where we are traveling each day and I want to take the bikes off the front of the truck so we can use them each evening, it can be a bit time consuming.

Due to the high location of the hitch receiver on our 2500HD (actually behind the normal license plate position) I wound up cutting and rewelding my standard bike rack to drop the bikes lower down as they otherwise would have been intruding on my field of vision- they are fine now.

But now you have me thinking to look at other styles of racks that I could use up front that support the bikes by the tires instead. I didn't know they were available on the market. Also, maybe I could see how our local city buses do it and makes something up. Those racks surely must e made for very quick and easy mounting/demounting of the bikes.

Brian