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Old 02-15-2007, 05:54 AM   #1
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precorguy
Bike rack on Hitch? has anyone done it?

hi all --- have been reading the forums - some excellent ideas here!

we would like to travel with our bikes - and usually just lay them in the truck bed locked to one of the hooks in the bed --- but i would like to carry them on a rack on the trailer.

i have read about putting the bikes on the bumper and it not being suggested - my question is --- has anyone put a bike rack on the tongue of the trailer - around the same place as the battery and tanks.

we have a t-2553 so there is also a window there with a stone cover - so don't think it should be much of a problem.

any ideas? oh, i should add that there will be two 12V batteries there as well.

any help you can provide is greatly appreciated.
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Old 02-15-2007, 01:03 PM   #2
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emam
I've been trying to find the best place to put a bike rack and was thinking of this option also. I just got back from the local RV center and they have one that is designed to mount on the back bumper, and I was thinking if I just added some length to the support arms, that it would raise it above the propane tanks and high enough to be out of the way.

The only other option is to put them on the roof and this just seems like an accident waiting to happen.

I've also noticed a few campers have mounted their bike racks to the front of the tow vehicle but I dont really like the way this looks and our little fun train is already getting quite long. We have our motorcycle mounted to the rear of the Sunline on a custom made hitch mount, so the bikes going back there is out of the question.

Oh the problems we get ourselves into having to bring all these toys with us on our travels.
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Old 02-15-2007, 03:30 PM   #3
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mbart5fan
I have a bike carrier similar to this. http://www.sportomotoring.com/Result...04676513339079 I used the bumper mount hole on the tow vehicle and a 3/4" bolt and locknut. This leaves the receiver free and you can carry the bikes wherever you go. The carrier arm can be removed on mine leaving the mount still attached to the bumper. The only drawback is that the bikes hang close to the a-frame jack so I would remove them before backing into a site.

Mike
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Old 02-16-2007, 08:52 PM   #4
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Just got back from Camping World and they have a few different bike racks to choose from that will let you hang the bikes from the ladder.

There is one that will hold the bike by the top cross bar of the bike and another one that allows you to hang the bike vertically from the wheel. I think both of these are a better bet than relying on that flimsy rear bumper as the ladder is made to support a few hundred LBS.

They also have a few different models that are made to slide into a receiver hitch. I know Sunline's dont come with these standard, but we had one custom installed on our coach and it has come in quite handy for adding usuable space. Something you might want to consider.

I was doing some searching and found this site, the thing looks very cool, but it's a bit pricy???

http://www.toppoprails.com/trailer.htm

Depending on how handy you are with a welder, you might be able to fab one up yourself.
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Old 02-17-2007, 09:03 AM   #5
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Let me see if I can help.

Rather than retyping this all over again see this link http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fu...3.cfm#19029323

That will pop you into RV net where I posted this. And thre are 2 othere lnks there thatr will take you to a lot of research and pictures for both rear bike racks and front.

I attempted the back of the TT and had a very negative experience. And if you read the fine print a lot of bike racks state to not use on the back of campers. They structurally are not made to take the heavy banging that goes on. The back of a camper is different then in the back of a car or truck reciever that has schock and nice cushy suspension.

Especially the ones that hang from the top support bar on the bike. Those create a massive almost 6 foot lever that from the bouncing, can break the rack.

The racks that support by the tires are better as this long lever effect does not exist.

I ended up going the front of the Suburban route which I had to make a special rack type get the head lights to work properly.

If I was to do this over again, I would go the Top rails on the TT tongue route that EMAN linked you to. While pricey, they almost equal what I paid in front reciever, different bike rack and the mods I had to do.

In my case I would have made a Top rails concept as I have the shop at home. The Top rail ones pivot up to get to the propane tanks.

Good luck

John
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