My solution for carrying bikes & towing the ttt

[1912]

I use the same method as Hiker Chick. I had a receiver put under my tear when it was built. When I get there I can put the rack on the car to go to far off bike destinations. With the bikes on the tear it frees up the roof to carry the kayaks.

[TD Beej]

I am thinking of putting rack of some kind on the the tongue to put the bikes (6), at least if I can find something compact enough. The tongue would probably be the most aerodynamic place but I am not so thrilled with adding extra tongue weight. Anyone have ideas or suggestions for the rack.

Thanks, Beej

[Barefoot]

Why not mount the bikes on the front of the tow vehicle? Back in the olden days when even cars had real bumpers it was done with a bumper-mounted rack but a 1-1/2" or 2" receiver works, too. A front-mounted hitch also allows easier and more precise "backing" of the tear or especially a bigger trailer.

[TD Beej]

The front is probably the most aerodynamically disturbing spot. And blocking lights, collecting bugs... I think the best solution is simply to figure out something with the tongue. Maybe a reciever on the tongue and back of the TD and move the sparefrom one spot to the other as needed to get the correct balance.

- Beej

[TD Beej]

I ran a couple of spread sheets one with bikes and front and a spare tire on the back, the other with no bikes and the spare moved to the front. The weights are a bit of guesswork (any comments?) but the tongue weights are spot on which means that this is probably very feasible provided an appropriate bike rack can be found.

With Bikes and spare on tail:


No Bikes and spare on tongue:

[Noob]

What about mounting/welding a 2" receiver to the rear frame of the TD and then using a conventional 2" receiver type bike rack?... you could even mount one of those bumper bbq's when you get to your destination.

... or even a "bumper dumper" .

Sorry. I just *had* to add by 2 cents, as I search for a place to mount a bike rack... ( great another thing to plan for as my build gets pushed further and further back ... )

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[ai4kk]

That's what we did. Check out the top picture on http://www.afn.org/~afn01760/wedding/ to see how we traveled with 4 kids, sailboat, canoes, and bicycles for everyone.

There is a 2" receiver under the front, and a cheap trunk-mount bike rack welded to the mast post on the sailboat trailer.

I added the same receiver (actually salvaged from that Suburban after the engine blew) to the back of my Trooper and I just welded a 2" receiver under the front of the Trooper this weekend as I had to simultaneously carry bikes (using the old rack from the Suburban) and pull a canoe trailer. My next project is a receiver-mounted winch mount with a combination grille guard/bike rack and fold-down cargo platform. Yes, although the receiver is already welded to the frame, bumper, and front skidplate, it will have extra bracing welded to it tying it directly into the side frame rails as well.

The only problem I see is that the wheels block part of the headlight beams, but that is easily solved with QR wheels - which can then be tossed inside or hung on the end of the rack.

[jnowis]

Anyone use one of these (Dual 2" Hitch Bicycle Receiver Adapter Extender Extension 4000lb)?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P6CJ9O/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000CC29PK&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=06TFHMP5QFE9XHYQ6SXQ

This would be dependent on the length of the tongue and what is mounted in front of the trailer. It would increase your tongue weight, but it would be out of the way.

[ai4kk]

Also, on my old Chevy Astro/popup camper combo, I made a combination hitch that combined an adjustable drawbar with a 1 1/4" receiver on top...this allowed me to use the bike rack from my wife's car while pulling a trailer. I lengthened the tongue on the popup and added a couple of 2" receivers to it, one in front of the propane tanks; this one had a T-section of 2" square tubing over the spare tire that carried our big fiberglass box that used to ride on the roof, and a 2nd one under the rear bumper of the trailer that help another bike rack.

The things you do with a family of 8. I may have pictures somewhere.

[TERRY IN MIAMI]

i don't have a teardrop yet but im a huge fan of this site and have designed my teardrop already... along with bike rack, bar-b-q rack, kayak rack, and cargo rack.... lol...
this is the link for the bike rack.... i would put it at the end of the tow vehicle and still can attach the trailer...
[url]http://www.discountramps.com/towing-bike-racks.htm
[/img]

[stevem50]

why not bolt up a couple of the fork cinch cleats to a section of 2x10( with rubber feet under it) and set the make shift rack inside your trailer?
secure and out of wind/bug zone. thats how i haul em' in my pick up and it stands fine inside my trailer. if you stagger the height of the cleats you can get 3 bikes inside _-_

steve

[Spotman]

Anyone use one of these (Dual 2" Hitch Bicycle Receiver Adapter Extender Extension 4000lb)?

I bought one several months ago, haven't used it yet, sorry.

[kennyrayandersen]

The extender with the bike rack for $27 looks pretty interesting. It seems the best way is to put a rack in front of the tear and in the back (extender on the front and a receiver/rack on the back). You could put (4) in the back and (2) in the front (after checking that they balance, but I suspect it wouldn’t add much to the tongue weight) which would allow you to fiddle with the balance. A couple of bikes aren’t such a big deal, but 6 bikes could add up to real weight. If they are MTBs, that could run 150 Lb or more. That’s not so much for a big rig, but might be a fair amount for a Honda Accord or less.

[MountainBiker]

When we first bought the Tear Drop, I talked to the guys from Thule at the bike show and they stongly recommended that you do not mount your bikes at the end of the trailer
Their reasoning was this. The bike rack will weigh between 30 and 50 lbs, maybe more. add on two or three bike at 25lbs each and you could be anywhere between 75lbs and 125lbs at the back of your trailer. As you drive down the road and hit bumps, the up and down motion from the weight on the back of the trailer, is going to put more of a whip on the tongue / ball connection
While it won't be noticable at first, over time it gets lots of strain.
Think of a rope when you whip it. The end you are holding doesn't move much, but the far end moves a lot.
We actually modifided the cargo carrier at the front of the trailer to hold two bikes and they are securely mounted to the frame. We actually wanted to mount them to the car but found that the crank on the tongue got in the way

[kennyrayandersen]

When we first bought the Tear Drop, I talked to the guys from Thule at the bike show and they stongly recommended that you do not mount your bikes at the end of the trailer
Their reasoning was this. The bike rack will weigh between 30 and 50 lbs, maybe more. add on two or three bike at 25lbs each and you could be anywhere between 75lbs and 125lbs at the back of your trailer. As you drive down the road and hit bumps, the up and down motion from the weight on the back of the trailer, is going to put more of a whip on the tongue / ball connection
While it won't be noticable at first, over time it gets lots of strain.
Think of a rope when you whip it. The end you are holding doesn't move much, but the far end moves a lot.
We actually modifided the cargo carrier at the front of the trailer to hold two bikes and they are securely mounted to the frame. We actually wanted to mount them to the car but found that the crank on the tongue got in the way

Evidently the Tule guys at the show were picked for theirs salesmanship rather than their engineering acumen. Especially in a teardrop, the polar moment of inertia is pretty low with most of the mass near the axles. The aft of the tear is usually only a couple of feet from the axles. It’s a great place to put a bike or two. The aft end doesn’t swing that much because in order to do that the coupler would have to displacing nearly twice as far. As noted, if you start putting 5 or 6 bikes on board it will add up, so you might have to put a couple of them forward to get the tongue weight right, but otherwise you haven’t created any significant problem by mounting them at the rear.