Rear mounted swing bike rack or front tow hitch bike rack?

[photohc]

I need some advice on carrying my bikes. Never done it with the camper before and I'm looking for advice on the pro's and con's of putting it on the rear hitch with a swing away carrier or getting a front hitch for the rack.

I'm carrying two bikes and considered mounting a fork attachment to the back wall of the Hawk. The wall arrangement may demand more work than I want to attempt.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

[Squatch]

I have a front hitch on my Tundra. I don't carry the bikes there as they would block headlights ect. But I do use it for the rack.

I have had this bike rack for a while. Great bang for the buck. It doesn't swing away but the arms all fold with the pull of a pin and the bikes don't have to be modified to fit. Just set them in the wheel trays and push the hooks down on the top tubes. They have a provision for a padlock that works well to lock the bikes on the rack. I added a little pipe insulation on the hooks to protect the bike paint. The racks even work well to carry my bike now that I have added an electric motor and battery. Over 20 additional pounds of weight.

https://www.amazon.com/Swagman-Cross-Country-2-Bike-2-Inch-Receiver/dp/B0001VO1YY/ref=sr_1_1_sspa/144-3004479-1048905?ie=UTF8&qid=1519604793&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=swagman+bike+racks&psc=1

The rack has a hitch pin with screw threads that tighten with a wrench to keep it from wobbling.

I carry the bike rack in my rear hitch with a 9" hitch extender. After loading the camper I load the bikes.
Slide hooks off the upright. and pull the pin and lower the upright.
Set the inside bike in the trays and raise the upright and slide one hook down to hold the1st bike.
Set the outside bike on and slide the 2nd hook down. then padlock it.
Done. 2 minute process.

When I get to my campsite I remove the bikes and the rack from the rear hitch. So I can install my hitch step.
The bike rack now goes in the front receiver and the bikes go back on if I'm not riding. The truck can be driven locally if needed with the bikes up front.

This way the bikes stay locked with the camper and don't take up campsite space leaning against picnic tables and such.

Moving the bikes and rack is real easy and only takes a couple of minutes. The rack is pretty light.

I use one of these and locking hitch pins to secure both my bike rack and my hitch step and keep them from wobbling in the receiver.
https://www.amazon.com/StowAway-Tightener-Anti-Rattle-Stabilizer-Hitches/dp/B0001CMUV4/ref=pd_bxgy_263_img_2/139-5193596-8574943?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B0001CMUV4&pd_rd_r=9TZQQCBRT268021ZT1BS&pd_rd_w=w6Al9&pd_rd_wg=PXATD&psc=1&refRID=9TZQQCBRT268021ZT1BS

I just keep a ratchet with a 3/4" deep well in a door pocket of the truck.

Some pics.

 

[Foy]

For my wife's Chevy Traverse as well as on my fullsize pickup, we use a Softride "Parallelogram" 4-bike rack. The design allows for one easy release to fold the loaded or unloaded rack directly rearward while the bikes remain vertical. Ours folds down far enough for the hatchback on the Traverse to open easily and for the tailgate on the pickup to open completely.

I've carried two bikes on the same rack but with it plugged in to my front receiver hitch on the pickup. I found it distracting and annoying to look through the bikes, even just the little bit by which they rode high enough to require it. A rack which is shorter in vertical post height would be preferable if plugging it in to a front receiver was necessary. Because of the unsatisfactory nature of using the same Softride on the front receiver hitch, we've reverted to a slightly extended drawbar/ball to tow our camper trailer and there's a 2" receiver tube atop of the extended drawbar. With that, we can now rack the bikes behind the truck and not interfere with the trailer hitch or the towed trailer.

Foy

 

[klahanie]

When I get to my campsite I remove the bikes and the rack from the rear hitch. So I can install my hitch step.
The bike rack now goes in the front receiver and the bikes go back on if I'm not riding. The truck can be driven locally if needed with the bikes up front.

Brilliant idea, thanks for posting it.

I guess with the right hitch you might also be able drive with bikes up front on a really dusty or muddy road to save them from grime.

 

[Squatch]

My rack has good clearance. It would be good for that. But on public roads the bikes are in the way of lights and view.

In the link I posted I saw that Swagman makes a version of my rack that works the same as Foy's to get some door clearance.

 

[BobM]

I use this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00029KBFS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[photohc]

Thank you all for your feedback. In the end, I was about ready to place my order for a Yakima Full Swing carrier but had second thoughts of adding another 57#s to the back of the truck.
So, I decided to tackle the minimalist approach and mount the bikes on the back wall as done in the post by Lighthawk here. I actually had purchased these Delta mounts a couple of years ago but never took the time to get them installed. I think I was too paranoid I would hit a wire drilling through the wall near those lights.
To help anyone thinking of doing the same, here are some photos of my install.













These back tire cradles were created by cutting up a car roof bike mount. I though about buying some aluminum channels but saw this mount on amazon for $33 delivered.

While I haven't road tested this yet, it appears to be a solid solution and saved me $400 and 57 lbs.

 

[Coblue]

I did a mount similar to Photohc on my hallmark. However I went with the entire cross bar set up so I could switch to ski/board racks in the winter. I cut the cross bars so they fit on one side of the door.

 

[Vic Harder]

Thank you all for your feedback. In the end, I was about ready to place my order for a Yakima Full Swing carrier but had second thoughts of adding another 57#s to the back of the truck.
So, I decided to tackle the minimalist approach and mount the bikes on the back wall as done in the post by Lighthawk here. I actually had purchased these Delta mounts a couple of years ago but never took the time to get them installed. I think I was too paranoid I would hit a wire drilling through the wall near those lights.
To help anyone thinking of doing the same, here are some photos of my install.



These back tire cradles were created by cutting up a car roof bike mount. I though about buying some aluminum channels but saw this mount on amazon for $33 delivered.

While I haven't road tested this yet, it appears to be a solid solution and saved me $400 and 57 lbs.

Very slick!

 

[smlobx]

I think that's the perfect set up!

 

[markturnip]

Sorry to bump an old thread. But just to share my effort based on @photohc's designs.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Mr Turnip, welcome to Wander The West. No worries about adding to old threads, it just makes them better. By chance are you in Australia?

 

[markturnip]

Mr Turnip, welcome to Wander The West. No worries about adding to old threads, it just makes them better. By chance are you in Australia?

Thank you! These photos were taken in the UK. The truck is since shipped to Australia