Bicycle Rack

[ae6black]

How common is it to weld a hitch on the back of a tear drop and then put one of those removable bicycle racks in it? The Problem I see is you couldn't see what it was doing in the rear view mirror since the Tear would be blocking your view. What have you all done?

Art

[vttrampers]

I carry my bikes - tandem and road bike - on the roof of my car. Then all I have to worry about is remembering they're up there before I pull into the garage...

[drhill]

I included a 2" receiver on the back of my trailer when I built it (for a bike rack) but have never used it. I am with you Art, I like to keep an eye on my bikes in the rear view mirror. I have a 3" tongue on my trailer and a bike rack mounted on the tongue. On the back of the trailer they would be in the roughest riding position and also in the way of opening the hatch. If I didn't have the heavy duty tongue then the roof would be the next best I guess but there is the increased wind resistance, bug spatter and the possibility of forgetting them when entering a low overhead area. There is a section of the forum on bicycles and a few more ideas there.

[atactic]

I have the sportrack ridge 4 towing carrier.

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[Fenlason]

I don't like leaving my bikes outside. I haul them in my tow vehicle.

[Shadow Catcher]

I attached two 1 1/2" pipe flanges on the tongue and have two three foot sticks of 1 1/2" aluminum conduit. brackets at the top will hold our Tandem horizontally and I can see it out the rear window of the TV.

[CaptnCreamsicle]

Maybe you could use something like this http://m.harborfreight.com/dual-hitch-e ... 69881.html

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[tony.latham]

How common is it to weld a hitch on the back of a tear drop and then put one of those removable bicycle racks in it? The Problem I see is you couldn't see what it was doing in the rear view mirror since the Tear would be blocking your view. What have you all done?

Art

Art:

Dunno how common it is, but we do it from time-to-time.





As you can see, even with a five-wide the bikes protrude a bit. In fact, I can see as much bike when they're behind the 'drop as when they're racked on the hitch of the Tacoma so I don't see that as a factor.

I do notice a difference towing––you stack a couple of mountain bikes on a T-bar rack and it really changes the center of gravity on the trailer. No issues but I can feel it.

For me, the simplicity of the setup with teardrop is a major checkmark. But when we take the bikes, we now have to unload the bikes and remove the rack when we hit camp. It also makes for a lunch-stop with access into the galley a bit of a chore.

Tony

[dancam]

You can do it, but you need to have a reasonably solid frame back there and still have the trailer balanced.
If you stick 5 bikes on the back of a tiny teardrop you may end up with no tounge weight so you need to watch that.
You can get bike racks that go on your ball even when you have a trailer. Your tongue has to be long enough and your tv has to be able to handle the weight.
You can get bike racks that swing out of the way so you can still open doors.

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[booyah]

When I was working on the design of mine, I really liked the idea.

When I started using my trailer though I noticed how often I was in the galley while traveling. Loading groceries, stopping for a quick bite, kid wants a juice box, I want a soda, etc. Thinking about needing to go around bikes to do all that really made me like the idea less. I'd rather do a hatch mounted carrier on the car, than a hitch mount on the camper.

[dancam]

Get one that swings out

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[atactic]

How common is it to weld a hitch on the back of a tear drop and then put one of those removable bicycle racks in it? The Problem I see is you couldn't see what it was doing in the rear view mirror since the Tear would be blocking your view. What have you all done?

Art

My 4 wide has one built in. I think it was for the included BBQ though...

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