Carrying bicycles

[Dale70]

I am a road cyclist besides an RVer, and just came back from a three day ride, I average about 100 miles a week.

I have put bikes on/inside cars and RV's for about 10 years.

I would agree that bike racks that support by the wheels are better than those that support by the top tubes.

I either put my bikes (mountain bikes when traveling, road bikes at home) inside my toad or on the back of the toad. I have considered the double hitches that put the bike rack over the rear hitch receiver, and may go that way in the future.

thx -Dale

[king yankee]

I found a bike rack at Walmart that works great. Had a 2 bike rack from harbor freight...nope...went with Walmart and it expands to 4 bikes if needed. Price is $150, very sold, looks great and has a 2" receiver. Please check them out.

[DegoRed]

Have tried 3 different racks, Swagman is best by far. Stay away from racks where the bike hangs. Get a rack that holds the bike from the bottom, like the Swagman.

Good luck!

[RoysRV]

Great thread! What setup would you use when you're towing your toad, and cannot put bikes behind toad, because you have a canoe on the toads roof?

Would it work with this:
https://www.etrailer.com/p-D210.html

And you can mount them behind the RV, but in front of the toad? If so, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[tcg]

Originally Posted by RoysRV

Great thread! What setup would you use when you're towing your toad, and cannot put bikes behind toad, because you have a canoe on the toads roof?

Would it work with this:
https://www.etrailer.com/p-D210.html

And you can mount them behind the RV, but in front of the toad? If so, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Don't know if it's possible on a Class A but on our Class C I had a hitch mounted on the front so I can carry the bikes on the front or rear.

[SpaceNorman]

Good luck with your quest. After screwing around with several approaches over the past year or so - I finally have a solution I like.

My several approaches included putting the bikes inside the toad. Pros: Bikes are well protected. Cons: Fitting both bikes is a PITA, solution doesn't address what to do with the bikes when you get wherever you're going.

Second approach was to put the bikes on a bike rack attached to the hitch receiver on the toad. Pros: It didn't cost me anything out of pocket (I had all the necessary hardware). Cons: Bikes were "exposed" while traveling - if somebody "tapped" them while we were on the road - I wouldn't known about it until well after the incident. (You don't feel that sort of thing sitting 65+ feet in front of the point of impact). Worst of all was the need to be constantly moving things. (when on the road - bikes are on the toad. When "in camp" - bikes "live" on the bike rack - attached to the coach)

What we ended up going with was a "dual receiver extension" - with the tow bars attached to the lower receiver and the bike rack (Thule Vertex 4 bike model) in the upper receiver. I feel this gives me the best of all worlds. Bikes can stay (securely locked) on the coach when traveling and/or not in use. Toad can hooked / unhooked completely independent from the bikes. The only downside is that the bikes are exposed to the elements.

Note that going this route requires that you examine your specific setup carefully! In my case - I ended up replacing my original bike rack with the Thule Vertex model because my old rack extended too far out from the hitch receiver and under the right circumstances would have interfered with the free movement of the tow bars. You also have to carefully evaluate the clearance between your bikes and the front of your tow vehicle. Although our Thule is a 4 bike unit - I can only fit 2 bikes (with their wheels attached) and have them clear the front of my toad when the coach makes a sharp turn. I can fit a 3rd bike - however I have to remove the wheels - otherwise the 3rd bike makes contact with the Jeep when the coach makes a sharp turn. You'll have to examine your situation (how your bikes "ride" on the rack, the specifics of your tow bars, and the height/width of the front end of your toad) to confirm just how well it all fits.

[MN_Traveler]

After many different attempts, I just have my bikes on top of the toad (roof mount). I figure once I get where I am going I need to take the bikes to a trailhead anyway .. so they are already on the road and ready to go!

[GREGORYJ]

We have a double 2" receiver and Curt 18480 bike rack and it's worked well for 5 years now.

[ukpajf]

I use the receiver tray type for two single bikes but I am really stumped as to how to mount our tandem. I tried putting one wheel on the tray and the other lifted up to the ladder but that just doesn't work for me. I need another ladder just to get the bike up to that point. Sitting across the back is too wide.
I also don't want to block out the brake lights and that happens if I put a cover on the tandem.

[bruce91]

For 5 years we have used the swagman 3 bike carrier and love it. When we only take 2 bikes which is most of the time it is nice to mount the bikes furhter away from the coach. When we are not traveling with bikes or when it goes into storage the rack is easily removed by pulling one pin (i have a locking pin) and stored in the garage at home.

Most trips we have or Burley tandem, my mountain bike and DW's MTB.

It's a plus to have them on the coach to be able to do trips with the toad to investigate surrounding areas we stop at for a day or two during our trip.

If i had to do it again i would buy again.

Swagman Bike Racks - Towing 3-Bike Rack - Swagman 64601 - Bike Racks - Camping World
.
.

[Ludmilla]

I use a rack where the bikes sit on their tires mounted in a receiver I had installed in the FRONT of the coach. I could not put a receiver on the toad and we were not sure what to do. With a rear radiator, we did not want them in the heat right behind the radiator. We had a welder put a receiver on the front of the RV. It works very well. We have traveled many miles with the bikes up there. When we get somewhere, it is also a good place to put and lock the bikes.

[Wdeertz]

Have the Thule T2 Classic bike rack https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 , works very well. Previously had the type of rack that the frames hung from and no matter what you did it scratched the paint on the frame. With this Thule rack the bikes sit on the tires and are very secure. Another bonus this rack car ced to hold 4 bikes. Rack is a little expensive but is well made and am glad I purchased.

[Cat320]

Three ways:


- On the hitch between the toad an MH.
- On a hitch on the rear of the toad.
- If the bike folds, in the rear of the toad.

[Norcolmille]

Originally Posted by GREGORYJ

We have a double 2" receiver and Curt 18480 bike rack and it's worked well for 5 years now.

I like that option- very well done