Hitch Bike rack
Printed From: R-pod Owners Forum
Category: R-pod Discussion Forums
Forum Name: Reviews and General Information
Forum Discription: Find r-pod reviews and new product announcements here
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2995
Printed Date: 28 Apr 2024 at 4:57am
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.64 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Hitch Bike rack
Posted By: catspaw
Subject: Hitch Bike rack
Date Posted: 07 Oct 2012 at 6:43am
| Hello fellow Podders...we have just picked up a 2013 177. After 18 years in a pop-up we are looking for the Pod to be a great upgrade. We had a two bike rail system on the pop-up so we need to find a good solution to carry our bikes with the Pod. Thinking that a hitch rack Swagman 64664 with a Rigid 18" hitch extension would work. What words of wisdom can fellow Podders offer? Thanks! |
Replies:
Posted By: Paige
Date Posted: 07 Oct 2012 at 8:18am
|
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! ------------- Paige and Pete 2010 177 - RPug 2012 Rav (six cylinder) New York & Florida residents 
|
Posted By: Racer|X|
Date Posted: 07 Oct 2012 at 9:03am
|
I have the R-pod bike carrier. ------------- |
Posted By: coopercdrkey
Date Posted: 07 Oct 2012 at 9:06am
|
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. We likewise may want to carry a canoe on our TV's roof rack, so that's out. I guess, at the risk of looking like the Beverly Hillbillies, we will have a tailgate-mounted bike rack and a roof-mounted canoe rack, and an R-Pod easing down the road to our camping adventures. Man..... You could steal all our toys at once.... ------------- Bob and Joyce Jennifer and Baxter, the Campin' Cocker Spaniels RP 177 "Key Pod" Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT / Z71 |
Posted By: Paige
Date Posted: 07 Oct 2012 at 9:12am
I want a photo when you have all your toys loaded up!  ------------- Paige and Pete 2010 177 - RPug 2012 Rav (six cylinder) New York & Florida residents
|
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 07 Oct 2012 at 6:40pm
|
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. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
|
Posted By: Paige
Date Posted: 07 Oct 2012 at 6:49pm
|
I think I will stick with putting our bikes inside the pod when we travel. ------------- Paige and Pete 2010 177 - RPug 2012 Rav (six cylinder) New York & Florida residents
|
Posted By: Podsible Dream
Date Posted: 08 Oct 2012 at 8:02pm
|
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,?
------------- Chris and Walt '10 RP-171 'Free Spirit' '13 Dodge Durango Crew 5.7 L Hemi V8 |
Posted By: catspaw
Date Posted: 09 Oct 2012 at 5:29am
| I hadn't thought about sway. The new 177 has the hitch jack right behind the hitch so the room is tight. The TV is a F-150 with a fiberglass topper. |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 09 Oct 2012 at 8:33am
|
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. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
|
Posted By: g4royce
Date Posted: 09 Oct 2012 at 8:51am
|
We have a bike rack (for up to 3 bikes) that can go on the TV hitch or where the spare tire is. When towing, the spare tire goes under the dinette and the bikes go where the spare tire is. With 1 or 2 bikes it's ok, but with 3 the sway was very noticeable, and this was on a relatively short (3 hrs) and flat tow to Cape Cod. ------------- ChaiPod 2009 RP152 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe 3.5L V6 |
Posted By: Seanl
Date Posted: 09 Oct 2012 at 10:34am
|
If you knew someone who was handy with metal you could mount a bike rack on the tongue between the LP tank and the Pod over the batteries. ------------- Sean, 2011 Rpod RP-173,2009 Jeep Liberty Rocky Mountain Edition 
|
Posted By: catspaw
Date Posted: 10 Oct 2012 at 6:58am
| That would save room for sure. I'll have to look into that since I mounted my 5W solar trickle charger to the jack post. I also moved the spare to the hitch end of the pod by mounting it next to the propane tank parallel to the pod. I could move the pole mount for the solar panel to the upright portion of the spare tire mount. Thanks |
Posted By: RPodWeGo
Date Posted: 26 Mar 2013 at 8:44pm
|
Seanl, That's a clever idea and I am going to look into that. I like the idea of being able to see the bikes. ------------- RPodWeGo RPod 177 04 v8 Toyota 4Runner |
Posted By: TIDALWAVE
Date Posted: 27 Mar 2013 at 11:47am
|
I own a very expensive mountain bike. I also have a large collection of bike racks. I first tried a spare tire mounted rack. With the bike on the rack I could bounce the bike quite a vertical distance...enough to be worried about the dynamic weight on the rear hitch. The weight of the tire, rack and bike greatly increases when the rear of the Pod is bouncing on a 'roller-coaster' road. I then removed the spare into the pickup TV and removed the tire rack. I replaced the tire rack with a bike rack. This solved the weight problem. But then I realized that the mountain bike was now my rear bumper. I then went to the Pod's tongue...I have a carrier that can be bolted across two beams. But since I dry camp quite often, I carry two batteries and two propane tanks. There was not enough room to install a carrier. The Pod's curved front prohibited putting the bike forward of the batteries. The same with the carrier just to the rear of the propane tanks. I ended up as several others did...storing the bike inside the Pod. I have an aluminum c-channel which I use on the floor (but not attached to the floor) to keep the tires from sliding. I use a couple of bungee cords to hold the bike upright. It has traveled over some really bumpy roads without moving or damaging the Pod's interior. In addition, the bike is secure from being stolen by a thief with a large bolt cutter. ------------- TIDALWAVE |
Posted By: retireclose
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2014 at 12:39pm
|
I have a 2"receiver on the front of my Silverado that I use with a bike rack ------------- Gary and Jill Winters Bella Golden Retriever 2014 Silverado 1500 2015 R-Pod 179 -(SOLD) 
|
Posted By: francoisfrogpod
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2014 at 8:41pm
|
For what it's worth, we purchased the bike rack made for the pod. Factoring into our decision was weight distribution and sway. Also, we were told using a different one might void any warranty if it were to cause any damage. It cost a little more, but peace of mind is worth it. I wouldn't want anything to happen to Francois! ------------- Denny and Linda 2013 Pod 177 '08 Santa Fe |
Posted By: HuronSailor
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2014 at 8:17am
That's the best solution I've heard so far. Can you carry two bikes? Which brand? How does it affect your field of view? Is it legal?
------------- .: Mark & Beth :: Silverado 5.3L :: 2018 rPod 180 :. |
Posted By: Tars Tarkas
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2014 at 8:48am
|
I put the FR endorsed bike rack on the front of my FJ Cruiser for a trip down to the SC coast a few weeks ago. It traveled fine and the view wasn't blocked bad at all, but at night the headlights were blocked and reflected back at me. Not horribly, but certainly annoyingly. For the trip back I put the bikes on the back of the pod and put the pod's spare on the front of the FJ. Much better. TT ------------- 2010 176 FJ Cruiser |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2014 at 9:06am
I've done something similar with a cargo tray mounted to my front receiver. I added that primarily to carry my generator, but I've used it several times now as a bike rack. I added a vertical 2 X 6 to provide some stability, but 95% of the stability comes from using ratcheting tie-downs. They make it so solid I can shake the truck while holding on to the bikes. I can carry all four of ours, and it doesn't affect the field of view much. It blocks a bit of the road very, very close to the truck but not in a way that it is a safety issue. I agree that the headlights can be a problem - they aren't if I just have the kid's bikes but I'm sure the adult bikes would be partly in the headlight's way. My generator (and its box) sits low enough that it doesn't interfere with the headlights at all.
Edit: this thread shows my cargo tray in action http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=3689 - http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=3689
------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
|
Posted By: retireclose
Date Posted: 23 Jan 2014 at 11:44am
We carry two bikes. We have no problem with line of site. We have used two types of bike racks, both worked fine
  We currently use the Thule. ------------- Gary and Jill Winters Bella Golden Retriever 2014 Silverado 1500 2015 R-Pod 179 -(SOLD)
|
Posted By: bonanddoug
Date Posted: 04 Aug 2014 at 10:06am
|
My bike is carbon fiber and I would not carry it on the front. The bike could easily be damaged from gravel or other debris thrown up by other vehicles. If the bike is steel or aluminum and you don't care too much about the paint it might be OK. |