How do you haul your bikes when towing?

[majorairhead]

Here's my setup.

[Halford1]

Originally Posted by Peter417

That is my buddies wallet. I think on the next trip to this trailhead he left his wallet on the bumper for the whole 2 hour ride down to Eureka Springs. I could not believe it stayed. I think he is better about that now.

whew...

[jcanavera]

I've got a van. This is a Saris Rack. It fits in a pickup bed or like my van. You can carry multiple bikes. https://www.saris.com/product/traps-single-47

[Peter417]

I really need to get some fork mounts or make some. I like how you guys did that. I'll probably do that for the truck camping setup. I'll report back.

[jeffmc306]

Peter417, if you’ve got bikes with thru-axles, check out Kuat DirtBag mounts. You can also get skewer mounts.

I ordered two from Amazon for our Specialized Como e-bikes and will replace the Yakima ones I re-tasked from an old roof mount setup.

To the OP, I built a wood base out of spare 2x6 and 2x8 then added some pipe to simulate crossbars. I’ll swap the Kuat mounts on one end and put the rear tire mounts on the rear. It fits inside the trailer and keeps them from moving around. I put a soft rubber on the bottom of the wood to keep it from sliding.

[majorairhead]

You'll see on my setup the plywood goes from side to side of the bed. The left side is actually bolted to the truck bedside where a tie down access is, and the right side is cut to fit tight between the wheel well and the rear of the bed where the tailgate closes.

Reason for all that is to keep the bikes from sliding around. I also staggered the mounts. You can see how close the bikes are. I wanted to maximize room. In fact the pedal of the outer bike must be positioned to go over the wheel well, and the inner bike pedal has to fit under the outer bike's sprocket. It's tight, but gave me lots of room to throw other stuff in there.

It takes a bit of time to get them out, and put them in, but no more than 10 minutes tops and we're off and riding.

[docflyboy]

Peter417- I haven't gone far enough for bugs to be a problem, but I have found that the best way to clean the trailer is to wipe the dew two mornings in a row with a chamois and the trailer looks like new. I think this would work on the bikes. In airplanes, we put Pledge on the bug smashing surface and they're easy to wipe down. Jerry

[Daquenzer]

Originally Posted by Peter417

I really need to get some fork mounts or make some. I like how you guys did that. I'll probably do that for the truck camping setup. I'll report back.

Get 4 Bikehands from AMAZON. Wedge front and rear bike tires in a bikehand in the aisle. Set in the aisle with blankets around them. Easy. No fuss no muss. We have used this often and never had a problem. Plus you can use the bikehands at the campsite. I also put the Bikehands on rubber yoga mats to prevent any scratching of the luxury vinyl.

We also use a front bike carrier. That way we can transport bikes when we explore the areas we camp.

I noticed you have a short trailer. This may not work.

[jeffmc306]

The Kuat thru-axle mounts came and I found the original wood frame I had was too short; the eBikes have a longer wheelbase so I made a new one out of an 8’ 2x8. I used lap joints to make it stronger and tee nuts with 3/8” bolts for the mounts.

I had some old Yakima rear wheel trays with straps that work to keep the rear wheels from moving around. Everything fits between the twin beds. Might be overkill but I made a stop brace that fits between the shower and bathroom walls. I’m adding some 3M rubber non-slip tape to the bottom to add some protection.

I did have to remove the front fender from the wife’s bike but it’s a quick change. Looking forward to having the bikes out of the weather and away from prying eyes.

Bonus: The rack will work in the bed of the truck if we want to transport to a local trail with some ratchet straps to keep everything in place.

[Peter417]

Originally Posted by jeffmc306

The Kuat thru-axle mounts came and I found the original wood frame I had was too short; the eBikes have a longer wheelbase so I made a new one out of an 8’ 2x8. I used lap joints to make it stronger and tee nuts with 3/8” bolts for the mounts.

I had some old Yakima rear wheel trays with straps that work to keep the rear wheels from moving around. Everything fits between the twin beds. Might be overkill but I made a stop brace that fits between the shower and bathroom walls. I’m adding some 3M rubber non-slip tape to the bottom to add some protection.

I did have to remove the front fender from the wife’s bike but it’s a quick change. Looking forward to having the bikes out of the weather and away from prying eyes.

Bonus: The rack will work in the bed of the truck if we want to transport to a local trail with some ratchet straps to keep everything in place.

I have to get some new mounts for our bikes. Thanks for the inspiration.