Mounting Bike fork mount

I have to agree with pghjon. While I really like the idea and look of this mounting style, I foresee trouble a'brewin' on rough roads, if you happen to find yourself on them. Of course I'd love to be wrong. But additional support points couldn't hurt, and might in fact ward off that kind of trouble for your marvelous Santy.
Rico ('00 SantaCruz Superlight)
 
pghjon said:
Are you supporting the frame in some way besides just attaching it by way of the fork? if not, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you are going to have a failure in that headtube sooner or later. That's gotta be a lot of repetitive force on the tube especially when traveling down unimproved roads. If it were me I would figure out a way to attach the bike in at least one other spot.
Click to expand...
Headtube?? Are you refering to the bike's headtube? If my bike's headtube fails from rough roads on the camper then all the crazy stuff I've done on this (and similar) bikes in my years of freeriding I shouldn't be riding the bike the way I do. :)

To be clear - the back wheel is partially resting on the bumper and pulled into the camper sides so it has some support there - more than any bike rack I've had or have actually. My NShore rack holds the bikes by the headtube and out my way it's one of the most popular bike racks used. Ball bearings are actually used in the races of headtube to steer tube so they can handle forces in multiple directions. With 0 movement (so far detected) by the bikes (swaying, bouncing, etc) there is no hammering effect unlike other bike racks.

Perhaps I'm confused at what people are calling "headtube"? On the camper I'm more concerned that the forces of the bike could damage the areas I attached the fork mount - perhaps the concern? I put 1/4" alum plates on the inside of the camper and (hopefully) hit framing at the top there where I drilled and used nylon lock nuts.
 
It is a great system. I recently updated my mount to the Rockymount system that clamps the axle down and locks. Seems pretty thief proof. Still makes it just a little harder. You should get a locking mount of some type to to assure it doesn't come loose on rough roads

I attach my rear wheel strap to the camper. Just pull a screw from the corner molding

Just wondering why WWKAYAKER has to turn his handlebars?

 
My wife and my bikes have 78cm (780mm) bars that is just shy of 31" for each bike. The width of the Eagle camper is only 68". The door is 26". If I had mounted them right next to the door I would have had the bars not only block the door but they'd hit each other (16.5" times 2). If I mounted them the furthest away they'd still interfer with the door and stick out from the camper far enough to be a danger. So I mounted them as far away as possible and turn the bars so that I clear the door and do not cause a hazard. I need a wider camper and narrower bars on my bikes! :D
 
bikerack.jpgbumper.jpg


I welded two hooks to the metal box I built several years ago. The photo of the bumper box does not show the hooks yet installed. This swings out and away from the camper for easy access. Just an idea. It works quite well.
 
If you are OK with mounting it like that, go for it. I wouldn't.
BTW the North shore rack "attaches" to the fork closer to the headtube. The way these bikes are being mounted is farther away from the headtube, thus more force is being applied to those weld point in the bike frame.

Glad you are out riding your bikes, just voicing my concern/opinion.
 
thewwkayaker said:
Just wanted to say that the fork mounted rack on the camper is bomber! The bike(s) don't move at all. I have to losen the stems to rotate the handlebars inward - should maybe have mounted the mount sideways but it's not a big deal. A strap thru the hitch pull the wheel into the camper side (which has a wooden bumper). Did some rougher roads and the bikes didn't flinch! Since the backwheel is at the height of the truck bumper I don't have to worry about hitting the bike wheel (racks and throwing the bike over the tailgate have on big waterbars caused the bike wheel to hit the ground!) Can easily get into the camper anytime. I put the wheels on the roof with a strap. Use a long cable and lock for a quick lock otherwise they go inside the camper.

Thanx for the ideas!
Click to expand...
How did you make your "Wooden Bumper" and did you do that just to prevent the wheel from rubbing on the camper?

Love your setup - I've got a Frontier Nismo and Eagle as well, and this looks like a much nicer way to go. I have been using the 1up rack with an extender, but that sure puts a lot of weight back with the rack, hitch extender, and bikes.

Thanks!
-Rick
 
The FWC is used - I just thought the camper came with bumpers to protect it when installing on the truck. Seems to be useful for my "bike rack" application.

I was worried about the weight of my NShore rack and saw the fork mount option that others did and went for it. I really like it! If my bike headtube snaps because of it then perhaps I shouldn't do the 20 foot 45 degree rockfaces with bad trannies at the end :)
 
I think there were a ton more issues 8-10 years ago when all of the fork manufacturers were using a 9mm quick release. The fork drop outs did a good job of fore/aft stresses but were not suited for the lateral forces of a fork-mounted rack especially when going off-roading. With current 15mm thru axle being the norm, I would feel much more comfortable hanging a bike off the back with a vertical fork mount.

This...

IMG_6616.JPG

Vs this

IMG_6617.JPG
 
I put two sets of bike fork mounts on the back of my Fleet for me and my wife’s mnt bikes. After one trip and some slightly bumpy gravel roads the forks on both bikes were dripping fluid from the seals. Most forks are not designed to be put in that kind of bind. I switched to a hitch mounted rack that drops out of the way for camper access.
 
Interesting. I've already done a trip - lots of FSR roads for camping and access - no issues. Of course our forks are 34mm stantioned 6" travel forks with 15mm axles. I use to ride 20mm axle bikes (freeride bikes) and did no end of nasty transitions off 45 degree rockfaces and jumps to flat. With a 180lbs load on the bike in 18 years of freeriding I've broken a rear triangle, seattube, numerous parts, suffered a few concusions but no broken bones! Never broke a headtube although I've seen a couple from years ago. Yes the old 9mm axles (which I started on but after a year moved to 20mm and a real fork) were terrible, noodles and could break. Even the 20mm old plate system used by Fox and others were not reliable for the forces we put our bikes thru. Funny enough some people think that a fork shouldn't be in upright position for storage yet SuspensionWerx - the biggest bike suspension repair and maintenance shop used Canada wide recommends you do just that to keep the seals lubricated (I guess they can dry out). In terms of a leaky fork at the seals due to the bike mounted vertically and moved around on the back of a bouncing truck/camper I'd assume your seals were done and this just made that point more obvious. The NShore rack holds the bikes vertically and I've never heard of anyone complaining their forks started leaking (I've had my NShore rack for 8 years with no issues) - so again I strongly suspect the leaky seals had nothing to do with the mounting of your bikes to your camper.

There are and have been a number of people who have been running with vertically mounted for years - perhaps they could chime in? Also state what type of bike(s) you carry and suspension components.

I would be blown away if my headtube snapped from carrying it around vertically on the back of the truck camper as it currently is. I have been freeriding for 18 years and done crazy stuff that would be far more likely to cause my headtube to snap. The number of wheels I use to taco (Mavic 329 rims, 36 steel spokes and brass nipples - still did them in). Yes the wheel isn't there to take some of the beating but given the bike actually doesn't move at all in my setup (you can shake the heck out of my truck and camper and they do not move independant of the camper) and yes there is a leverage on the fork being that it is pinned at the end although shorter than when the wheel is on, the friction of the wheel on the bumper, lack of independant movement of the bike from the camper, truck suspension, the forces have to be less than when I ride.

The only area that it might be tough on is the axle thru the fork area but given that it is a tight tolerance I suspect it's fine.. Exacerbation of any bushing play might be an issue too - although if the bushing is good it should be a non-issue.

Any Engineers want to tackle the forces issue?

I recognize that people are feeling uncomfortable at the idea. I can only assume that is because of either the type of bike they have or the type of riding they have done. Time will tell but again I would love to hear from those who have this setup for a number of years and any things of note they have encountered.
 
Once again I have had this vertical bike mount system on my campers for 10 years. Many a rough road caused no damage. No forks leaked. They are secured to the camper instead of bouncing down the road on a hitch rack. That and all the dust they collect can't be good for the bikes. Anything you can attach directly to the camper is safer, solid, and secure
 
buckland said:
Have read the whole thread and not being a hi tech bike person...we have two generic older mountain bikes ... (mine an old Bridgestone MB6 which suits me) ,,, would something like this mount okay on the back (2011 Eagle)?
https://www.rockymounts.com/products/loball-locking
Click to expand...
Depends on who you want to believe or what you feel is correct out of this thread. As no engineers have piped in and only a single long term user (above) there is limited data. But in terms of the mount - it is a 9mm (locking) fork holder so would do it's job. Make sure you put a plate on the inside of the camper for the mount. My only concern has been if the camper would "fail" in the area of the mount given that you aren't hitting a stud member except as pointed out a c-channel. However bike4me with 10 years of use has given me confidence that the camper should be fine. Best of luck.
 
Thanks bike4mee and thewwkayaker for the reassurances on the mount. I certainly will use a 1/4" aluminum plate inside as I did when I mounted the roof lifts.....opposing forces on the plate = no stress on frame.
 
Question for those of you who've done this. I'm considering mounting this vertical bike rack on the rear of my '07 Eagle. However, unlike some of you, the rear tire would not be resting on the bumper (or anywhere else). I have an old roof rack tray that I could cut and mount towards the bottom of the camper along with the ratchet to hold the wheel against it. But there would be nothing underneath that. The vast majority of the stress of bike weight would be on the fork attachment piece. Anyone have an opinion if this would work? Thanks!
 
I have seen many customer install the fork mounts on the rear wall of their camper (DIY).

Just be careful when drilling for the mounting bolts, as you have a porch light and side awning light wire running behind there.



.


.
 
bike4mee said:
It is a great system. I recently updated my mount to the Rockymount system that clamps the axle down and locks. Seems pretty thief proof. Still makes it just a little harder. You should get a locking mount of some type to to assure it doesn't come loose on rough roads

I attach my rear wheel strap to the camper. Just pull a screw from the corner molding

Just wondering why WWKAYAKER has to turn his handlebars?

Click to expand...
Wanted to clarify what you've done here, as I want to mount my bike this way.....

You have something like this?

https://www.rockymounts.com/products/loball-locking

I see where you mounted it, near the top. And you put an aluminum plate on the inside of the camper?

I see how you used the screws from the trim to anchor your tie down....what kind of tie downs are you using specifically? Did you just screw through the material, or is there a grommet in your tie down that would allow a screw to pass through? Are they velcro?

Thanks for any info you can share.
 
rustytinbender said:
Here are a couple more photos of my mount on a 2011 Hawk
Click to expand...
Rusty...just to make sure - you measured about 1 1/2 " down from the top to where you drilled your holes? I have a 2014 Hawk. Going to mount a bike on the right side of the door.
 
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