Bike Carriers

[Richard Abee]

Hello All.

I am looking for a good way to carry my family's bikes while towing my '98 Skamper popup. I found this 4 bike carrier that extends the hitch at Camping World - http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...7&skunum=25897 . What does everyone think about it?

If everyone is in agreement that it isn't safe or may cause too much sway then I could go with a roof mounted model, but haven't found one that I like. Any suggestions or feedback is welcome.

Have Fun

[Richard Abee]

Hello All.

I am looking for a good way to carry my family's bikes while towing my '98 Skamper popup. I found this 4 bike carrier that extends the hitch at Camping World - http://www.campingworld.com/browse/s...7&skunum=25897 . What does everyone think about it?

If everyone is in agreement that it isn't safe or may cause too much sway then I could go with a roof mounted model, but haven't found one that I like. Any suggestions or feedback is welcome.

Have Fun

[George Miklas]

Richard,

We used to tow a TT with a full-size van. I used Thule bike racks on the roof of the van.

When we moved into a MH, we towed a minivan. I used the same Thule bike racks on the roof of the minivan.

My vote for you is to check into Thule or Yakima roof mount systems for your tow vehicle.

George

[Kablewizard]

Richard, I have to agree with George. We have enough weight on the camper and carry the extras on the roof of the Trailblazer in a Yakima rack We can put the rails on it when we take the bikes and not the canoe.

[Trailblazer]

We looked at several different ways to carry our bikes and ended up going with roof racks mounted on the popup. Although others have used the setup you are looking at without problems, you need to be concerned with he following:

- Possible additional sway when towing
- Additional weight on the hitch resulting in the rear of your TV sagging
- You will need to add longer safety chains to your trailer
- You generally loose the ability to access the back of your TV when the bikes are loaded.

However with the bike racks on the roof of the TV you need to be concerned with the following:

- making sure the mounts are caulked well as you don't want the roof to leak where the mounting screws connect into the roof
- once set up you don't have use of the bike racks to transport the bikes to another location.

Only you can decide what is the best solution for you. You need to look at the Pros and cons of both set ups.

[Rick A]

The hitch mounted rack that extends the hitch is a bad idea. They are not designed or rated to carry much hitch weight. When I had a pop-up, I used a roof top carrier on the roof of the pop-up. The only brawback is you can not open the pop-up with the bikes loaded. I now have a roof mounted Yakima rack system on my truck. I can carry 4 bikes, and it allows me to take the bikes with me once I have set up camp. The Yakima and Thule rack systems use clamps to attach to the tow vehicle, so there are no holes in the roof of the tow vehicle to worry about leaking. Both systems are excellent, so it would only be a matter of preference and which is more readily available.

[Kablewizard]

Like stated above, the Yakima uses your existing roof rack rails or a gutter mount if you don't have a rack. no holes anywhere.

[conductor]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rick A:
The hitch mounted rack that extends the hitch is a bad idea. They are not designed or rated to carry much hitch weight.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Some racks that extend the hitch are not designed well. I have a JustRite 4 bike unit that I bought for use with our Sun Valley Popup, and now use with my Rockwood 21 ft TT. It is much more robust than the unit pictured in the Camping World Link.

It is rated for 600 pounds tongue weight and 6,000 pound trailer. This thing is heavy duty. (I use it for extra wintertime weight in the bed of the Dakota!) Folow the link to:

http://www.bikerackking.com/infotowrac.htm

and look at the BR4-EXTP2. Th

There are also photos on my Webshots page.

While I could use it to haul my popup without a WDH, I found the Reese Mini 350 worked wonders with it. I definitely need the WDH that came with my TT, but it tows well.