Bike transport with tailgate down

[Gooseberry]

I have an older Feet that is 8 feet. I rebuilt the camper and it’s exactly what I want. The extra space inside is worth its weight in gold. Unfortunately, it means having the tailgate down on my GMC Canyon. In itself I haven’t found this to be a problem, but I love to mountain bike and I have tried to figure out a good way to haul two bikes. So far I have tried putting the bikes in the cab, extending the rear hitch for a bike rack, and putting the bikes in the camper. None are great. I don’t want to put the bikes on the roof rack, but I suppose that is an option. A rack on the front seems like it’s also not ideal, but I’m happy to learn otherwise. I live in Utah so the rig spends a fair amount of time off road. Nothing really serious, but the desert has its challenges. I don’t revel in wheeling as it’s known around here. Has anybody tried anything innovative? Any wisdom from the members? Thanks.

 

[57Pan]

I have seen where people have fork mounts attached to the back of their campers and hang the bikes on the back. Look on this forum under Four Wheel Camper custom bike rack and you’ll see what I mean.

 

[CPT Davenport]

I have seen where people have fork mounts attached to the back of their campers and hang the bikes on the back. Look on this forum under Four Wheel Camper custom bike rack and you’ll see what I mean.

We use the locking RockyMounts and they have proven to be a solid solution. Even on washboard roads and when articulating through rocks, the bikes don't compromise our departure angle.

 

[Lighthawk]

We initially used the same set up as Cpt Davenport.


I through bolted the fork mount through the upper beam of the camper, adding a backing plate inside.


But, it made getting in and out of the camper a bit cramped, and interfered with how I carry my step ladder. You also need to figure out where to store your front wheels. (I have no idea why I was driving around with my jacks in this photo from 2012).


We've switched trucks and last year I installed a 2" front receiver to mount a 1up Heavy Duty rack on the front.
I wouldn't use it to drive at night, as headlamps are somewhat obscured. We've traveled over a thousand miles using this system, including 40 miles of off road washboard in DVNP. Now that we have one 57 lb e-bike (soon to be two), there's no way we could lift up a bike to use the fork mount method we first started with. Heck, I've even got a ramp I drive my bike up onto the 1up rack now. I'm in the process of adding a reinforcing1" aluminum bar to the rack, which will upgrade it to Super Duty which can handle two bikes up to 75 lbs.

I think I've shared this photo before. We have had zero problems with approach angle clearance.
I take my e-bike to work every week now with this system so I can use my bike for quick errands from the office, or to go to the gym. The 1up folds vertically when not used, and is quite compact.

 

[Vic Harder]

We have the HD version of this 2 bike 1-up rack, and use it both front and back. Front I find makes a big difference in terms of wind noise and fuel economy.. and not a good one.

We only use the front now once we are no longer on highways and if i don’t need to see tire placement all that well.

 

[CPT Davenport]

I initially was going to go with the 1up rack, but my issue was concerns with weight. I often tow my boat so that means installing a front receiver. The weight of the rack and receiver was more than I found acceptable. You guys with the 2500/3500 have no worries there. I also felt my MPG would be affected with the reduced aerodynamics, (16 mpg is bad enough!) The door just clears the bars of the port side mounted bike and is able to open well past 90deg, so our entry is not really affected with this system. Still haven't found the best place to store the front tires. For now they just sit forward on the floor of the camper. Not ideal but it works. I'm still looking for some kind of way to mount them to the bike. I also think of moving to an ebike at some point. This will mean a completely different set up, but for now I'm happy to travel light.

Lighthawk,

Where did you source the metal box you have mounted there? That sure looks handy!

 

[Lighthawk]

Lighthawk,

Where did you source the metal box you have mounted there? That sure looks handy!

That aluminum box is sized for a 5 gal gas can, which has been handy for our longer travels.
It was something I picked up from a Nevada off road source over ten years ago. I bolted it through the camper framing.

Sorry, I don't remember the name of the source. It has been very useful, as our back porch for everything from trash, to leveling blocks, muddy shoes, you name it.

This looks close:
https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Max-5001-6111-Aluminum-Single/dp/B09KDVHJF9/ref=asc_df_B09KDVHJF9/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=563548476420&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=255155608118666845&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9032583&hvtargid=pla-1654566355383&region_id=674469&th=1

 

[Gooseberry]

I love the rear mounting, but I’m not sure my old camper would accommodate it. In days of yore, the rear section had a 1’ x 2.5” square tube on top of the frame. No wood involved. I also did some measurements and the the combination of the shorter Fleet and today’s long wheelbase modern bikes. The rear mount would leave the rear tire hanging a fair bit below the bumper. So if it did hit, it could destroy the rear of the camper. I appreciate the input on the front rack. I now think my little 5 banger Canyon might not push the additional aerodynamic load too well without overheating. I guess I will try to work with the hitch. Blue Ox makes an 8” riser extension that may be the best I’m gonna get. I will probably need to invest in some trailer lights to mount back there. As a heads up, not all ebikes weigh 50 plus pounds anymore. The new Trek EXE, the Pivot Shuttle SL, the Scott Spark, and a few more weigh 35-40 pounds. Less if the battery is removed for travel. So the rear mounts could still work from a weight perspective. Cheers.

 

[Gentle on my world]

 

[Ben_1987]

I used to have an older 8' fwc ranger that is maybe similar to your older fleet. I talked about my setup here: https://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/24268-locking-bike-fork-mount/#entry275885. When I had this camper I would carry bikes on the front and back. For the back, I basically just tapped into the top of the frame with plus nuts and used lolo rack hardware. This allowed me to carry two bikes on the back. I also had a front hitch welded to my brush guard so I could carry two bikes up there as well. If you don’t have a brush guard, I think stand alone front hitches are in the $100-$200 range and easy to install. The 1up style racks allow you to put both bikes cockpit on the passenger side. This helped limit how much the bikes blocked the drivers vision (at least for my truck). I don't like driving at night with the bikes out front - vision is no bueno.

 

[Gooseberry]

Very nice. Food for thought definitely. I love the rear cradle set up with the twist on the bars and the front wheel on the bike. Which setup did you like better, front or rear? Here is my current way too long with the step setup. This one is with a 4’ rise, but I think I would go 8’ rise and lose the step. Then a picture of the remodel just because it was a lot of work and I’m proud of it.

 

[Gooseberry]

I guess I need to figure out the pictures.

 

[Ben_1987]

I'm kind of 50/50 on which I liked better.

I think I preferred the front rack for longer drives unless the highways were going to be buggy - probably because I could easily keep an eye on the bikes. On the other hand, if I hit a deer, that's going to be a pricey claim.

There's also some risk hanging weight from the plus nuts/unistrut/lolo rack setup on the back. Ultimately I never had an issue with either up until I sold the camper - except not being able to see well one time driving at night in the rain... I almost exclusively used the rear rack when around town unless I had several bikes.

When out camping, I never figured out a good way to keep the camper door open when there was a bike on the rear right rack - I think I used a bungee a couple of times.

For photos, I never figured out an easy way to upload them on this forum. I just drag and drop them into an image hosting service like imgur, then copy and paste the forum share image link into the text reply.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I guess I need to figure out the pictures.

In the Member Support forum, there are several pinned threads on loading and presenting photos in your posts. IMO, using the image address with the picture icon gives the best results, as Ben mentions above. Send me a PM if you need help getting started.