Bike Racks

[CLDuthie]

Hi folks. We are brand new Airstreamers. Just bought a 2007 Classic 27FB in immaculate condition. We are also cyclists (sort of) and want to take our bikes with us. Does anyone use the expensive Airstream rack or something different? Thanks. Hope to see you on the road. Dana & Candacw

[Wazbro]

Check this thread about it, near the end there is someone not happy with the mounting system for the Classic.
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f206...ers-86424.html

[Jack46]

Check out a company called Arvika.ca. The are located in Canada and make a bike rack that mounts over the propane tanks. We bought one five years ago and have been very happy with it. It is expensive, but I think you'll find it competitive with the new rack offered by Airstream. There has also been much written about not mounting a receiver on the rear bumper of Airstreams to to the weight forces created when under way. Good luck with whatever you find ....... and the new Airstream.

[aimcom]

our family is avid bikers. since we needed to mount 4 bikes in total, we have put an arvika rack on the front and the new "official airstream" rack on the back.

the arvika rack is very nice, albeit you have to climb up on the hitch to put on the bikes, so you have to have a decent sense of balance to achieve that. also, you will have to take the unit down if you want to open up the front windows (but who does that, anyways?...). our dealer made a small modification to the arvika rack to improve stability when loaded up and reduce the chance of the handles banging against the windows during transit (basically, added an extra connection point on the front of the propane tank). and because it is on the front, the bikes are more susceptible to getting plastered with bugs during trips (yuk). also, i feel it probably does impact our fuel efficiency very slightly by disrupting the smooth flow of air over the trailer.

on the airstream rack, we put the 2 kids bikes, and unbelievably during the first weekend, the rack bent/deflected...our dealer is looking into the fix and hopefully we'll have it solved for us at the end of the season when we take it back in for storage. this rack makes it much more difficult to access the rear storage compartment, but we considered it a necessary compromise in order to have all 4 bikes along for our family.

hope the info helps...happy trails!

[john121]

You might find this site useful.
Hitch Bike Rack - Widest Selection Of Hitch Mounted Bike Racks

[purman]

What type of TV do you have. I put my wife and my bike on the roof of the Sequoia and the kids bike go on a blanket on the front bed for now... I plan on building my own rack for either the front or rear of the AS. I re-inforced my frame, so the rear is an option. But if you happen to follow anyone with bikes on the back of any trailer, you will notice how much they bounce. Due to this, I am reconsidering the back option.. Even though my frame could take the weight..

[Jack46]

My tv is a 2088 Suburban 2500. I do have to use a step up to be able to lift the bikes onto the rack. I think you are correct about the stresses on the rear of the Airstream when using a rear bumper mount.

[rbr]

You don't mention your TV... we put a front receiver on the truck and use a receiver rack, the two together were about $225 on the web. There is usually a MC in the truck bed.

[m.hony]

For the time being we are putting the bikes in the bed of the truck along with the campfire wood.

[Airstream25]

Front Receiver hitch in action
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f161...tml#post288607

[msmcv51]

I put a 2" front end receiver hitch on our f-150 when we got it in 2003. Been carring 2 bikes in a rack where the tires ride in heavy wire oval loops. Works out great.

[mojo]

Originally Posted by purman

I put my wife and my bike on the roof of the Sequoia and the kids bike go on a blanket on the front bed for now...

How did you convince your wife to ride on the roof of the car?

[Bruce B]

We purchased the Airstream bike rack when we bought our International in March. It almost always has two adult bicycles on it and we could not be happier! Our bikes have been to Ohio and back and all over New England with no problems. Yes it makes rear storage access more difficult but not impossible.
Bruce

[Bettye]

We also have the Airstream bike rack on our International and we love it. It holds two adult bikes.

[lcurrie]

Here's our solution. The bikes travel safely inside the Bambi.


Carrying Bikes in Airstream by LToTheYnn, on Flickr

Lynn

[Royce]

Originally Posted by lcurrie

Here's our solution. The bikes travel safely inside the Bambi.


Carrying Bikes in Airstream by LToTheYnn, on Flickr

Lynn

Lynn,

That is a great solution!!

[lcurrie]

I'm glad you like it, Royce!

I didn't like the idea of putting a rack on the Bambi or the front of the car, so I got a bit creative. This solution turned out to be inexpensive, safe for the Bambi, safe for the bikes and easy to setup and use.

I used wing nuts when attaching the bike fork mounts so we can remove them quickly and easily if we want/need, but usually we just leave them on when we setup the table.
Amazon.com: Delta Bike Hitch Pro 2 Locking Fork Mount with Lock: Sports & Outdoors

Lynn

[SteveSueMac]

So Lynn (hope you're still reading this) - I'm thinking of a different way to travel with 2 bikes. Hoping you and anyone else can chime in on this.

The pic below is of the street side couch area in my 27FB.



I'm thinking of installing the fork mounts on the plywood of the couch. However, I obviously don't want them there all the time or sitting there will be uncomfortable.

One thought is to mount them on plywood strips with Velcro on the bottom and Velcro on the couch plywood so the forks can be attached and removed as needed.

Does that make sense? What other options are available to install and remove the fork mounts? Ideally, it would be cool if they rose up and locked in to place for use and then retracted down under the couch when not in use. But that kind of James Bond gear would likely cost a lot more than plywood and Velcro :-)

Wide open to suggestions here!!

Thanks!

[jcl]

I've been thinking about the same. I like Lynn's approach.

We use fork mounts now on the roof rack, and there is more lateral force than I would want to trust to Velcro.

My plan would be to put two fork mounts on a short detachable bar cut to the same length as the depth of the installed couch. I will use Thule Lowrider or similar, such as is often mounted in a bed of a pickup. The two Lowriders bolt to a crossbar with two holes drilled in it, one at each end, say 18" apart.

Thule Low Rider 821XT - Thule

There would be two small slots cut at the same 18" lateral spacing. At each slot there would be a heavy hinge bolted underneath the plywood, with a threaded stud welded on one side of each hinge, protruding upwards. They would fall down out of the way or be pulled up to mount the crossbar securely to the plywood of the couch with wing nuts.

For the rear wheels, use 8" of double sided 1" wide Velcro fasted at the centre of each tire contact point, and simply wrap each rear wheel to stop it bouncing around. It won't disturb the cushions when not in use.

Anyway, that is my plan. I think a bunkhouse would be great, as the rear bed (which we don't need) could be used as a bicycle garage. Bikes could stay there when set up and wouldn't be in the way. Just not sure we want a 30 foot trailer though, and if it is a 27 foot we would use the couch location as you describe.

Jeff

[SteveSueMac]

Very interesting! Any drawings of your idea to have them mounted on disappearing hinges?

As for Velcro, what I was thinking was a 12" x 29.5" x 1/2" piece of plywood (the 29.5" would run the entire depth of the couch). The fork mount would be permanently mounted to that board and underneath would be a 2" strip of the "hook" side of the Velcro around the perimeter of the board with a corresponding size/shape of the "loop" side of the Velcro on the plywood base of the couch (both glued and stapled to both surfaces). One would be on the left side of the couch (facing the window) and the other would be on the right. This would enable me to travel with both bikes as shown here:





The top side of the boards would also include hooks of some sort to run rope or bungie cords through tires to hold them in place. When not in use, just detach the boards from their Velcro grip and put the pillows on the couch.

No surprise here - I'm no engineer ;-) so I have no clue if that makes sense or not.

I was hoping there would be some low profile "channel" I could permanently mount to the couch plywood (across the 29.5" span) in to which I could "slide in" the fork mount and tighten with wing nuts for easy in/out. If the channel were low profile enough, you wouldn't feel it with the couch pillows installed.

But your idea of sinking them is pretty compelling - any insight you can share on how you'd do that is welcome (as are comments on my suggested approach or perhaps other ideas I haven't thought of).


Thanks!!