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MaineStreamer · 09-30-2014, 10:14 PM

What is the best way to carry one or two bicycles in or on an Airstream trailer? Attach some hooks inside to attach them to a partition? Outside bike racks?

dkottum · 09-30-2014, 10:22 PM

This works great.

https://store.airstream.com/product_...roducts_id=623

Gringo · 10-01-2014, 06:14 AM

We've been looking at that bike rack, but also thinking of putting a front receiver hitch setup on the pickup truck. Then putting a receiver bike rack there. That would let us transport the bikes to distant places from the camp. And I know from experience with large trailered boats how easy it is to put a trailer where you want it with a front hitch on the vehicle.

That Fiamma rack looks beautiful, but for that kind of money I think I would rather have the receiver hitch on the truck. More versatile, and tougher. It's steel. And you can pick from several different designs depending on how many bikes you need to carry. The hitch is $ 200, and Walmart has a nice Reese receiver bike rack for another $ 80.

Just another option, should you want to do anything more than transport two bikes attached to the trailer.

SteveH · 10-01-2014, 06:21 AM

We bought a pair of these Dahon folding bikes and carry them in their bag in the back of the truck, so no bike rack needed. Very happy with them.

DAHON Bikes USA:Â*Espresso D21

Gringo · 10-01-2014, 06:24 AM

We bought a pair of the Montague full size folding mountain bikes, too.

Ted S. · 10-01-2014, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gringo

We've been looking at that bike rack, but also thinking of putting a front receiver hitch setup on the pickup truck. Then putting a receiver bike rack there.

I have been thinking about this as well. I really want my bikes on the tow vehicle so that we can just motor out to good bike paths. It has been a struggle with my current camper. I think the front hitch is a good solution, my concern is if it is legal in all states?

Gringo · 10-01-2014, 06:38 AM

That's a strange concern. Google up Receiver mounted bike racks. Yakima, Sears, Walmart, Thule ALL sell them. Hard to imagine them going after an illegal market.

MaineStreamer · 10-01-2014, 06:39 AM

The front trailer hitch idea sounds like a good one. However I can't quite envision how that would go on my Jeep Grand Cherokee tow vehicle. i'll have to look into this. Quite a few other people have posted favorable comments about using a front trailer hitch for bicycles on earlier discussions.

I would actually prefer to be able to keep the bikes inside, but that will result in them always being in the way and having to be put somewhere else when we are living in the trailer.

Gringo · 10-01-2014, 06:42 AM

I just looked at Front Receiver Hitches for Jeep Grand Cherokee, clicked on Images. You have a lot of options, by the major hitch manufacturers, and they're all cheaper than the one I need for the big Ford.

msmcv51 · 10-01-2014, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gringo

We've been looking at that bike rack, but also thinking of putting a front receiver hitch setup on the pickup truck. Then putting a receiver bike rack there. That would let us transport the bikes to distant places from the camp. And I know from experience with large trailered boats how easy it is to put a trailer where you want it with a front hitch on the vehicle.

That Fiamma rack looks beautiful, but for that kind of money I think I would rather have the receiver hitch on the truck. More versatile, and tougher. It's steel. And you can pick from several different designs depending on how many bikes you need to carry. The hitch is $ 200, and Walmart has a nice Reese receiver bike rack for another $ 80.

Just another option, should you want to do anything more than transport two bikes attached to the trailer.

We have been using a front receiver with the bike rack for ten years, and it is great. The rack has loops that the tires set in and hold downs that go over a center post and tighten down to hold the bikes. This system works well and can be used in front when towing and in back when not towing.

Gringo · 10-01-2014, 07:16 AM

Thats the type of bike rack we're looking at. The Montague folding bikes have a strange cross tube setup. Not a tube, but a large oval that won't clamp where a tube will. So we need something that supports the bikes using the wheels.
This is the Reese one I was considering, largely because I know Reese, this looks to be what I could use, and the local Walmart has them in stock.

http://http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ree...Bikes/17043482

Wingeezer · 10-01-2014, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ted S.

I have been thinking about this as well. I really want my bikes on the tow vehicle so that we can just motor out to good bike paths. It has been a struggle with my current camper. I think the front hitch is a good solution, my concern is if it is legal in all states?

I suspect that it could be possible for some overly zealous law enforcement officer to charge one with some violation - obstruction of headlights or field of vision.

But that is only my speculation. I will say that in about 16 years of driving with a couple of mountain bikes on our trucks traveling extensively in Canada and the US, we have never had the slightest issue with the police and from a practical standpoint, it is a means of transporting the bikes that works very well for us.

I like the fat that the front hitch setup is extremely solid, no hanse of damage to the trailer, and I can keep an eye on the bikes to ensure they remain secure as we travel.

When we arrive a destination, we have the option now of carrying the bikes on the back of the truck if we wish

To be honest, I do feel that I notice some very minor reduction in the effectiveness of the headlights with the bikes up front, but certainly not enough to be a problem, and in any case, is very seldom that we are on the road towing the trailer after dark.

I did find that when we switched from a Sierra 1500 to a Sierra 2500HD, the hitch position on the new truck was quite a bit higher and accordingly, our bike rack put the bikes too high and it was distracting for the driver.

I just cut the rack down and re-welded it in a shorter configuration, so that now, I barely see the top of the bike seats and bars poking up above the line of the hood - just enough to let me know that the bikes are still there and are secure. No impact at all on my field of vision.

Brian.

AIRTRVL · 10-01-2014, 07:44 AM

In my opinion the only practical place to carry bikes is on the top of the tow vehicle. If they’re attached to the back of the AS they will block the license plate and possibly the tail lights. They will also pick up a lot of dirt and dust as you drive down the road. If they’re attached to the front of the TV they will possibly block the head lights. I attach mine to a Yakama rack with a clip in fork mount. I mount the bikes backwards on my shell camper. I use a stool to climb up on my tail gate, I set the wear wheel of the bike in the track and roll it toward the front of the shell camper and then clip in the fork. I then stand in the side door of my truck and clamp in the rear wheel. I can have 2 bike on my truck in less than 5 minutes. After we park the AS the bike are always with us.

KJRitchie · 10-01-2014, 08:22 AM

I use an Arvika bike rack on my Classic 25fb. The Airstream (Fiamma) bike rack on the rear seemed much more complicated to mount on the back because of the Classic bumper vs the Fly Cloud or Internationals. The post below shows how much I paid for it and some photos showing bikes on the rack. Very simple to install vs the Airstream Fiamma on the rear.

Also with this rack I can take it off the Airstream and bolt it on the Arvika receiver adaptor and take my bikes on the tow vehicle for day trips away from the campsite.

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f516...ml#post1339473

Kelvin

Jim Lee · 10-01-2014, 09:21 AM

I modified a rear bike rack to haul our two bikes on the back of our 31' Sovereign using the Airstream rack as a guide.

We've been on the road since July 13 and have used hte bikes twice.

I however, have worked around those bikes to get in the rear trunk, empty the holding tanks, get out the electrical wire, get out the sewer hose,....etc.

Next trip we're leaving the bikes at home.

Ted S. · 10-01-2014, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gringo

That's a strange concern. Google up Receiver mounted bike racks. Yakima, Sears, Walmart, Thule ALL sell them. Hard to imagine them going after an illegal market.

I don't think that they are going after an illegal market. I think that generally the receiver mounted racks are used on the rear of the vehicle, not the front. I have heard of some folks using them on the front, then the question always comes up if it could be a violation in some states because of obstruction of the headlights, etc. so I was just asking the question.

batman · 10-01-2014, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gringo

Thats the type of bike rack we're looking at. The Montague folding bikes have a strange cross tube setup. Not a tube, but a large oval that won't clamp where a tube will. So we need something that supports the bikes using the wheels.
This is the Reese one I was considering, largely because I know Reese, this looks to be what I could use, and the local Walmart has them in stock.

http://http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ree...Bikes/17043482

Gringo, I have Reese top carriers and Yakima receiver carrier for our travels and like them both. The receiver rack is much easier to load and unload. I added a front mounted receiver to our Yukon and it works for an array of different things, best decision ever. You may want to look at the Yakima Tube Top TubeTop | Yakima or go to there website and search Part # 8002531. This little jewel will allow you to use the standard receiver carriers with your folding bikes or any bike with no top tube. Happy travels

batman · 10-01-2014, 10:38 AM

Here is a photo of us heading out with the Reese carriers on top and the cargo option in the front receiver.

VTSmitty · 10-01-2014, 11:28 AM

We have the Fiamma rack, and love it. For those times when we're off recreating with just the TV, we keep a light receiver-mount rack in the truck.

dkottum · 10-01-2014, 12:59 PM

We use the Airstream rack. Easy, secure, protects bikes from flying road debris and bugs. We find the bikes useful at most places we visit, so it's really handy to get to them and put them back.

It also mounts the bikes on the rear of there trailer so they do not add to the truck's payload, and subtract from the trailer tongue weight. A little less weight distribution needed, a little less tension on the w.d. bars, a little less stiffness in the connection. It adds up.

When taking bikes with the truck only, we have a little 2-bicycle stand that the wheels slip into, put a strap over the bikes looped around each one and secured to the truck bed hooks. When at camp we use the bike stand to park the bikes.

It's an ideal solution for our long trips and frequent use, and doesn't look too shabby either.