Carrying Bikes

[DF5.4]

Now that my son is riding his bike we will be needing to take the everyone's bikes when we go camping. I need to carry 4 bikes. They are all different types. Brian's is a small bike. Hannah's is a girl's mountain bike. Renee's is a hybrid and mine is a full suspension mountain bike. I do not want to carry them on the rear bumper of the travel trailer. I can't carry them in the bed of the truck. When we go camping I take firewood and there is a cage for the dog plus whatever other gear we take. Any suggestions?

[kanyonkitty]

Maybe:
A) front mounted receiver for a bike rack
B) collapsable dog crate to free up truck bed space
C) some type of rack on truck bed for the bikes

But, do watch your weights and balance

Kitty

[DF5.4]

The cage for the dog is collapsable. He rides back there when we travel. He's too big to ride in the truck with us for any long distance. I have a cap in the truck. I'm thinking about looking into a Thule or Yakama setup to carry them on the truck. Does anyone make a front receiver for a 99-03 2wd F-150?

[Steve Collins]

Originally Posted by DF4.6

The cage for the dog is collapsable. He rides back there when we travel. He's too big to ride in the truck with us for any long distance. I have a cap in the truck. I'm thinking about looking into a Thule or Yakama setup to carry them on the truck. Does anyone make a front receiver for a 99-03 2wd F-150?

http://reeseprod.com/fitguides/fmrse...eside&x=33&y=5

http://www.reeseprod.com >Product Selectors > Front Mount Rec. Selectors and fill in your vehicle info.

Your Reese part number is 65025 and uses all existing holes (no drilling required.) Doesn't say one way or the other if there is any cutting required - sometimes you have to cut away a small area of plastic air dam to install front mounted hitches. Should be easy to install yourself.

I have also seen a Yakama bike carrier system that installs on top of a full-sized pickup cap - probably not inexpensive, but worth consideration.

[mbart5fan]

I use a Yakima roof rack on my truck and carry 2 bikes on Yakima Raptor bike carriers. (see signature picture) On a 3/4 ton 4wd truck a 4' ladder is necessary to reach items on the roof rack. In the past I used a bumper mount carrier like this-

I used it to carry the grandchildren's bikes but they would hit the propane tank cover when going around sharp corners. Remove them before backing into the site to avoid any problems.
Toppop Rails makes a unique carrier also. It's mounted on the trailer A-frame and is adaptable to the truck receiver when not towing. http://www.toppoprails.com/

Mike

[donreitz]

For years we carried three bikes on a Yakima roof rack on our Tahoe. You probably could get four on top with sufficiently wide mounting bars and alternating front to back mounts. We used the clamping arrangement that resembled a vice-grip grabbing the bike's downtube rather than the kind attaching to the front fork. We found this convenient since we didn't have to mess with removing and then storing the front wheels. The selling point of the system for us was that the bikes were all completely out of the way when traveling. The downside was having to maneuver unwieldy bikes on top of a tall vehicle. When putting bikes on the rack or taking them off, I'd stand on a stepladder while my son kept hold of me from behind so I wouldn't fall off and break my neck.
Don

[Mooney]

Front mount receiver is the way to go.

I used a Hidden Hitch brand one that came from JC Whitney, works like a charm.

The only issue is that the front lights are a LITTLE blocked by the bikes, but they shine through well- just a little glare back at you at night.

I think it shows on the photo in my sig.

Took 45 mins. to install in the drive, my original tow hooks were well rusted on. Mounted between the frame and the tow hooks, necessitated removal of the front lower air dam (didn't like it anyway); kept the hooks too.

Another nice feature of the front hitch is if it's too tight to back in, you can push in a trailer too- you can also get a service step to make it easy to get at the depths of the engine compartment.

[DF5.4]

I think I'm going to go with the front hitch and carrier.

[partimcmpr]

Originally Posted by DF4.6

I think I'm going to go with the front hitch and carrier.

I am considering the same. Please let me know how yours works out. If I make the move soon I will let you know as well.

Thanks!

[DF5.4]

I just ordered the Hidden Hitch front reciever and license plate bracket. I'll mount it up when it comes in and I'll let you know how it turns out. Now I just need to find a carrier. I've been looking at the flat type carriers as opposed to the ones that hang the bikes from the top bar. The 4 bike carriers look huge. Anyone carrying 4 bike on the front of the TV?

[Mooney]

Yep, that's what ours is. Only sticks out about 2 feet or so- do yourself a favor, get a good quality brand like THULE.

It'll cost more, but it comes with a screw-in bolt that takes the place of a traditional hitch pin, this keeps it a lot more secure and less prone to wobble.

[JohnB]

I have carried 2 bikes on the front of a 2003, K2500 Suburban.

Heads up, I had to fiddle with the bike rack to get the head lights to shine over the bike tires.

The bikes will add more tranny heat, about 2 to 3 degrees pan temp with 2 bikes on my setup. I had both a TC output line gage and a oil pan gage. In my case I would not want to carry more then 2 bikes due to the heat issue with the transmission. A buddy on his 2500 Burb was sweating bullets all the way home from GA to Ohio one summer as the 4 bikes blocked off too much cooling on his 8.1 V8 Burb.

Most 3/4 ton trucks have an actual tranny temp gage. Most 1/2 ton truck only have the warning it's too hot light. Do not know what you have, but heads up in the 2500 Suburban series, 2 is about all you want to haul up front.

See this post for more details complete with pic's and how I did the bike rack and where I bought it and the issue to overcome. I never did make it to adding the turn lights on the front, traded TV first. Now I will mount on front of TT tongue this summer.

Bike rack on front of 2500 Suburban

Hope this helps

John

[Gimmie66]

Another option: we use old sleeping bags and drape over our bikes which we load down the center aisle of the camper.
In our T2553 we carry four , two adult and two child bikes.

[wagonman76]

Originally Posted by Gimmie66

Another option: we use old sleeping bags and drape over our bikes which we load down the center aisle of the camper.
In our T2553 we carry four , two adult and two child bikes.

Thats what we do, carry the bikes right in the middle of the trailer. Use old blankets to keep them from rattling around. For me it makes the most sense. Cheapest way. Best prevents theft. Best prevents damage.