Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I am trying to get some ideas for a bike rack mount on the back of my CT. I don't quite yet have my trailer to look at but was wondering if anyone has seen a hitch connected to the rear underside of the trailer trailer much like a class 1 drawbar type hitch on a TV with which you can connect a bike rack to.

The bike rack as it only needs to hold 2 adult sized mountain bikes so I had given some thought of crafting then mounting a rack directly to the rear barn doors. Thinking ahead though, I don't want to drill holes in and through the doors which may affect the future resale value of the CT if prospective buyers had no use for the rack.

With barn doors, the trailer may have a rear bumper, there receiver type hitches that mount to the bumper, and a receiver bike rack would mount to the receiver hitch.

If no bumper, you still should be able to mount a receiver hitch.

Johnnie

...alot of us have done this...when I built my frame, I included a receiver hitch, not for a bike rack but, one of those cargo racks made for receiver hitches...use it to carry firewood and such, works well........
madjack

Just to clarify, yes I am referring to a class 1 receiver hitch. Something like this hitch is what I would like to use along with a bike rack mount.

A friend has a trailer that came with a rear square tube for a rear bumper, he bought a receiver hitch that mounted right to the square bumper, he pulls a little trailer with his and hers scooters.

Rv Bumper Hitch - for 4" Square Channel Bumpers







Johnnie

Looking at the picture of the back of your trailer…you could use the lower hinge bolts on each side plus the hole that the padlock goes through to secure the 2 bikes.
The driver side two lower hinge bolts would be utilized to design a bar/bracket that would stick out supporting the two forks via the axle holes (with tire removed). They do this often with bikes mounted to the roof of a car and use front axle quick releases on the rims. This would allow you to still see your license plate on the driver’s side in the stock position and not be blocked by a wheel. We know BC cops love to ticket for a blocked license plate. With the front wheels removed it also makes the bikes shorter so they do not stick out on either side of the cargo. Wheels could be stored inside so no one could ride away.
The passenger side two lower hinge bolts would be utilized to design a bar that would come out that would go through the rear wheel and the rear bike frame would sit/clamp on.
The top of the bikes would be stabilized be using a cross bar on the bikes top rail connecting each bike and terminating at the trailer using the padlock hole to attach it. It would be nice if it was two bars hinged like a clam shell around the top bike rails so the door lock would lock the bikes in place from theft.
OR
If you thought you had enough room under the trailer to mount a 2 inch receiver bar...go to Princes and by the plain 2 x2 tube, then have two pieces of angle welded to the top of it. One that you can bolt to the rear frame (yours is covered in a nice skin) and the other to the next cross member forward. In fact you don't even need the angle on the forward cross member as one long bolt through the 2 x2 and into the bottom of the frame will do…as all the weight is upward at that point.
Personally I would do whatever it took to keep them inside and free of mud and spray. That is what we did in the Boler trailer…out would come all the bikes and a full size propane Bbq when we stopped.

Thanks BC Cargo.

Lots to think about. I don't want to block the back doors from opening without a lot of effort so that is why I had thought about a bike mount on a hitch. Then again as you mentioned, the problem with road spray comes into question. Currently the truck roof rack makes a suitable bike rack and this method does get some road spray but probably not as bad as it would be in the vacuum of in behind the trailer. There are also times where I would like to carry a canoe so that is where the trailer bike rack idea spung from.

As for carrying bikes inside the trailer. There is not a lot of room with my current floor plan so I will need to re-think this also....

OK OK OK….Canoe and bike racks… got it now.

Put an aluminum pipe across the cargo above the rear doors on the roof. It should be raised off the roof by enough to slide a piece of black PVC over so that you can rear load your canoe rolling it on with the aid of the PVC pipe. The aluminum pipe sticks out each side enough that your front wheels of each bike can slide over and be secured. (bike upside down of course) The rear wheel slides over the front pipe which also supports the front of the canoe. The bikes can be real snug to the trailer sides as the handlebars would beyond the rear of the trailer. Up and out of the way with less road spray.
There could be pipes inside of pipes inside of pipes. The inner pipes could slide out and covered to form an awning.
OR
Run the pipes along the side top edge aluminum strip clamping them in such a way that inner pipes can be pulled out the rear end as much as need to support 1, 2, 3, 4, etc bikes hung upside down with the pipes through the wheels. Chain them to the rear lock so they don’t flop around and don’t disappear. Then when you get to camp pull the inner pipes out further and cover to form an awning over your back doors or bikes. Leaves room for the plate and spare tire as well.

some have welded a receiver tube not the whole hitch to their frame.
not strong enought to pull another trailer but plenty strong enought for a bike rack.
I guess there's not enought room inside to carry the bikes?
also I never worry about what someone else may or may not like about the mods I did to my trailers.
I don't buy thinking about selling.

pete42 wrote:also I never worry about what someone else may or may not like about the mods I did to my trailers.
I don't buy thinking about selling.

I am the opposite. One of the reasons I purchased new is because for months, I looked at too many CT's that had home ginned mods (both interior and exterior) that were beyond acceptable to me in terms of reversibility and greatly affected what I was willing to pay for used.

Yes my trailer will have mods done that will reflect my requirements but at the same time, kept to a reversible state as much as possible for a future, prospective buyer.

My intention is that once this trailer is done and I use it for a couple to 3 years, to review and see if it really has fulfilled my expectations and my requirements. If so, the plan is to sell this trailer then upgrade to a larger TV and larger trailer.

A couple of thoughts...

We've got a swing-away Bike Rack similar to the one linked below. It hinges open quickly to the side. A drop-in Pin keeps it to the side, since it would otherwise close by itself when parked on a slightly-sloped surface. When pinned in place, my SUV Rear Hatch swings up and lets the Dog out. Commercial Covers allow covering Bikes, at least partially.

A smart point made somewhere on a Forum noted how anything below the Bumper tends to drag. This becomes worse the farther back something protrudes horizontally out of a Receiver. So, the OP advocated putting the Receiver on top of the Bumper. IF this is of interest, and possible, perhaps the 'Curt' bolt-on Receiver above might work if mounted on top of the Bumper. If it's your style, you could quickly fabricate a mock-up Assy from 2" x 2" Wood and see if anything drags while driving around. This topic is dear to me because my TTT rear Plumbing hangs low enough to snag on minor Road dips. So, I'm having the Axle flipped as we speak to eliminate this issue.

Bike Racks, and other items mounted in a rear Receiver, have lots of strain and torque going on. So, some advocate welding up what you want out of some serious Steel Stock vs. the usual Trailer Bumper Stock.

Swing Away Bike Racks