Bicycle Rack Recommendations

[FreezingMan]

I’ve got a 2014 Tacoma with a Fleet. I’ve always used a Yakima but recently broke it. Don’t ask. We drive a lot of dirt roads so my mtb bike gets covered in dust. I bring a gallon chug of water but it’s not a great solution. Any ideas?

 

[Big Al]

I know some folks who put a bike carrier on the front bumper. They don't get as much dust. Instead they get bugs.

I'd either bring it inside the camper or cover it with a tarp. Wrap it with lots of bungees to seal it as best you can.

 

[rubberlegs]

Somewhere I’ve seen bike covers. However I made a mount inside my camper, or put it in the rear seat area.

 

[FreezingMan]

Somewhere I’ve seen bike covers. However I made a mount inside my camper, or put it in the rear seat area.

I’ve tried wrapping the bike in a lumber wrap but it’s not ideal. Dust still got to the bike and the tail lights were blocked by the wrap. I thought about making a hitch extension that raises the bike tray above the tail lights. Room in the camper and truck is tight with two dogs. I’ll look to see if there’s a commercial bike cover. Thanks for thoughts.

 

[Conestoga]

There's probably a lot of good options out there. We opted for a Rak Attach swing away with a One Up USA rack. We have several bikes, custom steel road bikes, aluminum commuters, gravel bikes, and vintage bikes. The One Up accommodates them all without touching the frames. It is a rock solid system which gives us road clearance & stands up to off roading while still giving us access to our back door.

We bought an LED trailer light system that plugs into the 4-prong trailer plug on our Ford truck. The lights mount to the jack brackets along with the license plate so all can plainly be seen when we use our Roadbag USA cover.

Yes, we do carry the custom road bikes inside, but generally only for day or weekend trips. Longer trips normally with the gravel bikes make that prohibitive. Weeks of travel on dirt roads with the Roadbag cover is great. It can become a cyclone behind the truck but the 1000 denier cover is unphased. The truck and cover may be coated in dust, but the bikes are clean and ready to ride whenever we want them.

 

[camper rich]

I use a Kuat NV 2.0 rack on a RakAttach swing out. The whole settup is probably too heavy for your already overloaded Taco but if you don't use the swingout, just the Kuat rack is considerably lighter. Kuat does make another rack that is lighter and would allow for less rear overhang called the Transfer.

I also use a YardStash bike cover which keeps most of the dust off after I wrap it tight with extra lines. I also use my shower which is a converted garden sprayer to spray the remaining dust off.

 

[camper rich]

A problem with putting a cover on the bike is blocking your taillights. I built a bar with trailer lights on it that attaches to my bike rack. I run the lights through the trailer pigtail that is behind my back bumper. All parts I got from home depot and harbor freight. I attach them to my rack with heavyduty rubber covered twist ties.

 

[BBZ]

RockyMounts BackSwing

Its a rack with a built in swing away unit.. very nice, easier than a rack and seperate swing away unit.. and lighter overall.. also doesn't add any extra length to your rack..

 

[SunMan]

1Up.

 

[SigSanDiego]

One Up USA best rack in world. No plastic. All metal. Made in USA. I’ve had them all. Wish I knew about them before wasting money on Kuat, Thule, etc. sun destroyed them.

 

[Vic Harder]

+1 on 1Up.

 

[goinoregon]

i just bought the rocky mount, and that thing is stout. oh, and works great.

 

[AWG_Pics]

Just finished installing a Wilco hitchswing. I got the swing to the driver's side version. Not as heavy as I feared but really solid and well built. All metal. Pricey yes, but a painful lesson I have learned is you very often get what you pay for, cheaper to buy quality once instead of several versions of inferior gear.

 

[Butt Ugly Chuck]

Got the Wilco Hitch Swing and 1UP. The combo winds up pretty high, especially for a middle-aged fat man loading a 70lb ebike! The receiver end of the Wilco is tilted slightly upward which adds to the ultimate height of the rack - Bumps it up high enough that I can't park the combo in my garage. I can't park in the garage with the Eagle on either so no biggie there.

Used the bike for a dove hunt/dog run last weekend. Since I could put the dogs up front and really didn't need access to the bed, I opted to leave the swingout home for easier load/unload . I can park in the garage with just the 1UP.


On another note....
Anyone have trouble with the 1UP anti-wobble/security mechanism loosening up on rough road? This Sunday's trip was the maiden one for my 1UP. I drove 25 highway minutes to a dirt road, then 2.5 slow miles on dirt to a trailhead. I drive pretty conservatively but I experienced the rack coming loose after the very short drive on dirt. The rack was loose enough to easily pull it out of my hitch receiver.

I torqued the rack down hard again and went on my ride. I loaded back up after my ride for the drive home. On the way out I stopped where dirt meets pavement to check on the rack. It was already coming loose again. That was 2.5 miles of dirt road driven very slowly. I tightened up once more and continued home. It had no issue with the highway miles between there and home and the rack remained snug.

Is there a trick I'm missing to keep the rack secure in the hitch? I hope I'm just missing something simple.

Butt

 

[portermoab]

Anyone have trouble with the 1UP anti-wobble/security mechanism loosening up on rough road?
If you're talking about the locking bolt through the hitch receiver, then yes. I think this is a real design flaw of the 1up racks (or maybe the idea of 4wd in Wisconsin is a bit different than the West). Either way, get a hitch stabilizer plate. It will stop the side to side play that causes the bolt to loosen itself. I've never had the locking ball come loose, though, and that's with a lot of rough 4wd and 3 bikes on the rack.

Also, if you're carrying a mountain bike with typical wide bars, be very sure that you have enough clearance from the back of your camper. Like a number feet. For some reason the 1up racks tend to have a lot of vertical (front/back) play. I learned the lesson the hard way with damage to the back of the camper and a shattered rear window after a particularly rough 4wd road. Not what you want to realize when you pull into camp.

 

[desertmtn]

I use a rakattach with a northshore rack. I have found that a hitch stabilizer/anti-rattle keeps all racks from coming loose.

https://www.amazon.com/Tightener-LIBERRWAY-Anti-Rattle-Stabilizer-Installation/dp/B01KZ25Y26/ref=sr_1_4_sspa?crid=VW1SWXD4HVI9&dchild=1&keywords=hitch+clamp+2.5+inch&qid=1633108315&sprefix=hitch+clamp%2Caps%2C224&sr=8-4-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEySUU2RFM3WlQxWDRQJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDU2NjI3TzFUMDFRREE4UEFIJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA5MzM2NTMxU1NFTkQzU00zWk80JndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Best $16 I've spent on the rack

 

[SigSanDiego]

Anyone have trouble with the 1UP anti-wobble/security mechanism loosening up on rough road?
If you're talking about the locking bolt through the hitch receiver, then yes. I think this is a real design flaw of the 1up racks (or maybe the idea of 4wd in Wisconsin is a bit different than the West). Either way, get a hitch stabilizer plate. It will stop the side to side play that causes the bolt to loosen itself. I've never had the locking ball come loose, though, and that's with a lot of rough 4wd and 3 bikes on the rack.

Also, if you're carrying a mountain bike with typical wide bars, be very sure that you have enough clearance from the back of your camper. Like a number feet. For some reason the 1up racks tend to have a lot of vertical (front/back) play. I learned the lesson the hard way with damage to the back of the camper and a shattered rear window after a particularly rough 4wd road. Not what you want to realize when you pull into camp.