Front bike rack and tounge weight

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   We are wondering if anybody has seen or tried a Arvika Top Pop Rack with a Pod?  They seem like the perfect solution, but expensive.  We moved the spare to the tounge to reduce the stress on the back hitch of our 177.  Naturally this added tounge weight.  We're also looking at a larger battery in the future.  The racks sound like they are high quality.
Here is a link to a site with pictures of the rack. http://www.fergusonrvworld.com/Parts-Details.asp?sysid=2021   There are some video from owners on You Tube.  
We appreciate any feedback regarding the rack and weight change.  Thanks

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catspaw Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 06 Oct 2012 Location: Minnesota Online Status: Offline Posts: 9	Topic: Front bike rack and tounge weight Posted: 03 Nov 2012 at 9:53am
	We are wondering if anybody has seen or tried a Arvika Top Pop Rack with a Pod? They seem like the perfect solution, but expensive. We moved the spare to the tounge to reduce the stress on the back hitch of our 177. Naturally this added tounge weight. We're also looking at a larger battery in the future. The racks sound like they are high quality. Here is a link to a site with pictures of the rack. http://www.fergusonrvworld.com/Parts-Details.asp?sysid=2021 There are some video from owners on You Tube. We appreciate any feedback regarding the rack and weight change. Thanks

Paige Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 23 Jul 2012 Location: Upstate NY Online Status: Offline Posts: 216	Posted: 03 Nov 2012 at 9:31pm
	Looks great,,,but at that price, we will still put our bikes in the RPod when we travel.
	Paige and Pete 2010 177 - RPug 2012 Rav (six cylinder) New York & Florida residents

furpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group - pHp Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128	Posted: 06 Nov 2012 at 7:53am
	A couple of Yakima trays and some steel tubing.. 5 minutes with a welder.. we currently just rooftop, but I would kind of like to try this just to see how they ride there. Tongue weight wise,there are some variables, but my guess is for us, pretty light weight bikes, weight actually carried about as far back as possible.. rack weight at 15 pounds or so, we mostly take our mountain bikes when camping, 45 pounds or so, so we will go with 60 pounds.. You are a third of the way back to the axle.. so 20lbs +/- to tongue weight. Move your cast iron cooking gear to the rear pass through.. all even. (BTW, if you aren't dutch oven cooking when camping...)

The Pod Squad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 23 Nov 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 16	Posted: 07 Nov 2012 at 8:38pm
	We have the Arvika rack on our pod. Works great for us. We get as many questions about it as we do about the pod itself! Cheers, Steve & Tania

catspaw Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 06 Oct 2012 Location: Minnesota Online Status: Offline Posts: 9	Posted: 08 Nov 2012 at 5:38am
	Thanks for the reply and the picture. Looks like your bike are similar to ours. How much movement is there with the Arvika rack w/ bikes as your travel?

The Pod Squad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 23 Nov 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 16	Posted: 08 Nov 2012 at 5:36pm
	If all the fasteners are tight it shouldn't move at all. We pull ours with a RAV4. Maybe with a pickup truck there would be more wind hitting the rack. It's a perfect fit for us, but it wasn't cheap. Cheers, Steve & Tania

P&M Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 13 Aug 2012 Location: Spokane, WA Online Status: Offline Posts: 454	Posted: 12 Nov 2012 at 9:14am
	Completely off track here Pod Squad, but what kind of dog crate is that you have in the pic? The one we use is a fold-up metal one, and that looks way lighter and easier to deal with ... looks like it can fold down for storage.
	P & M ... and Comet too! 2012 171 -- The Monkey Pod 2018 Ram 2500

The Pod Squad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 23 Nov 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 16	Posted: 12 Nov 2012 at 1:21pm
	Hi there, I'm glad you like our dog crate. We did a lot of research to find a multi-use crate when we got our puppy. We purchased this online at doggyride.com. It's actually a bike trailer but once you disconnect the tow bar and wheels (quick pin release) it becomes a crate. It fits easily into the back of our SUV and it fits inside the trailer. When you don't need it you just pull the pin and it folds up quite easily. We love it and our dog, Hattrick, loves it but I will not lie it does cost a fair bit of money. If you do buy it, I suggest adding the luxury pet mat to your order. It absorbs all the shocks and vibrations so that they don't get motion sick. Otherwise, it's a bare bottom with no padding on the inside. We travelled around the Great Lakes this summer and Hattrick was quite content to be in his crate with his toys and treats. If you have a small dog, they have a mini trailer as well. Here's a photo of what it looks like hooked up as a bike trailer and how it looks inside our SUV. Take care, Tania uploads/1067/Bike_Trailer_1.jpg uploads/1067/Bike_Trailer_2.jpg

P&M Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 13 Aug 2012 Location: Spokane, WA Online Status: Offline Posts: 454	Posted: 12 Nov 2012 at 1:53pm
	Wow ... that is really cool ... and a bit spendy as you mentioned! Since we are not bikers it may be a little outside of what we need or want, but then again M has been talking about maybe getting bicycles next year, so we'll see.
	P & M ... and Comet too! 2012 171 -- The Monkey Pod 2018 Ram 2500

catspaw Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 06 Oct 2012 Location: Minnesota Online Status: Offline Posts: 9	Posted: 14 Nov 2012 at 5:25am
	Hey Steve and Tania, Do you recall the model of the Arvika rack? I down loaded their catalog and want to make sure we get one that fits well. Thanks! Jon & Pam 2013 177 2005 F150