Bicycles

[donna01]

Hi,
We have an 09 International 25. Out tow vehicle is a Ford 150 with a Tonneau cover. We want to carry our road bikes. Any idea how to attach a bike rack? Or any other ideas how to carry them? The bed is full of stuff.
Thanks

[Road Ruler]

Up here in Canada many pickups have custom racks built that attach to the front bumper and truck bed area. They put their canoes up there on top of the cab. Road bikes could go up there too.

[Ag&Au]

Look at my profile picture.

Ken

Here's another

[Road Ruler]

I like Ken's idea too. Keeps the bikes at a lower level behind the cab which makes them easier to attach.

[Kevin245]

We have a tonneau also and I think it would be a good place to attach a rack. On ours it would make opening the tailgate a pain so we put the bikes go in the trailer when we're towing or on a receiver rack when we're not.

We have a Yakima roof rack but the idea of loading and unloading bikes off the roof doesn't excite me. Now kayaks are another matter!

Kevin

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by Kevin245

We have a tonneau also and I think it would be a good place to attach a rack. On ours it would make opening the tailgate a pain so we put the bikes go in the trailer when we're towing or on a receiver rack when we're not.

We have a Yakima roof rack but the idea of loading and unloading bikes off the roof doesn't excite me. Now kayaks are another matter!

Kevin

The racks in the two pictures are actually different. The profile picture is newer. I upgraded to these racks for the bikes.

Yakima Products - SprocketRocket

They hang over the back enough to make a nice handle to allow me to lift the tonneau with one arm and use the other hand to open the tailgate. I let the tailgate rest on my chest and let the tonneau back down. The tonneau is a 3 door. I can access the front of the bed without opening the tailgate.

The Kayak has changed also. We now have two singles instead of one tandem. They ride on the top on their sides.

I just ordered on of these and hope it will make the tailgate even easier
to handle

Tailgate Easy Lift

The best price I found Was Amazon.com

Yakima also makes a very handy accessory for loading boats onto the roof. Unfortunately I can't remember the name.

It telescopes out of the end of the bar and extends the bar a couple feet out from the vehicle. This allows you to lift the kayak up to the level of the roof on to the bar extension. Then you can just push the boat over onto the roof and push the extension back into the bar.
hope this helps,

Ken

[Wingeezer]

On our last two tow vehicles (pickups) we have had 2" hitch receivers mounted up front and carry two mountain bikes that way.

We have been doing it that way for the last 11 years and it has Always worked perfectly for us.

But our bikes are just $250 "dsiposable" ones, you might noit to carry expensive bikes in such an exposed position.

When we bought our AS, it came with a rear mounted 2" frame hitch. I was tempted to start carrying the bikes back there but most people strongly recommended against carrying anything at the back of the trailer, so I decided against it and cut the hitch off!

Brian

[wahoonc]

I use folders that will fit in the bed of the truck or on a throw rug in the AS. But I have 31 footers.

Aaron

[Ag&Au]

Originally Posted by w7ts

...............................

Yakima also makes a very handy accessory for loading boats onto the roof. Unfortunately I can't remember the name.

It telescopes out of the end of the bar and extends the bar a couple feet out from the vehicle. This allows you to lift the kayak up to the level of the roof on to the bar extension. Then you can just push the boat over onto the roof and push the extension back into the bar.
hope this helps,

Ken

Here is the link for the bar extensions.

Yakima Products - BoatLoader

I use two. One in the front bar on the roof rack and one in the front bar on the tonneau rack.

It allows one person to easily get a kayak on my "up in the clouds" roof rack.

Ken

[WineStream]

There's quite a few threads on here about how to carry bikes in/on the tow vehicle as well as pages of arguments about a bike rack mounted to various areas of the airstream. Being that I tow with an SUV, a roof rack or front hitch were the only two options on the tow vehicle. I don't like things sticking up higher than the truck & trailer nor did I want to lift the bikes up there all the time. A front rack just isn't for me. A rack external on the AS is a much discussed topic, and after reading many things about it I decided I wasn't willing to install proper reinforcement to ensure no damage to the AS and no loss of the bikes going down the road.

Our final solution came from a tip and a picture on here in another thread. Lowe's (and maybe Home Depot, too) sells a "bike rack" it their home & garage organization aisle. It's less than $40 and holds 2 bikes. It basically looks like your typical elementary school bike rack. We put the bikes inside the AS now. It's kinda a pain if you stop overnight at a place like Wal-Mart, but I chain them to the tongue of the AS while we're inside the trailer. It also makes for a neat holder for the bikes at campgrounds and rallies where the kickstand just sinks into the ground.

[wolverine]

Originally Posted by donna01

Hi,
We have an 09 International 25. Out tow vehicle is a Ford 150 with a Tonneau cover. We want to carry our road bikes. Any idea how to attach a bike rack? Or any other ideas how to carry them? The bed is full of stuff.
Thanks

We have a WD hitch with two available holes above the hitch that we used to attach an extension to a standard Swaggman bike rack. We can still open the tailgate a few inches to allow access to our cover latch and can roll back the top to allow access to the truck bed. We have attached a photo of our modification if you have a hitch that would take this extension.

[Bird's Nest]

We do not have a cover on our GMC 2500 and we use Yakima BedHeads. We have four, two per side. One is lockable and is our least favorite.
We keep the bed of our truck very neat and are able to use all four even when we have our generator and extra gear along.
The BedHeads are very simple and easy to use. You do not need to use a ladder or a lift. You can just stand on the ground and roll your bikes in place.
They are rock solid, the bikes never rub against each other or slide around.
They stay on the truck at all times and do not get in the way due to their small size. We can easily lace a cable through the bikes and lock them to the truck. Our bikes are not disposable.

We are avid bikers and we often take trips in our Airstream to participate in organized and charity rides.

[Jim Foster]

Originally Posted by wolverine

We have a WD hitch with two available holes above the hitch that we used to attach an extension to a standard Swaggman bike rack. We can still open the tailgate a few inches to allow access to our cover latch and can roll back the top to allow access to the truck bed. We have attached a photo of our modification if you have a hitch that would take this extension.

Would love to see close-up photo of your hitch arrangement as well as the bike rack and extension.

[wolverine]

Originally Posted by Jim Foster

Would love to see close-up photo of your hitch arrangement as well as the bike rack and extension.

Here's a couple photos of the installation. I had a welder make the upright with a split fork on the bottom which is held to the two WD hitch open holes with hitch pins from O'Reillys Auto. The top has a 90 degree angle and a receiver for the standard Swagman hitch mount. Let me know if you need more info on this.

[Jack46]

We really like this rack. Expensive.

WELCOME to Top Pop Rails Website !

[fltlevel510]

This Swagman rack mounts to the hitch ball hole in the bumper. With two bikes I have plenty of clearance when making turns. Down side is you can not open the tailgate with it installed. 2 Bike Carrier for 1-1/4" and 2" Trailer Hitch Receivers - Ball Hole Swagman Hitch Bike Racks S64095

[CanoeStream]

Originally Posted by fltlevel510

This Swagman rack mounts to the hitch ball hole in the bumper. With two bikes I have plenty of clearance when making turns. Down side is you can not open the tailgate with it installed. 2 Bike Carrier for 1-1/4" and 2" Trailer Hitch Receivers - Ball Hole Swagman Hitch Bike Racks S64095

Did you have to adapt it to the large shank of a 2 5/15" ball?

[Jim Foster]

Originally Posted by wolverine

Here's a couple photos of the installation. I had a welder make the upright with a split fork on the bottom which is held to the two WD hitch open holes with hitch pins from O'Reillys Auto. The top has a 90 degree angle and a receiver for the standard Swagman hitch mount. Let me know if you need more info on this.

Our bikes, like yours, are very different from each other, so we need them to be supported by their wheels like yours. I think we have the same WD hitch, and fabricating the extension should be no problem.

The cover on the bed of our truck is a Roll-n-Lock, so access with the rack in place will be no problem.

Thank you for your posts.

[jhart657]

I'm very fussy when it comes to transporting my bikes. I use a Yakima rack system mounted to the truck bed via special mounting devices called "tower landing pads"(Yakima part) This setup allows me to lock the bikes on to the truck and still retains the full function of the tonneau cover. The height of the rack makes loading a breeze and keeps the bikes cleaner compared to a normal roof mounted system.

Juergen

[wolverine]

Originally Posted by Jim Foster

Our bikes, like yours, are very different from each other, so we need them to be supported by their wheels like yours. I think we have the same WD hitch, and fabricating the extension should be no problem.

The cover on the bed of our truck is a Roll-n-Lock, so access with the rack in place will be no problem.

Thank you for your posts.

This hitch extender has worked out well for us. We have a roll up Access cover, so we just open the tailgate a few inches, unlatch, and roll it up. If we can provide any further detail, dimensions, photos to help please let us know.