Community Forums

MonkeyClaw · 08-08-2014, 07:42 PM

Any thoughts on the strength of the walls and ceiling on the Outlaw garage? I am looking at creating a bike rack or two that locks in the fork (XPORT Universal Bike Mount - Save Up to $100 on Car Racks or maybe Amazon.com : Saris Unique Mount Triple Track Fork Mount Bike Racks for Truck, Vans or Indoor Storage (33 to 35-Inch) : Automotive Bike Racks : Sports & Outdoors) and hangs the bikes and putting it on the wall - similar to what you see in the back of pickups or on top of cars where the front wheel is removed. I'll use a strap to hold the back wheel and bike in place. I have several options to do this:

1) The simplest would be to screw the mounts into the wall.
2) Mount everything on a bigger board and mount that to the wall to distribute the load.
3) Create floor-to-ceiling struts using 2x4's or something, and attach the bike mounts to this. The would cause the least stress on the wall but take up more room overall.

The plan is to put the rack where the washer/drier attachments are. We may do a 3-bike rack there and another 2-bike rack somewhere else.

I will be taking up to 5 bikes when it's just my wife and me, more when my teammates come with me (I do a lot of bike racing). Transporting the bikes outside is not an option. I'm also looking to put a dual-sport motorcycle in the garage (Suzuki DZR400) and a couple of kayaks when traveling (because we like to travel light!). Ideally we could hang the kayaks from the ceiling (bottom of the bunk room) to keep them out of the way. Is the ceiling strong enough? When we need to take more than 6 bikes, we won't be taking the other stuff.

This is on a 2015 Outlaw 37LS. Any other options (except carrying the bikes outside) would be entertained.

BTW, the final configuration would allow for 2 WW kayaks, a Razor S, DZR400 and 4 bikes... Possibly a small washer/dryer combo. I'll be removing the benches from the back for a little more room. Not sure is this ultimate configuration is going to work, but a boy can dream!

Thanks!

Scarab0088 · 08-10-2014, 11:01 AM

Tim,

The mid-wall (front of garage) has a thick solid ply as a core. If you disassemble the washer/dryer hook-up box, you could see it. This would be easy to mount to. But be careful to avoid putting the mount hardware into the shower surround.

I would still mount a board or diamond plate to the wall and mount the bike mount that (maybe mount the bike mount first with nuts and bolts). This will protect the finished wall.

The floor of the loft (low section of garage ceiling) also has a thick core of solid ply. Putting screws into that is possible. I mounted a bar for hanging stuff. See:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f121/outl...ml#post1500700

When "Focker" (Scott) did the same, he discovered a small void between the core and finished ceiling, so I suggest drilling a pilot hole first. See:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f121/outl...ml#post1530456

The exterior walls and exterior roof are different from the low ceiling and mid-wall. The exterior parts are a metal frame mounted within a vacuum bonded laminate of fiberglass, solid foam, and interior of thin ply and finished wall sheet. DO NOT mount directly to these surfaces unless you can find one of the frame rails. A work around is to re-use the bunk mounts (they have backing plates in the wall). You can direct mount to the bunk mount holes or add interior ply or diamond plate.

Best luck

MonkeyClaw · 08-11-2014, 06:47 AM

Thanks Steve, that's the exact info I needed to know! I am sitting in the hotel down the road from MHSRV right now and planning on checking out my new ride in a couple of hours.

Scarab0088 · 08-11-2014, 08:55 AM

Best Luck on the PDI!

halioris · 01-26-2015, 11:46 PM

We just bought a 2015 37LS this weekend and I want to do the same thing. In fact i spoke with a TMC rep telling him my plans for many fork mounts I want on the walls. I asked for schematics of the walls. Just sent that to him in email today before stumbling across this. He said he would get me the info. We will see. Did you ever do anything with your mounts? Would love to see a picture if so. I will be packing 15+ bikes on occasion in the garage so would love to see what others have done.

Scarab0088 · 01-27-2015, 09:37 AM

Halioris,

Outlaw owners congregate here:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f120/i-lo...aw-102560.html
and
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f121/outl...es-149108.html

Hope you share all about your new Outlaw!

Best luck

JeffAZ · 01-27-2015, 12:05 PM

Welcome Halioris, congrats on your purchase. 15 bikes in the OTL garage sounds pretty ambitious, you need to post a photo of that. Here's a packing tip: Pack the first bike you want to use lastly!

halioris · 01-28-2015, 08:20 AM

I will definitely post pics guys. Working with an engineer here at work tossing ideas around. I don't take possession of the RV until next Saturday but my current leading candidate is to see if I can actually stack them 2 high and if so mount rails across the width and attached to the side (but the rail just comes down when not in use). Those rails would hold fork mounts for front and a small resting location for rear wheel (kin of like the wheel tray on the thule racks. Pretty sure I could get 7 across easily doing that and if I can then there would be another 7 below that and that would only be lass than half the garage space. Whatever we decide to do I will probably model in Sketchup first. Brand new to the forum so not sure if it supports posting files but will do so if I can.

MonkeyClaw · 01-28-2015, 12:54 PM

I haven't completed this project yet. I found that I like having my bikes fully assembled while on my travels after purchasing the Outlaw, so I am planning on using these:
Steadyrack Bike Rack - Bicycle Storage & Parking

I bought a couple of them and will be installing them on the front wall next to the W/D hookups. If I like them, I'll get a few more and figure out where to put them.

For your application, I think it would be easiest to create a couple of fork racks on 2x4's mounted on the floor. I assume you aren't planning on putting anything else in the garage? There should be plenty of room to put the bikes across the floor like this in two rows. I wanted to hang the bikes so I could put other things in the garage. Since we're going with motorcycles instead of a Razor, we have more room back there than I originally anticipated so this project has been on the backburner.

I'd love to see the final outcome!

Doggy Daddy · 01-28-2015, 02:15 PM

I would make the bike racks user friendly by designing them so that they are portable allowing them to be anchored/bolted to the floors to the Outlaw garage and also be removable so that they can be used outdoors when parked for lengthy periods of time. This allows the garage to be used as a repair shop, sleeping area, or lounge. Bolting quick release brackets into the aluminum frame on the walls will secure the racks from side and lateral movement.

halioris · 01-29-2015, 04:17 PM

FYI, the Thor guys came through and did supply me with the diagrams for the left and right walls so I know exactly where the studs, etc. are. Unfortunately it doesn't look like you can add attachments here so I can't post. If you have a 2015 Outlaw 37LS like our new one and are interested in them let me know and I can forward along via email.

I also asked for wiring schematics that they do not supply but said my dealer would. I haven't been by to ask the dealer yet so we will see but hopefully I will get those as well as I would be looking at adding some solar down the road (just not in the super near future).

gregark77 · 07-24-2016, 07:56 PM

Hey MonkeyClaw,

I read an old post on you planning to build a bike rack in the back of your Outlaw. I need to figure out a way to mount 7 mountain bikes in the back. Did you end up with a good solution?

Thanks,

Greg

MonkeyClaw · 07-24-2016, 09:56 PM

I'm still evaluating.... I've since added a washer/dryer combo and a bar above it to hang kits and gear. My latest thoughts have been either a whole frame structure for the wall to ensure the proper strength; or (more likely) a floor structure where I can have the bikes alternating forward and backward with either fork mounts or a way to ensure the bikes remain upright with the tires on; or (my latest idea) a simple method to mount the bike upside down or alternating right side up/upside down to squeeze the bikes close together.

If you have other ideas, I'm all ears! I happen to have 3 bikes and a motorcycle with me right now so I'm been looking at things pretty closely. I'm nixing the idea of hanging them from the ceiling because on my rig the fascia is too thin and I don't know enough about what's above it. Also I decided I didn't want to hang them any more.