Bike rack + travel trailer -- anybody have a solid solution?

Been looking around here and there are just so many options (like 1940+ pages in the bike thread), I guess I'm looking to see if someone has solved this specific problem.

I have a shortbed 2020 TRD OR. Have two 26" mountain bikes and two 20" kids bikes I'm looking to get with us to campgrounds along with our little 18' travel trailer. Don't have a good way to mount the bikes to the trailer and don't have room to put them in the trailer. Don't have a tonneau cover or cap on the bed so options are pretty open there. Need the tailgate to be able to close (obviously).

I was considering a tailgate pad, but it's not clear to me if I will still have full turning radius, or even hitch receiver clearance, with the MTB tires hanging over the back. So maybe some bed rail mounted crossbar solution where the bikes are fully mounted over the top of the bed, but haven't seen anything ideal there either.

Anybody faced this problem and solved it?

 

If there isn't a receiver on the back of the TT, it should be a piece of cake for any welding shop to add one for you. Slap a bike rack back there and off you go. Alternately, it is likely that your RV shop has a bolt on solution if you don't want it welded?

We bought a bike rack for a 2in receiver ages ago, a welding shop make a Class II receiver hitch with a 2in tube for our cars. Super easy and no extra cost at the time.


If you don't want any of that, then all four would likely fit on the Taco's roof with either the Toyota roof rack or a Prinsu-type rack. That is gonna be a pricey mod.

 

Pad would be easiest if it gives enough clearance for turning.
If not, a front wheel off fork mount for the 26ers with the kids bikes stuffed in might work.
A number of different ways to rig fork mounts up.
Or, even a side of bed mount (on rail or in bed against rail) for the bigger bikes and kids bikes in between.

 

We are in the same boat, son just moved up to a 26" bike so we've got three of those and a 24".
Currently I lego the bikes into the trailer, problem is it beats up the interior of the trailer and you can get in unless you get the bikes out of the way - you should see my spider monkey impression while doing the sani station flush!

This season I'll likely be taking off the front wheels and putting a bike or three under the canopy..

I don't like the hang off the back of the trailer idea - way to likely to loose the bikes along the way and never notice. Plus hanging anything off the tube bumper is a no no- We've got a NSR4 rack already - would have to get a proper hitch mounted underneath. Front of the truck is not ideal, those jack-it lifts are neat but I've never seen one that carries more than two bikes. I've got a Prinsu already but four bikes up top would be interesting to load..





https://www.etrailer.com/faq-travel-trailer-bike-rack.aspx

 

I'm not super excited about putting anything on the back of the TT. The manual for my model says it's a big no-no and I'm a little afraid that as light as the trailer is already that it will jack up the weight balance having a new hitch and rack and multiple bikes back there (I have an anti-sway hitch but the wife is still super paranoid about it).

So yeah, maybe I just need to go hook up to the trailer and see if I can use a few heavy blankets to test out the tailgate pad idea before pulling the trigger there. Or maybe I will buy the front bed rail /slide (sounds like quite a few have done that here) and see if i can get some fork mounts to work. I don't think the tailgate would close with the fork mounts but maybe I can just float the rear tires on the tailgate.

 

Understandable.

I've used this for hauling loads on the TG. Friggin' great, IMHO. Adjustable to the amount of opening that you need.

 

I have this, created by a member here @Nimble9, mount the two adult bikes to the sides using the mount and then mount your kids' bikes in the middle of your bed?

https://squareonecreations.com/coll.../products/sideride-bike-mounts-tacoma-version

 

Interesting. Says it doesn't come with a front mount though? How did you handle that?

Does he not sell them as a pair I guess?

Any concerns with mirror obstruction?

 

Easy, but not cheap solution.

Get the front bed rail from a second gen. I got mine from a buddy for free. You will need 3/8" nylon spacers behind it. It's a straight bolt on. Then get the rocky mounts adapters that you need. Either through axle or quick release.
https://rockymounts.com/products/droptop.html

You end up looking like this.

 

Mine are on my cap. But look into a front mounted receiver hitch. Then pick a rack from many offerings.

 

Front racks are cool if you like your bikes plastered with bugs.

I wouldn't put a rack on the back of a small trailer.

I'd put the 20s in the bed and the 26s on a roof rack.

 

You'd get a mount, like this Rockymounts to attach your bikes to, tbh I haven't used mine yet but this was the best option for me when I was looking into carrying bikes and still keeping my bed for cargo.

And as @PasoSteve mentioned, get a front bed rail and mount 2 Rockymounts there for your kids' bikes. 2 adult bikes on the sides, 2 kids bike in the middle of your bed

 

Just curious, what's your MPG when you run that setup? I remember long ago having one kayak on top of my 1999 Grand Cherokee absolutely devastated my gas mileage. I'd presume having all of that up into the wind stream + trailer would be a pretty gnarly drop, but if you're still getting 10 MPG with that setup, that's pretty impressive.

 

Same here. Just a Yakima rack with a front air deflector had a big effect on MPGs for a car that we had.

But, towing and activities and MPG hits are just part of the game, esp part time. The big head scratcher for me are all the SUVs or trucks with tall bed racks and RTTs mounted semi-permanently.

 

Indeed. Luckily with where we live, at 10-12mpg, I can tow our travel trailer to pretty much any campground west of the Cascades and back on about one to one and a half tanks of gas.

I'm wanting to grab a kayak again and possibly start throwing my bike along in the gear list, but if that drops the mileage down to like 7mpg, that single tank of gas might not be as usable.

 

It's a tough one I've faced, we have a similar set up, luckily our trailer is slightly larger so I can jamb a bike or two inside. Not ideal though.

I've put the bikes on the pad for lighter trips. That works fine for regular use (towing forward, not sharp turns), but I almost smashed the wheels when trying to back into a tight spot. So my solution is when I get to the camp first I unload the bikes then get into the spot. Pull through gas stations. Just be aware of tight turns.

The downside is that I like to use the covered bed for the gear to keep weight out of the trailer and to secure the gear on stops (locking tailgate with cover). With just 3 people, gear can go in the back seat and around the bikes, but with more people and bikes its unreasonable.

For longer camping trips we've actually ended up taking two cars (2 kids, 2 friends, wife, myself and dog...) so I just put all the bikes, kayaks, whatever on the other vehicle, and maybe 1 bike in the trailer.

 

We do have a lot of great stuff relatively close. It is that first hour getting away from the traffic that sucks. Haha!

For the kayak side, I got one of these last year as a recommendation from @Shellshock . Packing it along has been a joy.

https://pakayak.com/​

 

A cheap solution is a buy a 1x6-8 or 2x6-8 and put four fork mounts staggered or angled on it and throw it in the back of the truck near the tailgate. I drove across the country with this setup like this before I got a hitch rack. Of course, it takes up the whole bed and you need to take the front wheels off and put them in the bed too. Not a high-dollar investment if you don't like it, stores easily and can be removed in seconds.

Not my setup but an example of what I'm talking about.

 

Shoot, being in South Seattle, 75% of my trips require me to pass through Tacoma, JBLM, and Olympia. Only one hour would be like heaven!