Hitch bike rack for Roadtrek

[treker]

I have a 2006 Roadtrek Versatile. Double doors at the back spare tire on one side. I have been looking at bike racks and just on my own found out that not all racks can be used on an RV or extended wheel base. No sales person has mentioned this and when I watched the video for the Apex swing away made by Thule I was shocked at the bounce and movement back there and this was on a SUV! Yakima voids the warranty if you use their racks so this makes me worry as I am in Canada and will be spending approx. $700.00. Also blocking the license plate is illegal and no one seems to care! I don't want to carry bikes on the front. The spare tire is good but they say may scratch your unit or bike so who wants that? Keep in mind also every time you cross the border if they want to have a look at what's in the back you have to open the back door or at least one of them so spare tire is back there and now your bikes. I would greatly appreciate any advice or suggestions thanks so much.

[mkguitar]

your best option is to reconsider a front rack.

mike

[markopolo]

A hitch tightener can help reduce movement. There should be a photo at this link of one I purchased and also of one I made: http://www.classbforum.com/forums/f8...html#post14861

My guess is that a rack with fewer moving parts would have the least amount of movement.

I can't recall ever taking the bikes when I had an RT but I did take them with the B+ (small C) and this current GM van. The license plate on the van didn't seem too blocked .....

[Ron J. Moore]

I had an '05 190P, with the spare tire, same as your talking about. I bought an extender with a 6" lift, that went into the hitch. I also used the hitch tightener and never had a problem - if the police want to see your license plate - they will! I did have play until someone put me onto the hitch tightner. I never touched that spare tire with the bikes. I did run a bungee thru the front wheel to keep it from moving and spinning.

[wgoldman]

A good solution for you might be the sturdy rear hitch-mounted rack by 1UpUSA. It tilts down to allow you to open the door that does not have the spare tire, and there's an optional license plate holder. This blog post shows some pictures of the rack mounted on the back of our van: https://www.vanscapes.net/blog/2015/...rting-bicycles

[mechmike10]

We have one of these: Sport Rider SE2 bike racks, 2 bike heavy duty capacity bike rack, hitch rack, bicycle carriers - Hollywood Racks. It is built like the proverbial brick outhouse. It has a hitch tightening system built into the hitch itself. When properly installed, it is as solid as a rock, which I wanted since we use it on the front of our tow vehicle. It also has a riser of sorts and a pretty good extension from the receiver.

We have used it for two years in two configurations. We currently have a small travel trailer, where it is inadvisable to put in on the rear. So we have a front mounted receiver on our tow vehicle, a Toyota 4Runner. When we are hooked up to the trailer, the bikes go on the front of the 4Runner. When we are not towing, the rack mounts in the stock receiver of the 4Runner.

I believe the cautions about putting bikes on the rear of an RV apply mainly to lightweight trailers. Most small trailers have no shock absorbers. Anything mounted on the back of the trailer will get a terrible shaking. I have seen stories of bikes that are so carried being shaken to pieces.

We are in the having built a Sprinter based Class B by Sportsmoibile. When it arrives, we will use this bike rack on the rear of the Sprinter. I don't even know if you can get a front receiver for a Sprinter.

[wabbit]

I saw an Agile that used a vertical bike rack with the left size removed so it could fit with the spare without an extender. I've been trying to track down the unit so I could check it out.

[treker]

Originally Posted by wgoldman

A good solution for you might be the sturdy rear hitch-mounted rack by 1UpUSA. It tilts down to allow you to open the door that does not have the spare tire, and there's an optional license plate holder. This blog post shows some pictures of the rack mounted on the back of our van: https://www.vanscapes.net/blog/2015/...rting-bicycles

Thank you this is the best rack I have seen so far. I am wondering with it being held/locked by the tires if my bike fenders will be a problem and I have very little clearance between tire and fender?

[treker]

Thanks looks good. I will try and find one similar in Canada as the price is good but the exchange will kill me.

[wgoldman]

Originally Posted by treker

Thank you this is the best rack I have seen so far. I am wondering with it being held/locked by the tires if my bike fenders will be a problem and I have very little clearance between tire and fender?

You would need to get a set of fender cushions: 1UPUSA.com 6" WORD Combo Master Lock

[treker]

Thank you so much. Sorry I have another question. The bike cushions look great and would do the trick but my fenders are not metal they are like an acrylic plastic. They seem quite flimsy if you were to flex on them. I guess they are only meant to keep debri and water off. What do you think.

[wgoldman]

Originally Posted by treker

Thank you so much. Sorry I have another question. The bike cushions look great and would do the trick but my fenders are not metal they are like an acrylic plastic. They seem quite flimsy if you were to flex on them. I guess they are only meant to keep debri and water off. What do you think.

Hmm, I think you would not want to use this rack for your bike, unless you decide to remove the plastic fenders. It really works best with the arms firmly clamping down on the tires.

[rockymtnb]

Originally Posted by treker

Thank you so much. Sorry I have another question. The bike cushions look great and would do the trick but my fenders are not metal they are like an acrylic plastic. They seem quite flimsy if you were to flex on them. I guess they are only meant to keep debri and water off. What do you think.

We also have the 1UpUSA rack, and it's a great rack for heavy duty use.

When we take our gravel grinder / adventure touring bikes, which have SKS Trekker fenders, we do use the fender cushions recommended by WGoldman. However we also slip a 6 inch section of pipe insulation up between the tire and fender, inside of where the rack arm with cushion contacts the fender.

That cradles the fender between the fender cushion and pipe insulation and allows the rack arm to firmly hold the tire in place. We've found the cushion / insulation only necessary on the rear tires since the rack arm contacts the front tire in front of its fender.

We hammer down washboard roads of the mountain west in our Sportsmobile Sprinter and that 1UpUSA rack and cushion/insulation combo stays rock solid.

[wgoldman]

Originally Posted by rockymtnb

We also have the 1UpUSA rack, and it's a great rack for heavy duty use.

When we take our gravel grinder / adventure touring bikes, which have SKS Trekker fenders, we do use the fender cushions recommended by WGoldman. However we also slip a 6 inch section of pipe insulation up between the tire and fender, inside of where the rack arm with cushion contacts the fender.

That cradles the fender between the fender cushion and pipe insulation and allows the rack arm to firmly hold the tire in place. We've found the cushion / insulation only necessary on the rear tires since the rack arm contacts the front tire in front of its fender.

We hammer down washboard roads of the mountain west in our Sportsmobile Sprinter and that 1UpUSA rack and cushion/insulation combo stays rock solid.

Clever fender solution!

[Smiles]

I am just wondering if you found a bike carrier that will work we have the same situation with our ERA

Thank you
Mike