Want to carry bikes on front of truck!?

[Sitting duck]

Nobody indicated their TV ran hotter due to restricted air flow in front. I assume that's not an issue?

[Al and Missy]

I carried two bikes in front rack for 1500 miles. Daytime was no problem. Running through rain cleaned off any road grime they picked up because when we got home they were fine. But - while they don't obstruct my vision except for about 10' in front of the truck, I find nighttime driving to be difficult. They cut down on the light delivered to the roadway which is a problem when you are on secondary roads in unfamiliar places, and they reflect light back into my eyes which compounds the problem of less light on the road.

I'm going to try some fork mounts on a piece of carpet wrapped plywood to go between the twin beds with a stabilizing bungee cord from side to side. With the rear bedroom twin, that will not obstruct access to galley or bathroom area for short stops. I'm also considering adding a rear mount hitch to the trailer. I did the frame test of bouncing up and down on the frame rails (I'm not a small guy) and it all seemed really solid. No apparent movement between the bumper top and the shell, so I'm going to discount the "official" advice that says don't do it. I have a friend with a newer Safari 25. The PO added a hitch and mounts for two Honda 2000s to the rear. No apparent problems with that install, either, so my bikes only (less than 100#) should be OK. I may try to put in a couple of struts like the Fiamma rack has to minimize bouncing.

Al

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by Sitting duck

Nobody indicated their TV ran hotter due to restricted air flow in front. I assume that's not an issue?

Been carrying bikes that way for 15 years on three vehicles, minivan, 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton trucks, and never had any problems that way.

However it is true that most of our driving in mountainous country that would be expected to tax the engine is in winter months, so ambient temperatures have been reasonable.

Brian.

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by Al and Missy

I carried two bikes in front rack for 1500 miles. Daytime was no problem. Running through rain cleaned off any road grime they picked up because when we got home they were fine. But - while they don't obstruct my vision except for about 10' in front of the truck, I find nighttime driving to be difficult. They cut down on the light delivered to the roadway which is a problem when you are on secondary roads in unfamiliar places, and they reflect light back into my eyes which compounds the problem of less light on the road.

I'm going to try some fork mounts on a piece of carpet wrapped plywood to go between the twin beds with a stabilizing bungee cord from side to side. With the rear bedroom twin, that will not obstruct access to galley or bathroom area for short stops. I'm also considering adding a rear mount hitch to the trailer. I did the frame test of bouncing up and down on the frame rails (I'm not a small guy) and it all seemed really solid. No apparent movement between the bumper top and the shell, so I'm going to discount the "official" advice that says don't do it. I have a friend with a newer Safari 25. The PO added a hitch and mounts for two Honda 2000s to the rear. No apparent problems with that install, either, so my bikes only (less than 100#) should be OK. I may try to put in a couple of struts like the Fiamma rack has to minimize bouncing.

Al

I agree that I have noted some issue with night driving. I suppose if I did a lot of it, I too might look for another way to carry the bikes, but the way we travel, it is a rare thing for us to be on the road towing the trailer after dark.

I can see that It certainly could be a consideration though. I don't feel it is to the point of being unsafe, but I guess anything that impedes visibility is less than desirable.

Brian.

[Kamiak]

Originally Posted by Sitting duck

Nobody indicated their TV ran hotter due to restricted air flow in front. I assume that's not an issue?

I've carried bikes on my front-mounted rack many times. With my particular rack and bikes, visibility issues exist but are slight, and headlight issues are more of a concern, but we don't typically drive at night; however, in my experience, with high ambient temperatures and CA mountain roads with long ascents, overheating is a significant issue. I didn't notice it so much with one bike, more so with two, but adding a third bike significantly obstructed airflow, requiring us to restrict our ascents to early morning. I wouldn't do it again.

[Al and Missy]

I previously posted about towing 1500 miles with front mounted bikes. I forgot to mention that I did have an "overheat" issue climbing a 6-mile long 8% grade, but I don't know if the bikes contributed to it or not, because I have not climbed that grade without the bikes.

I did some reading on other forums about rear-mounted bike carriers and there are quite a few horror stories out there. Even if it doesn't overstress the trailer, ball mounts and hitches have failed and folks have dragged bikes for miles or even lost them without knowing it.

A rear hitch will run about $300, then I'd have to figure out how to add some struts to limit the bouncing.

A poster on one of the other RV forums used a method that is attractive to me and not expensive to try.

Racor - Floor Bike Stand - Bike Storage - PBS-2R

I'm going to order one of these and put it in the bedroom between the twin beds. I'll add a bungee cord or nylon strap or two from side to side to stabilize the bikes. I'll probably mount it on a couple of carpet covered 2x4s to keep it from moving side to side. I feel it is superior to my idea of fork mounts because the bikes don't need to be disassembled. Access to the bathroom, galley and seating are is not obstructed. Removal of the bikes is simple, take off the bungees and roll them out. Also gives you a place to park them when camped.

[carl2591]

Originally Posted by robertwarner

O7' meg cab. 4-4.

is that a gas or diesel meg cab rammer or is that the dodger model..

[Rod Johnson]

I've had front hitch receivers on 2 F-250's primarily for carrying our bikes. I definitely had to adjust the bike rack height to maintain field of vision. I always remove the seats. I do not like to drive this set-up at night as headlights reflect back off wheels and spokes. I bit the bullet some months ago and had AS install the bike rack on the back of our FC 27FB. I far prefer that set-up to the front mount altho the latter took us many thousands of miles.

[Martin R]

I grew up in England where the nanny state is perhaps a little stronger than it is here and the front end of vehicles had begun to attract considerable attention. The potential damage to a pedestrian who may be collected on rugged looking bull bars or pierced by an elegant but rather sharp hood ornament had, if memory serves correctly, forced the manufacturers to redesign the front ends paying attention to bumper heights and materials and make ornamentation "folding" to minimise the damage to a victim. I have no idea if any States here have adopted similar rules but I think it highly likely carrying bikes across the front would likely collect a ticket in much of Europe.

[oledawg]

Swagman front mounted, 10,000+ miles, no issues other than bug buildup ;-)


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