Author Topic: Bicycle storage  (Read 3068 times)

George Frudakis

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Bicycle storage
« on: May 25, 2020, 04:47:31 PM »
Best way to tow and store two bicycles. I thought of laying in the bed of my f150 with a hard bed cover to keep them safe and weather tight. I know the foldable bicycle would fit in the bays but looking at sold type bicycles, much cheaper.
George Frudakis
2002 Marquis, Jasper
Ford F150 Platinum

David T. Richelderfer

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Re: Bicycle storage
« Reply #1 on: May 25, 2020, 05:05:33 PM »
I assume you meant "solid", meaning non-foldable type bikes.  Anyway, I found this on Amazon.  It clamps onto the 2" square hitch ahead of the ball so that the ball hitch remains usable (I think).

https://www.amazon.com/CURT-18013-Clamp-2-Inch-Bicycles/dp/B007EA6JMM
2004 Beaver Marquis Sapphire

I had a dream... then I lived it!

Bill Lampkin

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Re: Bicycle storage
« Reply #2 on: May 25, 2020, 06:19:22 PM »
George, Assume you tow the F-150 behind your Beaver. IF so, just put a bike rack on the back of the F-150; That way, you always have your bikes with you. I have tried (almost) every rack out there, they all fail sooner or later. For peace of mind, spend some cash and never worry about the bikes rattling away back there.

 https://www.kuatracks.com/

And no matter what rack you put into your hitch receiver, use one (or more) of these:

https://www.roadmasterinc.com/products/accessories/hitch/quiet.html






2005 Patriot Thunder Lexington, 3 slides
40' tag axle (short wheelbase)
525 hp C13

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Gerald Farris

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Re: Bicycle storage
« Reply #3 on: May 26, 2020, 02:19:33 PM »
George,
Over the last 20 years, I have tried numerous ways to carry bicycles with the coach, and believe me, there is no perfect solution. Foldable bikes, usually with 20 inch or smaller wheels, do not even compare with a well built full size bike. Foldable bikes are not as stable or as easy to ride as a full size bike, and they take up a lot of very valuable basement space, especially if you are a fulltimer. Bike racks on the roof of the toad are hard to load, and the increased wind resistance will make a significant reduction in fuel economy for your toad as well as having to worry about the height issues when driving the toad (no McDonalds drive thru access). That puts us down to hitch mounted bike racks, or your idea of carrying them in the bed of the truck. Hitch mounted racks on the back of the coach are way to much in the way for me, so that leaves us to a rack on the back of the toad that is still troublesome or in the back of the truck taking up a lot of protentional cargo area. It boils down to what are you willing to tolerate to have access to your bikes.

Gerald   
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Jeff Johnson

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Re: Bicycle storage
« Reply #4 on: May 26, 2020, 04:05:21 PM »
George,
We traveled for just over 20,000 mile with our Safari Trek with this cover from Amazon (Formosa Covers Bike Cover for Car, Truck, RV) and using this bike rack also from Amazon (Swagman TRAVELER XC2 RV Bike Rack). It was the a great combination as the cover completely covered my XL Giant and my wife's medium Diamond Back and the rack  uses the tires to suspend the bikes.  . Then we just used a long cable lock to secure everything. I put a double hitch with a 6" rise as to prevent another incident of dragging the bike rack again by going into a severe dip into a driveway. The Treks are much lower to the ground than a Beaver.
  Hope this helps,
Jeff
1996 Patriot Savannah
CAT 3126B
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Joel Ashley

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Re: Bicycle storage
« Reply #5 on: May 26, 2020, 09:59:31 PM »
My brother-in-law built us a simple, stout rack in 1986 that used tubular steel designed as a pass-through hitch.  Wish I still had it.  Then we bought a commercial one that swings down so it could be used by my wife on our ‘91 Explorer for local outings, and allow her to get her German Shepard in and out of the back hatch.  Some nowadays swing to one side to accomplish rear door access.

The problem is few designs if any combine SUV rear door access with a pass-through hitch/receiver.  The one we bought isn’t a pass-through.  Yeah we could tow the SUV with the rack on it, but then I discovered that using a bike cover blocked the car’s rear lights, which would be afoul the law and unsafe.  On the wider coach the cover was not an issue.

Joel
Joel and Lee Rae Ashley
Clackamas, Oregon
36.9 ft. 2006 Monterey Ventura IV, aka"Monty Rae"
C9 400HP Cat