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Tarcoola · 10-12-2016, 08:19 AM

Have been reading a lot of different threads and comments here and there regarding AS bike racks and the pros and cons of front and rear locations. Everything from safety, road grime, access to storage compartments etc.

Has anyone attached roof racks to the crew cab of their truck and used Thule, Yakima, Rhino or others to secure their bikes. We see a lot of cars with these types of bike racks but have never seen them on a truck roof or TV.

Welcome comments/feedback.

AWCHIEF · 10-12-2016, 08:25 AM

I used too. Got tired of having to buy a new rack or expensive attachments every time I traded vehicles. Now I use the Arvika Aistream rack on the front of my trailer when towing and a hitch mounted rack on the Jeep when not towing.

explore more · 10-12-2016, 08:56 AM

I've used them on trucks before. It's a little higher to reach up there, but it's fine. We bought a van so we could store our bikes inside. We have expensive bikes and we full-time, so we didn't want to leave them out in the elements all the time begging to be stolen.

JamuJoe · 10-12-2016, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tarcoola

Have been reading a lot of different threads and comments here and there regarding AS bike racks and the pros and cons of front and rear locations. Everything from safety, road grime, access to storage compartments etc.

Has anyone attached roof racks to the crew cab of their truck and used Thule, Yakima, Rhino or others to secure their bikes. We see a lot of cars with these types of bike racks but have never seen them on a truck roof or TV.

Welcome comments/feedback.

Sure, the roof rack on my Jeep GC works great and keeps my bike much cleaner than a tail mount. You do have to be able to lift the bike to the rack, so think about the cab height of a truck. The big advantage of a roof rack on a tow vehicle lies in being able to transport the bike to another point, eg, a trail head.

Safe travels,
JamuJoe

explore more · 10-12-2016, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamuJoe

he big advantage of a roof rack on a tow vehicle lies in being able to transport the bike to another point, eg, a trail head.

This. We hardly ever have our Airstream at our trailhead, but we always have our tow rig at the trailhead.

mojo · 10-12-2016, 09:14 AM

Had the Avrika on front of trailer but bracket broke and bike moved and damaged trailer. Switched to Yakima over bed of truck. Whole rack lifts off easily and allows access to truck bed on or off.

explore more · 10-12-2016, 09:40 AM

I've had Yakima Holdup, Thule T2, and Kuat. In order of my preference:

kuat
yakima
thule

Breezinalong · 10-12-2016, 10:43 AM

Had the Seasucker Mini Bomber for a year now. We've probably done 5000 miles on them on road, dirt, etc. No failures and I can put the bikes on the tonneau cover, roof, or anywhere I need to.
http://https://www.seasucker.com/sho...ab-description

dkottum · 10-12-2016, 12:43 PM

We've had a Fiamma Airstream rack on our FC 25 and a Fiamma rack on the back of our VW Campers for years. Never any problems, couldn't be more convenient and the bikes stay clean. We fasten them in the pickup to go to a trailhead.

No problem for access to bumper storage tray, may be difficult for Airstreams with a rear storage hatch, we don't have one there.

glcmranger · 10-12-2016, 02:12 PM

Suggest getting a Front End receiver for your truck. Then buy a hitch mount bike carrier.

Flht2k · 10-12-2016, 04:07 PM

This is what I purchased trying it next week

KJRitchie · 10-12-2016, 05:32 PM

I have the Arvika two bike system.

Kelvin

Tarcoola · 10-12-2016, 09:05 PM

Wow!! Really timely feedback. Thanks ever so much. We have a 26U with front storage behind the propane and battery box so unfortunately the Arvika connected to the A frame isn't an option. Will look at the "over tonneau" option.

Like the idea of the Seasucker, looks really simple and effective. Need to look at security if away from the TV. Although, bikes on top of the crew cab will require an athletic thief.

Other option is the crew cab rooftop option from Yakima etc. Gotta decide soon.

Papa smurf · 10-13-2016, 04:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Breezinalong

Had the Seasucker Mini Bomber for a year now. We've probably done 5000 miles on them on road, dirt, etc. No failures and I can put the bikes on the tonneau cover, roof, or anywhere I need to.
http://https://www.seasucker.com/sho...ab-description

What kind of tonneau cover do you have? This look really interesting but I have a backflip f1 tonneau cover and it has some texture to it, I am wondering if that would be enough to prevent a good seal of the suction cup

MontyV · 10-14-2016, 07:05 PM

we use a THULE rack on the back of the TV. it rests on the bumper, attaches with heavy cables, locks and the upper arm rests on the bed cover but it would probably work on a canopy as well. if you tilt the the arms that hold the bikes up a couple of notches there is no interference with tight turns.

kb0zke · 10-14-2016, 08:29 PM

Thanks for the ideas. One of the problems we are still discussing is how to transport our bikes. Unfortunately, our bikes are fairly heavy (traditional single-speed) so some of the systems for light-weight bikes won't work. We'll need to have a cap on the pickup (F250 4WD), so getting bikes up there might be a challenge. I hadn't thought of a front-mounted rack, though, so thanks for that idea. That may be the best idea.

mefly2 · 10-14-2016, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tarcoola

Have been reading a lot of different threads and comments here and there regarding AS bike racks and the pros and cons of front and rear locations. Everything from safety, road grime, access to storage compartments etc.

Has anyone attached roof racks to the crew cab of their truck and used Thule, Yakima, Rhino or others to secure their bikes. We see a lot of cars with these types of bike racks but have never seen them on a truck roof or TV.

Welcome comments/feedback.

Yes! Our bikes are worth too much to expose the lubricants on the bikes to the rear end collection of dust and grime.

SteveSueMac · 10-14-2016, 09:20 PM

I really like the suction cup models shared earlier but at the end of the day, the easiest thing for us is go out the bikes on the bed inside the trailer when we want to bring them with us. The front tires are quick release and the rest of the bikes just lay on the bed. Pretty easy. Been easier with the emergency exit door we installed in the bedroom - just haul in and lay on the bed. Not bad!

rpenczek · 10-15-2016, 05:57 AM

How about fork locks on a short piece of 2x8 and put them in the AS. I have a very good friend that uses a similar system for the back of his pickup and the 2x8 isn't even secured. The bikes stay in place, of course, in the pickup they are positioned fore and aft rather than port/starboard.

Wayne&Sam · 10-15-2016, 07:06 AM

I'm with mefly2. My bikes ride inside. In the tow vehicle they are on fork mounts on a board and I have a fork mount attached to the front of the nightstand between the twin beds in the FC.