Hauling bikes on pop-up

[TNBOYS]

We have a Jayco Pop-up that we pull with a receiver hitch to our Town & Country Van.  How can we haul a few bikes?  Is it possible to put them on the pop-up?

[OC Campers]

I have a pretty simple roof system. I had my dealer mount two Yakima cross bars on the roof.They were simple enough, I just didn't want to drill holes in my ABS roof so I let him do it.
 
After that I bought non Yakima bike sleds off the internet fro $39.00 each. They are not as good as Yakima but they have locks and the Yakima ones were more than twice the money. Later I added a basket as well, a friend just gave that to me.
 
The whole thing cost me about $250.00 for the cross bars and about $180.00 for the sleds  ( the rails the bikes sit on )
 
I have also seen some real slick bike racks that fit oon the receiver between the trailer and tow vehicle. If I did it over again, I would probably do one of those.
 
Randy

[MomboTN]

Like OC Campers I also did not want to drill holes in the top of my camper.  I thought about mounting a hitch rack on the bumber of the camper.  I decided against this as it would scrape on the ground as it drove off of steeper hills like out of driveways and gas stations.  I settled on a bike rack that hangs on the back of my expedition between the car and the camper.  I can only haul 3 or 4 bikes with this set up.  I also have to load the bikes after I have hooked up the camper and unload before I can unhook the camper.  I also have to load the smaller bikes to the back to allow clearence over the battery when I make sharp turns.  This may not be the best but it works for me.  I think it should be pretty simple to design a better system but don't have the metal bending tools or the time.

[paulski617]

How many bikes and what size?  Also, how many people do you carry?  We have only taken 1 trip so far, but what we did was took out the middle seat.  This gave us plenty of room for any cargo that we needed to carry for 5 people, plus what we were able to put in the pup.  We then took the front tires off of the kids mountain bikes and were able to fit both of them in the area behind the third seat.  I think that we may have been able to fit a third bike, had it been necessary.  Just a thought.  Oh, by the way, we also tow with a van, a Windstar.

[fritz_monroe]

Take a look over at the PUX Trading Post for some ideas.  They have several different styles available.  I really like that Sixnall style.

You can also build your own that's like those Pro Rac style rack.  Do a Google search on YAHBR (yet another homemade bike rack) and you'll find some examples.  These are basically some angle iron, bolts and fork attachments.  There's a good example on this page.

[TNBOYS]

How many bikes and what size?  Also, how many people do you carry?  We have only taken 1 trip so far, but what we did was took out the middle seat.  This gave us plenty of room for any cargo that we needed to carry for 5 people, plus what we were able to put in the pup.  We then took the front tires off of the kids mountain bikes and were able to fit both of them in the area behind the third seat.  I think that we may have been able to fit a third bike, had it been necessary.  Just a thought.  Oh, by the way, we also tow with a van, a Windstar.

Thanks.  We also have 5 people in our family.  I'm not sure it would be worth taking out the middle seat as we like the kids separated - less drama in the van - don't want anyone touching each other. Ha.  Thanks for the idea.

[TNBOYS]

I have a pretty simple roof system. I had my dealer mount two Yakima cross bars on the roof.They were simple enough, I just didn't want to drill holes in my ABS roof so I let him do it.
 
After that I bought non Yakima bike sleds off the internet fro $39.00 each. They are not as good as Yakima but they have locks and the Yakima ones were more than twice the money. Later I added a basket as well, a friend just gave that to me.
 
The whole thing cost me about $250.00 for the cross bars and about $180.00 for the sleds  ( the rails the bikes sit on )
 
I have also seen some real slick bike racks that fit oon the receiver between the trailer and tow vehicle. If I did it over again, I would probably do one of those.
 
Randy

Thanks. I'll look into the receiver idea.

[TNBOYS]

Take a look over at the PUX Trading Post for some ideas.  They have several different styles available.  I really like that Sixnall style.

You can also build your own that's like those Pro Rac style rack.  Do a Google search on YAHBR (yet another homemade bike rack) and you'll find some examples.  These are basically some angle iron, bolts and fork attachments.  There's a good example on this page.

Thanks so much - didn't know such a thing existed.  Our dealer hasn't been much help.  Thanks for the website - really appreciate it.

[TNBOYS]

Like OC Campers I also did not want to drill holes in the top of my camper.  I thought about mounting a hitch rack on the bumber of the camper.  I decided against this as it would scrape on the ground as it drove off of steeper hills like out of driveways and gas stations.  I settled on a bike rack that hangs on the back of my expedition between the car and the camper.  I can only haul 3 or 4 bikes with this set up.  I also have to load the bikes after I have hooked up the camper and unload before I can unhook the camper.  I also have to load the smaller bikes to the back to allow clearence over the battery when I make sharp turns.  This may not be the best but it works for me.  I think it should be pretty simple to design a better system but don't have the metal bending tools or the time.

Thanks.

[fritz_monroe]

I settled on a bike rack that hangs on the back of my expedition between the car and the camper.

I think that he's talking about a dual hitch adapter.  If you go this route, look into the issues with this setup.  There's more tongue weight.  I also remember something about putting the pivot point of the trailer farther from the axle causing some kind of problem, but don't remember what.

[TNBOYS]

I think that he's talking about a dual hitch adapter.  If you go this route, look into the issues with this setup.  There's more tongue weight.  I also remember something about putting the pivot point of the trailer farther from the axle causing some kind of problem, but don't remember what.

Thanks - this has all been great advice - good things to consider and think about.

[MomboTN]

I think that he's talking about a dual hitch adapter.  If you go this route, look into the issues with this setup.  There's more tongue weight.  I also remember something about putting the pivot point of the trailer farther from the axle causing some kind of problem, but don't remember what.

No it hangs on the tow vehichle.  Does not touch the camper or the hitch.