Bicycle Rack for rear of 5th Wheel? Any recommendations/suggestions/ideas - RV-Dreams Community Forum

ka0dqz · RV-Dreams Community Member

Bicycle Rack for rear of 5th Wheel? Any recommendations/suggestions/ideas

Cummins12V98 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Swagman XTC2

ka0dqz · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thank you that is one brand I am considering.

Appreciate the help.

Second Chance · RV-Dreams Family Member

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Swagman XTC2

X2 ^^. Swagman has two models that are RV "certified," meaning they can withstand the forces at the back of an RV. Just make sure to mount the bike rack on a frame-mounted receiver - not a clamp-on receiver bolted to a bumper. Those are a good way to drag your bikes down the road on the asphalt.

Rob

Neil and Connie · RV-Dreams Family Member

I got this Thule from Amazon…been on the rear of the rig with 2 bikes all the way to Alaska and back with no issues. I carry my road bike and my wife's hybrid quite nicely.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CQ47H4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

if you want a cover…get one without zippers as they do tend to get dust into their teeth and the zippers are plastic and not of the highest quality. I started with a zippered one and moved on to this one instead. I just put a couple of bungees around it to hold down on the flapping…but then I did that with the zippered one I had before as well.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C7JM7CU/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've often wondered about that whole RV-certified thing. Assuming you get a carrier that fits into a regular frame mounted receiver and not one that attaches to the bumper…then as a recovering engineer I think that RV-certified is a load of hooey. The bike rack doesn't know whether the receiver it's mounted on is attached to the frame of a car/truck or the frame of an RV…and if it's not safe to attach to an RV receiver then it's not safe to attach to a receiver on a car/truck either. I've seen the claims that it "bounces more" on the back of an RV and found that the rear of our RV doesn't bounce any more than a car does. There isn't much difference…if any…in the forces that the bike/rack combination put on the receiver on the back of the rig and those on the receiver on the back of a car/truck.

We do have a 2 inch receiver on our rig…I would suggest one of those rather than the smaller ones.

ka0dqz · RV-Dreams Community Member

Neil,

Thanks for the valuable information and links. If you would give me an email address or phone to text to, I'd

like to send you some photos of where and how it will be attached and get an engineer's opinion about the set up.

Thank You,

Eric

ka0dqz · RV-Dreams Community Member

Second Chance

Thank you for the information. I was not aware there were "RV approved" racks. I've read several comments about Swagman mounts and some are not very favorable.

I don't want to spend a fortune to carry the bike however, I want a mount that will not allow the bike to fall off either.

The 5th Wheel has a frame mounted receiver. The original bumper was removed and replaced with 4" sq. tubing with .250 wall thickness. A custom cargo carrier was made to

go into the 2" receiver and is also supported at both ends with 2" sq tubing. Another 2" receiver was mounted on the rear of the cargo carrier just for a bike rack. I've got some

pictures but not sure hot to post them here.

Thanks Again for the help.

Eric

-- Edited by ka0dqz on Tuesday 21st of February 2017 08:02:31 PM

jrzygrl64 · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have had 2 bike rack failures on the back of our 5th wheel using "RV" approved racks, one Rola and one Swagman. Rola reimbursed us the cost of their rack and paid us $250 to fix the damage to our bikes. We then bought a Swagman - sorry don't remember the model but it cost about $200 - and when it failed, then sent us a new heftier one - the one that costs about $300 - and sent a check for $1000 to replace the bikes, which were a total loss after being dragged for many many miles on the Tok Cutoff in AK.

What Bill came to realize is the biggest problem we had was the hitch - the bar that the receiver is attached to was not strong enough and allowed too much bounce and we now believe that's what caused (at least contributed to) the failures.

Bill had extra pieces of square tubing (1/4") welded to the hitch to strengthen it - and uses an anti-rattle clip where the rack sits in the receiver, which helps there.

So - I would recommend checking the hitch itself and determine if it is hefty enough. Our original hitch was rated for up to 150 pounds and we never had more than 110 on it.

Good luck in your decision.

ka0dqz · RV-Dreams Community Member

Bill & Kelly,

Thank you very much for the information. I was looking at the Swagman XTC2 at a local shop last week and the 1 1/4" bar seemed to be a weak spot to me.

The hitch on the 5th wheel is rated for several thousand pounds. Right now I only have 1 bike to carry. The XTC 2 seems to be a heavier duty version of another

carrier by Swagman. It supports both wheels and has down pressure on the top tube. It seems like almost every brand has had failures that caused bikes to be destroyed.

Makes the choice very difficult.

Thanks again

Eric

Lynn and Ed · RV-Dreams Family Member

ka0dqz wrote:
... It seems like almost every brand has had failures that caused bikes to be destroyed.
Makes the choice very difficult.
..

If it is helpful we purchased a Thule's hitch mounted bike rack in 2003 (pre-RVing) and it is still going strong (i.e., we are using it on the RV). The following is a link to Thule's current hitch mounted offerings: https://www.thule.com/en-us/us/bike-rack/hitch-bike-racks?q=MTDWKcuqv

ka0dqz · RV-Dreams Community Member

Lynn & Ed,

Thank you for the information. Is the model you have still in production?

Eric

Lynn and Ed · RV-Dreams Family Member

ka0dqz wrote:
Lynn & Ed,
Thank you for the information. Is the model you have still in production?
Eric

Eric,

Our specific rack is no longer made, looking at pictures on Thule's website it looks most similar to the Vertex. I would assume any of their bike rack would be good, based upon our past experience.

Lynn

ka0dqz · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thank you Lynn. This information will help.

Eric

Neil and Connie · RV-Dreams Family Member

Sent you a PM with contact info.

Jeff and Gwen · RV-Dreams Community Member

We ordered -Swagman Bicycle Carriers Chinook 2 Carrier Platform Hitch Rack - from Amazon. We love how it adjusts to any size bike and locks both bikes on the rack as well as a lock on the hitch. The tires ride on a quarter shelf which make the whole rack more stable. We would order again.

Bruce and Robin · RV-Dreams Family Member

Decided to go with the Swagman Dispatch model after talking to them on the phone. All the previous racks will work fine, as long as you go with the 2" base mount and watch the weight ratings. This was the reason I called, since their website states the Dispatch model is rated for 45 lbs. / bike and Amazon stated 35/bike for the same model. A lot of the other models are rated for 35 lbs / bike. My bike, and my wife's bike, weigh 35 lbs. each. We both have heavy "Cruiser" style bikes. I guess having an RV has made me pay more attention when it comes to weight ratings!

www.swagman.net/products/rv-racks/

Did you ever notice how we all seem to go "full circle" as we age? We are very young and start with a trike, then we get older and get the 2 wheel (back in my day it was the banana bike), then the cruiser bike, then the racing style bikes, mountain bikes, hybrids, and then back to a cruiser bike, and then the trike again. LOL.

LarryW21 · RV-Dreams Family Member

There's bicycles and there's bicycles. Most RVers idea of a bicycle weights 30 to 35 pounds each...including basket, horn, fenders and water bottle. What is the rating on this 2 inch receiver?

-- Edited by LarryW21 on Wednesday 26th of April 2017 06:45:42 PM

ka0dqz · RV-Dreams Community Member

It's a std 2" receiver, so it should have a tongue weight of 5,000lb

LarryW21 · RV-Dreams Family Member

"It's a stardard 2" receiver, so it should have a tongue weight of..."

Famous last words of a famous old RVer.

Bruce and Robin · RV-Dreams Family Member

LarryW21 wrote:
There's bicycles and there's bicycles. Most RVers idea of a bicycle weights 30 to 35 pounds each...including basket, horn, fenders and water bottle. What is the rating on this 2 inch receiver?

-- Edited by LarryW21 on Wednesday 26th of April 2017 06:45:42 PM

Good one! LOL The receiver isn't ever the issue. It's the 1"1/4 reduced box tubing they use for the rack on most bike racks. Either the place where the vertical tube attaches or the horizontal length breaks.

The Swagman "Dispatch" is a 2" box steel and rated for 45 lbs per bike and it is a 2 bike - rack. We will see if it lasts. Only time will tell....

ka0dqz · RV-Dreams Community Member

I was looking at the Swagman XTC2 and that was my concern. The 1 1/4 hollow tubing and the 2" adapter.

I decided that a 2" tube was what is needed. So I was considering the S64663 platform mount but, I don't

need that bumper adapter and that rack can't be ordered without it.

I'll need to look more closely at the dispatch.

Another thought was to replace the 2" hollow tube with a piece of 2" solid steel.

Thank you for the information

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

ka0dqz wrote:
It's a std 2" receiver, so it should have a tongue weight of 5,000lb

I feel the need to comment on this, even though the weight of the bicycles comes nowhere near the capacity of the 2" receiver. We had a 2" receiver added to the rear of our Mobile Suites. Its capacities are 300 lbs tongue weight and 5000 lbs towing weight.

Terry

Dranoel · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have been using the Bell Right Up 200 for 4 years with good luck. Works on the F350 as well as our 5th wheel.

ka0dqz · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks to everyone for the feedback and the results of what has and has not worked well.
I appreciate your time and effort. I'm going to investigate what it would cost to start with a 2" solid shank and
use components from manufacturers to build my own.