Will my mountain bikes fit under a flush height shell?

Sorry if this answer could be dug out somewhere but I'm not finding it for sure. I will be taking delivery of a 2016 long bed TRD OR in a week or two so I can't measure the cab height myself at the moment. I am wanting to get a jump on ordering a cap if possible but I'm wondering if my 29ers will fit on fork mounts without dropping the seats? I would like a flush height shell if possible but I'm not sure if my bikes will fit. Is there any chance someone with a '16 and a flush height shell could measure the interior height? My tallest bike measures 40" to the seat with the forks set on the floor. Thanks in advance if someone can help me out!

 

Probably......... not

 

I don't think they will.
I used to have a Can-Back soft top, and I think I was barely cutting it close with my 26ers. I had the front wheels removed, and had them on fork mounts screwed to a 2x4. My inseam is 30", and my wife's is 32". That can give you an idea on how high we had our seats. I also want to say that the seats would hit the top of the opening. And in a fiberglass shell, that opening is lower than a Can-Back.

edit: I never stood them up in the bed with the camper shell that is in my sig picture. I just laid them down.

 

I dunno, man... I have a mid rise canopy and it's tight enough to not want to try it. Granted, the front ends of my bikes are a lot taller than most 29er xc bikes.

 

It won't fit.I have and A.R.E. Tonneau and my bike doe not fit.I bought a hitch mounted bicycle carrier.

 

C'mon, with all the dropper seat posts nowadays on all the 8k bikes everyone's throwing money at, you can't fit it under a shell using something on the floor of bed to mount fork to? Don't most bikes still have a quick release on the seat post? Pull the post if you need to. It'll fit.

Guess it depends on the bike and the shell and the mounting point used mostly.

 

With the post pulled, the handle bars are the high point. A DH bike absolutely won't fit. I ended up with a swagman g10 hitch rack for convenience's sake.

 

Kind of the reason I don't have a shell. The inconvenience of it outweighs the convenience of having it, at least in my world. There are times I wish I had one but those are outweighed by the times that I'm glad it isn't in the way - either on the truck or in garage or backyard.

 

I have a HiLiner because my road bike needs 39". Dropper post is your only answer if you want a cab High shell.

 

I have a 2016 DCSB with an ARE Z Series cab-high shell. The Z Series has a fairly sloped rear window, and curved glass, and the hinges extend below the top of the rear window opening. Also, the sides slope in quite a bit, and the gas struts mount at the top sides of the rear window opening. All that means the actual opening is pretty small. But ... I do regularly carry two 29" FS bikes with 130mm travel forks, using Kuat DirtBag mounts, and they fit OK once inside, albeit with seats dropped. My wife's bike (size M) just fits through the opening, but I have to tilt mine (large fram) a bit to get it in. At first it was a real hassle but I've gotten used to it and it goes pretty quick now. So, long answer: bikes fit inside, getting them is a bit of work, and dropping the seat (QR or dropper) is needed. A mid-rise shell, or even cab-high with framed rear window and extruded hinge above the opening would work better. Note: since I took this picture, I've reversed the mount for the bike on the driver's side so they both nose in.

 

It'll be tight. MY bikes fit, but I don't have a 29er. Have about 2" over the seats.

Road bikes are 700c wheels and 56c and 54c. I have a 32" inseam. The other bike is my BMX cruiser and is a 26".

Just measured. It's 37.5"

 

Thanks for the replies! All of that helps me out. Although it looks like it'll be tighter than I had imagined, I'm thinking my Yeti with its dropper post will fit when I want it more secure and out of the weather. I'm thinking I may still want a hitch rack though if I want more cargo space or easy access? Now I'm wondering with bikes on a hitch rack that pivots down out of the way could I still open the hatch on a shell? Also I wonder with bikes removed could I drop the tailgate? I'm considering the KUAT NV 2.0. If anybody has that experience with a hitch rack I would appreciate anything you can share. Thanks again for the help, I'm trying to get set up for a mountain biking road trip to CO here in a few weeks!!

 

Of your thinking hitch rack, seriously, get the swagman g10. WAY better bang for your buck than the kuat. Plus, I can vouch for the fact that it clears a dropped tailgate and canopy hatch when tilted away (one of three positions, just pull a lever)

 

I just got home from a bike race where many folks had Tacomas or similar sized trucks with hitch racks. Thule was by the far the favorite. No pics, but I saw Thule's, Yakimas, and 1Ups all tipped down with bikes loaded still allowing tailgates to be lowered and canopy rear windows to be raised. Definitely the way to go if security is not an issue. We had our two 29-ers plus camping gear, cooler, chairs, 7 gallon water jug etc, all under cover and behind closed doors in our DCSB with cab-high shell. It was tight but do-able.

 

Both my 26 and my kid's 29'er fit fine under my shell. If they were too tall I'd just lean them.

 

How do you guys secure the wooden boards to the bed?

 

I just used a 2x12. It's heavy enough and it doesn't slide around on the rubber bed mat. I picked my longest bikes and positioned the fork mounts where the 2x12 would be flush with the tailgate. It turns out that when you spin it around, it comes pretty damn close to being perfectly wedged for our mountain bikes which are a little shorter.

I was really making this as a prototype, but it works so well I haven't messed with it. I have an extra set of roof tracks that came with the rack bars that I bought. My plan was to mount those on the 2x12 so that I can slide fork mounts around or add additional ones. I was planning to use some eye bolts with carabiners on the 2x12 that I could attach to the tie downs on the floor. Will likely go this route sooner or later, as I need to get the tracks out of the garage and this seems like a good use.

 

I use 1/2" plywood under my bedmat, and attached the fork mounts above the mat, sandwiching them through the rubber to the wood. The plywood is about 8" wide and spans across the width of the bed between the wheel wells. Not as stiff as a 2x12 but lighter and if I need the bed for something else, I just pull out the mat with bike mounts attached.