Bike Carrier

[cjholloway]

I need a way to attach a bike carrier to my A/S. Any ideas? My current carrier fits into the 2" receiver.

[trumpwer]

Check the thread called "what kind of bumper carrier is that ?" Hope it helps

[kamadeca]

Don't know how many bicycles you want to carry, but on my new 25 SS, Can-Am RV (London, ON) added a nifty 2 bike fold down bike rack at the rear.

The uprights rest on the back bumper and are attached to the back of the trailer with Zip-Dee awning parts. The whole rack can be swung out of the way, complete with bicycles, to get to the storage compartments.

Once I figure out how to use my son's digital camera I will take some pictures and post them here.

[femuse]

Does it look like this one ? or did Airstream decide to cheapen it - like a lot of things they did in recent years ?

Now that I re-read your description, I think you have a different model: this one attaches only to the bumper. I guess they did not want to attach it to the trailer itself.

I suppose too, that the current model may be more affordably priced that the old one.

[cjholloway]

Femuse- how are your brackets attached? Does the existing bumper have enough strength to support the weight of the rack and the bikes? I have installed a 2" receiver tube into the frame of another camper I owned and it worked great. However, I am not sure about doing that to the A/S....

Kamadeca-I would love to see pictures of your setup.

[femuse]

First: check your PMs. (we have a lot of pictures available)

The bulk of the weight is supported by the frame, as seen in latest picture.

We never used it ourselves, we removed right after buying the trailer.

We had been asking some info about it, and here is the answer we received from "gunner":

"I purchased one of these bike racks from Airstream approximately 20 years ago for my 1966 airstream trailer. It bolted to the outside of the frame extensions and laid on top of the bumper. The one nice thing about this bike rack is that it swung out of the way when you needed to get to the back storage/plumbing door of the trailer and the bumper storage area. I believe I paid approximately $120.00 for it back then.
Gunter K. "

you may want to PM "Gunner"and ask him how many bikes he used it for (it looks like it's made for at least 2 bikes, with a lot of adjustability)

[Inland RV Center, In]

Bike racks on the trailer bumper are not recommended.

It's the old story of "moment arm."

Measure the distance from the bumper to the rear wheel.

As an example, on a typical 31 foot trailer, the distance from the center of the rear wheel to the bumper is about 12 feet.

Therefore one pound of weight on the rear bumper is 12 pounds moment arm. Simply stated, if you mount a bike rack and have two bikes on it, you probably have a total weight of perhaps 100 pounds. When the moment arm is tossed in to play, that 100 pounds becomes 1200 pounds, on the frame.

Additionally, when hitting a good bump, that weight multiplies 4 to 5 times.

Having unbalanced running gear, adds to the problem as well.

Asking for rear end separation??

You bet.

Moment arm is a very common term with aircraft. Ask "any" pilot, of a commercial jet to a single engine aircraft. To ignore it, is asking for disaster with any airplane, and costly to repair in any brand travel trailer.

And finally, the load placed on the rear bumper also has a negative effect on the tongue weight. How much, depends on the bumper weight.

The best (or worst one) I ever saw, was a tongue jack mounted on the center of the rear bumper!!

WHY????

The guy put a household washer and drier on a bumper extension, on an Airstream trailer. He couldn't understand why the tongue weight was NEGATIVE.

TRUE STORY.

And, very expensive to repair the resultant damage.

Andy
inlandrv.com

[femuse]

And I would point out that I did not advocate using a carrier: what kind of bumper carrier is that ?

[cjholloway]

Andy,

Do you have a good solution for bike carriers for Airstreams? Have you installed anything on the forward ends? I just do not want to put the bikes in the trailer.

[Rickk48]

I carry my bikes on a Thule rack on top of my Rover, the rack will carry at least 4 bikes, if you want. That way, I can also transport them even when the Bambi is not going along.

[cjholloway]

The Excursion is too high for me to comfortable toss up and load bikes on the roof rack. I do, however, carry a canoe using the two pole system from Yakima.

[trumpwer]

We put a carrier on the front of our tow vehicle

[Orland Dewey]

Forums Team,

You say I have an answer in my E-mail. I cannot
figure out how to get to that answer. Tried everything I can think of. Its under General
repair #4651= New post. Trumpower

Please forward instructions! Sorry I am just not that good at this computer stuff yet.

Thanks Mixednuts@torchlake,com
Orland Dewey

[diggerdude]

Mornin' Andy,
I have read a lot about not putting a bike rack on, and didnt because of what you said. But I have a question or 2.
I have a 2008 safari 20' ( and 2 old "72 & "77). The 2008 has brackets on the frame to put a hitch carrier. I wanted to put a 1 bike carrier on but.... Is this not for old trailers or all trailers? Is that still too much weight? Thankyou.
don

[Jack46]

Try this one: WELCOME to Top Pop Rails Website !

Mounts on the front of the AS over the tanks. A bit expensive - about $450.00 and you have to remove the top of the carrier (easy to do) to be able to open the window. But, all in all, the best solution I found. Have known folks who have had serious issues with mounting at the rear bumper.

Jack

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by diggerdude

Mornin' Andy,
I have read a lot about not putting a bike rack on, and didnt because of what you said. But I have a question or 2.
I have a 2008 safari 20' ( and 2 old "72 & "77). The 2008 has brackets on the frame to put a hitch carrier. I wanted to put a 1 bike carrier on but.... Is this not for old trailers or all trailers? Is that still too much weight? Thankyou.
don

Anything mounted on the rear, will have a negative effect on the structure.

Remember, the shell holds the frame up. Any additional weight will encourage the frame to pull away from the shell.

If the frame held the shell up, then that would be an entirely different story.

Yes, yes, I am well aware that some do it anyway.

They will learn, the hard way, when they get the bill to put the rear end back into it's original condition.

Then there is the "moment arm."

Non-believers, still cannot change the laws of Physics, but they keep on trying, in spite of themselves.

Andy



Andy

[filterman]

now to just find a way to mount one. just kidding. I meant axle