Hauling bike options.

[Heff]

Hello all,
We recently purchased our first pup a 2006 palomino yearling and we are thrilled with it.
I have been looking for the best way to get our bikes to come camping with us, we pull this pup with a Trailblazer ext. I've looked at several different bike racks but none seem to fit the bill. I was thinking of getting a cargo carrier for the back of the pup but am afraid that the extra weight will change my tongue weight plus the back bumper on the pup is just a "C" channel. I then looked into something for the roof of the pup, we don't have an A/C unit on the top and i've found that the rooftop weight capacity is roughly 300lbs. I was hoping someone has had this same problem and have found a way to mount the bikes on the roof for travel. Thanks in advance for the help.

The Heffingers
Moscow,Pa.

[flyfisherman]

I have a Top Line bike rack that is mounted at the back of my Starcraft. this particular rack is only for two bikes and it mounts directly to the main frame rails. It's been in service since '02 and we've been down a lot of road together

For openers, it is an expensive rack for only two bikes. And it is VERY necessary to counter the weight of the two bikes (plus the weight of the rack it'self), otherwise it could cause some serious sway tooling down the road. As already said, the rack needs to be attached to the main frame as the rear bumper is simply not strong enough (same for the spare tire mounts).

At the time I had a different tow vehicle and having a hitch mounted bike rack was not too pracitical. It was either going the PU rear mounted rack like I ended up with (carry a canoe on the roof of the popup) or going with a tow vehicle front mounting system which would actually carry more bikes and cost almost half.

Should add that some popups do not lend themselves to this idea at all. My first one was a Coleman/Fleetwood that was a nightmare for sway if  cargo was not loaded just right. No way would I have even considered such a bike rack. But the present little Starcraft has some good road manners and based on a couple of examples I decided to go for it. One was a member of this board at the time and the other was a Top Line rack I saw in a C/G mounted on the back of a Jayco and had the op$portunity to look it over real good, plus ask a lot of questions.

Bottom line: (1) What-ever weight you stick on the rear must be compensated for up front (2) the rack must be mounted to the main frame (3) what's it gonna cost?  ... and remember, some PU's simply do not lend themselves to this kind of an arrangement for hauling bikes.

Let me ask ... have you looked into front mounting on your tow vehicle?



Fly

[cojake]

I have a 2007 Rockwood and cringed at the idea of drilling holes in my roof to mount a permanent bike rack.  I ended up ordering a removable roof rack made by sixnall that will hold 4 bikes.  If you click on the link to Arveeclub merchandise it will take you to puxtradingpost and they sell them on there.  It was a minor pain to assemble (about 90 minutes)  but it works quite well.   the best part is I do not always have to use it and no holes in my new trailer roof.    Jake :!

[Heff]

Thanks Fly & Jake for the responses.

I think the rear mount on the pup would be out of the question because I need to haul 4 bikes.
The front mounted Bike rack is an option I have not explored but will check that out.

I to cringe at the idea of drilling into the roof, I did see that temporary mount system by sixnall but thought that it looked kind of flimsy, but it seems that Jake you are happy with that setup?

Is there a roof mounting canoe type rack system that clamps on instead of drilling & bolting?

[motoboss2002]

We have two Yakima crossbars with a cargo basket and two bike rack mounts on our 2005 Fleetwood Bayside. The crossbars lock into the stock roof channels. It is kind of expensive but it behaves well. We found it to be the only viable option. I found that mounting bikes on the back was not the safest thing to do and the tongue simply has not enough room. Good luck to you.

-Christian.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2005 Fleetwood Bayside
Toyota Tacoma 3.4l V6 XtraCab Prerunner TRD

[motx72]

We were in the same boat.  And we didn't like the idea of having to remove tires, drill into the popup, etc, and we didn't want to spend a lot either.  We also wanted a way to transport our bikes for those times when we were not pulling the popup, and just going somewhere nearby to ride.

Our fist step was to buy a Dual Hitch Extension at Northern Tool (http://family.webshots.com/photo/2442803870056252973akbyxb?vhost=family).  I then did quite a bit of research on hitch bike racks, and I bought a rack by Allen Sports off eBay (Allen Model 540RR)(http://family.webshots.com/photo/2331253260056252973PSccjp?vhost=family). We spent $50 on the first hitch, and got the bike rack for just $89.

You can find a pic of our set up at http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2085722110056252973xgfrpn?vhost=good-times.    (The rack actually reclines, so that it's easy to get in & out of our Durango.  It is not reclined in this picture.)

It's not the rack-on-popup setup that everyone else is doing.  But it works really well for us!  Good luck with your search.

=motx72

[Eric Sass]

I've been thinking of buy one of these racks:

http://www.etrailer.com/pc-BRT~V91150.htm

[ronerjones]

I reciently went through the exact issue that you are facing. I looked at several bike racks and ended up with the one from sixnall.

Here are a few issue to consider:
1) how many bikes do you want to carry. If you only need 2 bikes there are a lot mero options available. I need to cary 4 and that limitted my options right there.
2) how do you feel about drilling holes in the roof of your camper
3) most racks you need to remove the front wheel. this adds time and effort and you also need to have a place to store the front wheels.
4) price

The Sixnall is a well made product. I have used it only 3 times but have not had any problems with it. Best yet the price is very reasonable. Good luck with your quest.

[sacrawf]

There are a lot of good reasons to add a Yakima (//www.yakima.com or 888-925-4621) roof rack to your tow vehicle instead of to the popup:

1. You can transport bikes to other sites without being hitched up to the camper, enabling you to take the bikes to local parks when you are not camping, take them to the shop for service, etc.

2. You don't have to unload the bikes to quickly pop up the camper, saving time when weather is threatening.

3. The bicycle roof rack components are can be moved from vehicle to vehicle as you trade by just perhaps just having to buy a different set of mounts.

4. The roof rack also allows you to consider the cargo box, kayak mount, or to carry the occasional extension ladder or roll of carpeting, giving flexibility that the popup mounted  bike carrier doesn't provide.

5. Available built-in locks that are keyed alike, and mounts options for different types of bikes, accomodating everything from bmx to recumbents.

I use both the hitch mount bike carrier from Yakima when not towing, and a roof rack when towing, and both when I am transporting a lot of bicycles for friends. I have been very pleased with their quality.

Hello all,
We recently purchased our first pup a 2006 palomino yearling and we are thrilled with it.
I have been looking for the best way to get our bikes to come camping with us, we pull this pup with a Trailblazer ext. I've looked at several different bike racks but none seem to fit the bill. I was thinking of getting a cargo carrier for the back of the pup but am afraid that the extra weight will change my tongue weight plus the back bumper on the pup is just a "C" channel. I then looked into something for the roof of the pup, we don't have an A/C unit on the top and i've found that the rooftop weight capacity is roughly 300lbs. I was hoping someone has had this same problem and have found a way to mount the bikes on the roof for travel. Thanks in advance for the help.

The Heffingers
Moscow,Pa.

[Bowfin]

I've got a  hitch'n haul I use on the rear of my Coleman Taos and it does have some wiggle when i get above 65. I only haul 2 1/2 bikes, so about 150 lbs at the most.

I like the solution from e-trailer above and may go that route myself later. Right now I'm just getting into PUPing, so I'm using what I've already got, and my camper came with a 2" receiver welded on.

There is also a rack that mounts to the PUP tongue that the forks clamp to and the bikes sit on the PUP roof. It should hold 4 bikes. It's a nice, but pricey solution.

[Recumbentman]

Thanks Fly & Jake for the responses.

Is there a roof mounting canoe type rack system that clamps on instead of drilling & bolting?

Here's one for you roof mount, go up one page and you will see they also have the type that bolts to your tongue area.

Good Luck  :U

[spicetrader]

DH built one so that we'd avoid holes in the roof.
Very simple and it's bumper attached to our little Taos and it comes off when we get to the site.  Mounted to the back it helps keep our overall profile still low.

[Bowfin]

DH built one so that we'd avoid holes in the roof.
Very simple and it's bumper attached to our little Taos and it comes off when we get to the site.  Mounted to the back it helps keep our overall profile still low.

Got any pics? I'd like to see what he did.

Here are a few listed on PUX : http://puxtradi.web.aplus.net/index.php?cPath=53&osCsid=03cb3643d19bbfbf96b04dfb137a4a74

[Heff]

I've been thinking of buy one of these racks:

http://www.etrailer.com/pc-BRT~V91150.htm

Do they make this style in a 4 bike?

[cojake]

Thanks Fly & Jake for the responses.

I think the rear mount on the pup would be out of the question because I need to haul 4 bikes.
The front mounted Bike rack is an option I have not explored but will check that out.

I to cringe at the idea of drilling into the roof, I did see that temporary mount system by sixnall but thought that it looked kind of flimsy, but it seems that Jake you are happy with that setup?

Is there a roof mounting canoe type rack system that clamps on instead of drilling & bolting?

Heff, the sixnall seemed kinda "Mickey Mouse"  when I started assembling it, however I am happy with it.  The straps cinch down nice and tight. It comes with arms that will attach two adult and two kids bikes.  When I hit a bump the bikes flex a little in the mount, but it is no big deal.  

I saw some guy with a canoe on top of his pup this summer at state park.  it was sitting on two foam rubber canoe blocks at each end with cinch straps securing it to the front and back of the frame.  It looked like it worked pretty slick.

Jake