Bike Rack questions

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   Looked at the spare tire receiver thinking it might work for a bike rack.  I have a Thule rack and the bracket looks pretty flimsy.  The Jackit rack looks good but it looks like a high lift to load the bikes.
Has anyone had the 1.25 inch receiver strengthened?

And was that a satisfactory solution?

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Mbearden Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 25 Oct 2018 Location: Southport, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 31	Topic: Bike Rack questions Posted: 04 Dec 2018 at 9:02am
	Looked at the spare tire receiver thinking it might work for a bike rack. I have a Thule rack and the bracket looks pretty flimsy. The Jackit rack looks good but it looks like a high lift to load the bikes. Has anyone had the 1.25 inch receiver strengthened? And was that a satisfactory solution?
	Mike Bearden

GlueGuy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 15 May 2017 Location: N. California Online Status: Offline Posts: 2702	Posted: 04 Dec 2018 at 9:29am
	The 1-1/4" receiver on a pod is very limited in the amount of weight it can hold. The spare tire is probably close to the weight limit. Putting a bike rack back there might be more stress than spare simply because of the larger moment arm. Forrest River makes a bike rack that they approve for use there. What some people have done is weld in a full 2" receiver underneath. There is not enough "meat" in that location to make that work reliably, so you also need to weld in outriggers that will carry the load to the outside frame members. Look through the archives here, there are a number of members who have done this or something like it.
	bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost

Pod People Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 22 Sep 2011 Location: Chapel Hill,NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 1088	Posted: 05 Dec 2018 at 7:39am
	I did the major bike rack modifications. Here is a link to what I have done. http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=12030&KW=bike+rack&PID=113437&title=pod-peoples-179-mods#113437 We have successfully used this with 2 bikes for many trips with no damage apparent. The existing 1 1/4" will not support 2 bikes for the long term without damage to the pod's frame and potentially more damage to bikes and people following you. Vann
	Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179

Mbearden Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 25 Oct 2018 Location: Southport, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 31	Posted: 05 Dec 2018 at 12:02pm
	Must be me ...but I can’t open that link.
	Mike Bearden

StephenH Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 29 Nov 2015 Location: Wake Forest, NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 6417	Posted: 05 Dec 2018 at 12:08pm
	Highlight the link, right click, and specify to open or open in new tab. It works that way. The link was pasted as text. If pasting a link, the better way is to open the web link dialog (globe with chain link) and paste the link there, eliminating the http:// in the link if it is there (what is pasted should only be the "www." and following. The drop-down will supply the http://. Then the link will work as expected.
	StephenH Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,... ouR escaPOD mods Former RPod 179 Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

lostagain Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2595	Posted: 05 Dec 2018 at 3:31pm
	Here is a bike rack that fits the 1 1/4" receiver. I got it from Amazon and it weighs, including our bikes, a little less than the spare tire. Since it sticks out a little further from the back than spare, it probably is exerting a little more leverage on the hitch receiver, but not likely a heck of a lot. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004R388JG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 If one of our engineer board members could calculate the force difference, I'd sure like to know. But I sacrificed a duck to the bike rack goddess so I'm pretty confident it'll work just fine. My sources tell me she isn't fond of chicken. I was thinking of adding a strap from the top of the bike rack to the back of the trailer, but I don't think the spoiler will hold it. There aren't any good mounting spots without penetrating the roof.
	Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost

Pod People Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 22 Sep 2011 Location: Chapel Hill,NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 1088	Posted: 05 Dec 2018 at 5:00pm
	I would suggest drilling a hole at the end of the frame beam on each side and installing an eye bolt. Then you can connect a ratchet strap from the eye bolt to the bike rack for additional stability. With a strap on each side, the side to side and front to back movement is minimized as much as possible. I also use a hitch tightener to eliminate any movement between the hitch receiver and shank. The idea is to eliminate as much potential movement as possible Vann
	Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179

lostagain Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 06 Sep 2016 Location: Quaker Hill, CT Online Status: Offline Posts: 2595	Posted: 05 Dec 2018 at 7:10pm
	Sounds interesting. Thanks for the suggestion.
	Never leave footprints behind. Fred & Maria Kearney Sonoma 167RB Our Pod 172 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 2.7 EcoBoost