Front bike rack and tounge weight
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Topic: Front bike rack and tounge weight
Posted By: catspaw
Subject: Front bike rack and tounge weight
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2012 at 9:53am
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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 - 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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Replies:
Posted By: Paige
Date Posted: 03 Nov 2012 at 9:31pm
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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 
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Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 06 Nov 2012 at 7:53am
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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...) ------------- |
Posted By: The Pod Squad
Date Posted: 07 Nov 2012 at 8:38pm
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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  |
Posted By: catspaw
Date 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? |
Posted By: The Pod Squad
Date Posted: 08 Nov 2012 at 5:36pm
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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 |
Posted By: P&M
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2012 at 9:14am
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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 |
Posted By: The Pod Squad
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2012 at 1:21pm
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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_1.jpg uploads/1067/Bike_Trailer_2.jpg - uploads/1067/Bike_Trailer_2.jpg
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Posted By: P&M
Date Posted: 12 Nov 2012 at 1:53pm
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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 |
Posted By: catspaw
Date Posted: 14 Nov 2012 at 5:25am
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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
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Posted By: The Pod Squad
Date Posted: 14 Nov 2012 at 11:19am
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Hi there, I couldn't find the manual but I did find the work order from when we purchased it and this is what it says. Arvika "A" Frame All Adjustable #7000-AF Arvika - 2 Bike Base Black #7002-26-C If you need any other information just let us know. Take care, Tania
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Posted By: MTB Pod
Date Posted: 18 Jun 2013 at 10:49am
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After seeing the posts on the Avrika tongue mount bike rack on this site this last year, I forwarded it to my dad who does welding to see if he could fabricate something for us. He was able to make a bracket that would accept two Yakima bike holders that are part of an extension for a four-bike hitch mount rack. I didn't want it to be permanently welded to the frame, so he was able to make solid brackets that bolt it on to the frame. This way, if we need the four-bike hitch rack, we can pull the two holders from the Pod and reattach them to our hitch rack. We finally had a chance to use it this past weekend, and it worked great. It is extremely solid and does not move or flex independently of the trailer frame.
The added bonus is that because 99% of our camping is dry camping, we usually fill our fresh water tank prior to leaving the house. With the 177, the fresh tank is located behind the axle (which has been my only complaint with the Pod so far). Despite the fact that we tow with an F-150, we would still get sway with a full water tank. The extra weight of the rack loaded with bikes had exactly the effect I was hoping for, in that we had zero sway with a full fresh water tank, and that was with fairly strong winds headed out through the Columbia River Gorge. 
 ------------- Pete & Marila Sacramento, CA 2012 RPod 177 2001 Ford F-150 Crew Cab |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 18 Jun 2013 at 1:07pm
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Very nice, and good use of the empty space above the tongue. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: betsypgarmy@yahoo.co
Date Posted: 25 Jun 2013 at 10:56pm
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Is it possible to carry a 10 speed bike inside an RPod 177? |
Posted By: Paige
Date Posted: 26 Jun 2013 at 8:24am
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Yes it is! We have a 177 and we carry two bikes. The first bike we put in goes toward the back. It fits just fine. The second bike fits alongside the table. Our table is able to be slid over right up against the bench on the door side as we have two holes in the bench and we slide the two table legs into the bench area, giving us more room on the other side of the table. We have been RV'ers for a while and always had our bikes mounted on the outside. When we bought the rPod, we discussed trying to figure out a bike rack, but decided to put them inside for the time being. Eventually we might add a bike rack to our tow vehicle,,but we usually have kayaks up there. The nice thing is that the bikes are protected from the weather and the road grime. The not so nice thing is that if you want quick access to the rPod while on the road, you have to take the bikes out. We added some heavy duty hooks inside the rPod and bungee the bikes so they don't rock and roll while we are on the road. ------------- Paige and Pete 2010 177 - RPug 2012 Rav (six cylinder) New York & Florida residents
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Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 26 Jun 2013 at 9:17am
Must be, we carry our tandem in it sometimes. No reason a single won't go. Though I do note we have to load/unload with the slide out. ------------- |
Posted By: bhamster
Date Posted: 26 Jun 2013 at 10:15am
Sorry, only bikes with 9 speeds or fewer  Seriously though, it should fit fine but make sure to pad it so that it doesn't bang up the cabinets.
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Posted By: betsypgarmy@yahoo.co
Date Posted: 26 Jun 2013 at 10:47am
| Thank you for the Bike Ideas! |
Posted By: venture230
Date Posted: 19 Mar 2014 at 11:25am
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Needed to carry Bikes - Goal is to carry four - two on rear - two on front. Half way there! We have the Thule tray racks (2" hitch mount and the 2 bike add on). I bought steel to mount the 2 bike add on to the fron of the trailer. In the future the 2" rack will go on the back and the spare tire to the front. 2014 R172 The clamp-on racks are expensive. Metal, not so much. Go find a welder you trust! :)
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Posted By: RPodWeGo
Date Posted: 20 Mar 2014 at 12:46am
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More pics please ------------- RPodWeGo RPod 177 04 v8 Toyota 4Runner |
Posted By: catspaw
Date Posted: 27 Mar 2014 at 8:44am
| The advantage of the Arvika is being able to fold up the tray rack to access the batteries and LP tank. Also, makes more room for the 30W solar panel that mounts on the jack. We also purchased the 2" receiver mount for the Arvika so we can put it on the TV for side trips or our Outback for day trips at home. |