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clicknathan · 08-16-2013, 04:46 PM

I know there are a bunch of threads about bike racks & this may not be the right forum...but I'm looking for info on placement vs. specific bike racks.

We've got an extended van. Nice and long with a high roof. I'm 5'8".

We've also got a 1976 31' Sovereign. I suppose their are four spots I could pave a bike rack. I'll have 2 adult bikes and one kids BMX, maybe another toddler bike here soon. So a 4 bike rack would be ideal, though we concave space inside the Airstream for the kids' bikes. That's where we currently store the BMX I mentioned.

Looking for experiences, perhaps unthought of issues I may not be thinking of.

1. Back of Airstream. This seems like the easiest setup, but on the downside, we wouldn't be able to transport the bikes via just our van. Sometimes that could be key, when a good bike route is far away from where we're camping.

2. Back of van. I'm thinking there might be a hitch extender setup we could get between where the weight distributing hitch meets the tow package on the van. Downside here would be monkeying with the hitch with bikes in the way / no access to the back of the van while traveling (not the worst but we've done bikes on the back door of the van before and that was rough. Also I guess we'd be extending the length of the hitch which might?? cause towing issues or at least lead to scraping on steep angles.

3. Roof rack. Probably an awesome solution but is it crazy hard to get bikes up there?

4. Front of the van. If this exists, it could be ideal too.

Any thoughts?

aquinob · 08-16-2013, 08:43 PM

Dont hang anything off the back of the airstream. The longer trailers already have issues with rear end frame separation and adding weight off the bumper will just make it worse faster.

You might want to look into the possibility of a front mounted hitch on the van. Then you could mount a hitch mount carrier there and carry them in the front. You would also be able to hook the trailer up there as well if you need to spot it into a tight space. You havent lived till you put the trailer in a tight spot in one try. Downside is that most front hitches dont have super high tongue weight limits so if you trailer tongue weight is over 500, it may be a bit much.

HTH

dkottum · 08-16-2013, 08:49 PM

Maybe two on the front of the van and two inside. I'd keep them off the Airstream, or between.

doug

rbr · 08-17-2013, 06:16 PM

Front hitch and receiver rack. Out of the way and will carry 4. Should run app. $500 for both.

tdyoungblood · 08-27-2013, 08:36 AM

Definitely agree. I have a front hitch mount on suburban and a 4-bike rack. Actually, it's a 2 bike rack by Thule and they sell an add-on for 2 more. It's the most versatile setup because when you are not pulling the Airstream, you can attach the bike rack to the back of your van. You can also carry just 2 if the kids are not coming along.