Hitch Bike rack - Event Date: 07 Oct 2012 - 21 Oct 2012

Hi, welcome to the Pod world. My husband and I love to bike wherever we go. We have always had the bikes on the back of our RVs or cars. Without a bumper, the RPod is a challenge. The back hitch, supposedly has a 150 pound limit. At this time, when we camp, we put our two bikes into the Rpod for travel,,,but if we want to stop for lunch it is a hassle. We have considered putting our spare tire on top of the TV and our bikes on the back of the RPod,,,or buying an expensive bike rack for the top of the car, but quite often we kayak as well as bike on our camping adventures, so I think we are stuck with putting the bikes in the Rapod for travel. The previous owner of our RPod modified the dinette by cutting square holes in the bench nearest the door and forming a sort of tube inside the bench, like a tunnel for each table leg ( the horizontal part) then we slide the table right up to that bench and it gives us room to slide a bike into that part of the RPod. The other bike is snuggled toward the back,,that one goes in first. We then bungle them to keep them secure and add some padding to prevent scratches. Good luck with your solution and let me know what you have decided!

We are investigating similar possibilities.  I thought I had the winning idea when I found, on Amazon, of course, a "spare tire bike rack" which may or may not have been compatible with the 'Pod's spare lugs, but I'll never know after reading a specific caution about using it on the rear of an RV.  Too much potential for whipping around and bouncing.

You have to be careful about hitch extensions, they cut your maximum tongue weight sometimes as much as half.  That also extends the distance between the rear axle and pod axle which is one contributor to sway.

One option for mounting bikes could be to mount brackets on the side of the pod.  You would have to be sure to attach to one of the supports.

Before we had the pod, we had a bike carrier that engaged the frame of the trunk of our car with hooks and strops. It would also work on a Wagon or SUV with suction cups against the windows. Would such a carrier rack work, riding on the back of the TV,?

You can remove the factory tongue jack and replace it with a swing-up for more room, it is one of the first things I did on my pod.