Bike Hitch Rack

[grantcln]

Looking into buying a Chinook favoring a Side entry. Rear entry easier to find.
Will a bike rack Kuat brand work with a rear entry Chinook?

[Blue~Go]

Hello and welcome!

I'm not familiar with the Kuat specifically, but can offer the following thoughts on the rear door 21-footer:

1) It's always a bit more of a pain to have things on the rear with a rear door. On the other hand, it does make for a nice interior layout in a 21' unit.

2) Anything that will fit into a 2" receiver hitch will fit.... with the caveat that there is a certain distance behind the hitch receiver that is tucked under the step (exact amount will vary with manual or electric step) so you may need to take that into consideration.

3) If I were a dedicated bikes on the back person, I'd likely look at a swing away hitch rack so you could just swing it out of the way and access the Chinook as normal. The Velo Combo comes to mind as the coolest one ever (and they even show a Chinook!), but I'm sure there are others that are less expensive.

4) I have also seen people mount them to the rear wall above the spare tire area (you'd want proper backing blocks or etc.).

5) You could also consider a front hitch.

6) Or of course a dedicated bike garage cargo trailer

(I haven't carried bikes back there, but I've towed various trailers and a car at times.)

As far as the side door goes, they are much rarer and were only made in the mid-late 90's, I believe. But people who want them have found them. The door change is obvious. To the good, you get a "permanent" bed; to the less good you only get one living room furniture piece (either a small dinette or s small couch), a smaller propane tank, and an outside potable water tank (vs. under couch). There are other differences as well - likewise, some good some bad (and the definition subjective at that).

[caconcourse]

This is where we carry our bikes with the rear door (shown open).

I made the racks using a pair of bike wall hangers and a pair of Yakima fork blocks. We tuck the front wheels in between the bikes and hold everything with velcro straps. The forks are tilted slightly so the two bikes can be mounted closer together since the handlebars don't interfere.

Clay

[Blue~Go]

That is a nifty solution! I've never seen garage bike hangers like that - only the screw in J style. And you can even probably make (or have made) something to hold the tire locker door up to the handlebars when accessing that (Later tire lockers open down but our era have the hinge on top.)

Could you elaborate slightly on how you mount/hold the front wheels?

Also, did you make an access plate in the shower to get to the backside of the upper hangers? Or?

Glad you showed that. Now maybe grantcln can go with a rear door as an option.

BG

PS: Came back to add a question: Can you get the rear wheel up to the hooks from the ground? Or do you stand on the step or a stool? (Or are you 7' tall...)

[Scott]

That's pretty slick, Clay. Nice one!

Here's what I do. When mounted vertically, I can slink out the back door. Also can remove the front tire and rotate the bars to shorten things up a bit.

[Blue~Go]

What brand/model rack is that, Scott? Always nice to have a modular option (presuming that's off the shelf and slides into the hitch receiver).

***
Right now I carry the bike in the car, but then I don't always have the car along. But still not sure how much the bike will get used, so I'm just collecting ideas for now.

I also thought of one of those "over the spare tire" racks on my front mounted spare. I'd have to make sure I don't exceed the weight limit of the spare holder (it's a boughten one - I think I'd still be okay but need to check - likely never suitable for more than one bike though).

The front sounds like a horrible place for a bike though - rock chips, bugs, etc. On the other hand, they probably get fairly dirty on the back, if my back door is any indication after driving down a gravel road Likely no big rock dings though, on the back, and no bugs to speak of. I have seen the super cool looking Lycra type covers, but never inspected one up close. Maybe that plus the front spare rack...

[caconcourse]

More bike rack info.

The top hooks are mounted with 3M very high bond (VHB) adhesive tape and the supplied screws. The tape provides the bonding and it is incredibly strong. We snagged the bikes on a dump water hose once (ouch) and pulled so hard, it bent the hook and broke the bike wheel. The bond was not affected in any way. When I had to remove the bent hook, I cut the bond with a razor, but got impatient and pulled the last bit, and it actually pulled off some of the gelcoat! (ouch again). I repaired the gouge with marine epoxy, but it is hidden under the replacement hook. the bent hook was so strong I could not straighten it, even with a vise!

The fork blocks are also mounted with VHB tape, but also have carriage bolts with washers and nuts inside. The forks are turned inward and mounted "upside down" in the blocks, which makes the mounting much more compact by reducing the height. There is a cavity formed above the handlebars and between the rear wheels where we stuff the front wheels.

We use Velcro straps to tie the front wheels together at one point (the top), and then strap the bottoms to the handlebars and frames. We strap the two handlebars together, so both bikes and front wheels all act as a single mass attached to the wall, so it is very stable. We carried the bikes for over 20,000 miles with no troubles, other than the aforementioned water hose snag, and a couple of fabric covers shredded in the wind. We also strap the pedals to keep them from rubbing against the walls (lesson learned).

Here is a parts list (all from Amazon):

VHB Tape:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012R ... UTF8&psc=1

Top Hooks:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F ... UTF8&psc=1

Fork Blocks:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0012 ... UTF8&psc=1

Velcro Straps:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XFV6YTJ/re ... rd_w=eGZZP

I can mount the bikes standing on the ground (I'm 5' 10") and it's not difficult. There is a twisting motion to get the tire on and off the hook, which is a little tricky at first. I have more confidence in the top hook holding the weight (after "the incident") so I don't worry so much about getting the forks in the block before releasing the weight from my arms, which makes it a little easier to load/unload.

More pics:

Clay

[deppstein]

Clay...Your set-up for mounting bikes on the rear looks and sounds like a great solution for the nagging problem so many of us face about how to mount and carry bikes. I started out with a rack that fit over the rear Continental Spare. Like you, had to remove the front wheel--which I never really liked having to do...ended up feeling fussy every time we just wanted to stop and go for a ride. That's one of the reasons I switched to a front mounted heavy duty hitch that could carry both bikes in a tray. The second "must" reason for using the front mounted tray holder was due to purchase of our Copenhagen (superpedestrian.com) Electric Wheels. That adds 16 pounds to the weight of our bikes, so we need the extra strength of a 2" hitch mounted rack and it makes the lifting of bikes into place so much easier--with aded advantage that the transfer from "rack to ride" takes only a couple of minutes.
In your post, you mentioned the shredding of bike covers...I too went through one of those bike covers before finding a really good solution. Skinzprotectivegear.com is a company that specializes in heavy duty covers, and their frame cover is terrific. It fits over the entire back wheel, crank (with pedals removed), and frame up to where it meets the handlebars, so only thing exposed to the elements is the front wheel. I've logged over 10,000 miles with these covers and they are still as good as new. They do a great job of protecting our bikes (especially important for our Copenhagen Wheels)...and, keep in mind, these are front-mounted so fully exposed. Definitely worth checking out.
Final advantage to front mounted bikes...I now have room to mount my 200 amp Zamp Solar Suitcase on the rear bumper, secured (thanks to Blue's suggestion of solid marine hardware) with heavy-duty cinch straps. I can even access that rear storage bin by simply loosening the straps to allow the suitcase to tilt out.
David

[Scott]

What brand/model rack is that, Scott? Always nice to have a modular option (presuming that's off the shelf and slides into the hitch receiver).

That's a Husky 81146. 2 inch mount, very sturdy, it's lock-able, it has the swing down feature, even has a reflector. When the bike is there, I can get in and out. It's not ideal, and I don't want to mislead anyone since it's probably not suitable for many, but I don't mind slipping in/out now and again because I usually unload it right when I arrive at my destination; it's basically my dinghy . I don't like removing the front wheel because it always seems to require a slight adjustment to the disc brake, and well, it's just one more thing. Plus, with an all steel hitch mount, I don't ever even think about it back there. The whole setup can be brought inside if I have a length limit to heed; the rack by itself adds 16" of length measured from the trailing edge of the rear step

On the other hand, they probably get fairly dirty on the back, if my back door is any indication after driving down a gravel road

Haha, mine gets dirty on the trail!

[Blue~Go]

Boy is this thread turning into a treasure trove for bike folks.

Clay: Wow, I'm impressed with your system, and how well it held up to "the incident." Thanks for the details on how you mounted it, the links to the parts, and the photos.

Scott: Thanks for the rack info. That sounds like a good "off the shelf" method. Always a bonus not having to remove the front wheel. And ha ha about getting it dirty on the trail. But that's not quite the same as having it covered in bug guts and blood (well, depends on where and how you ride I guess Good point too about how if you are going to basically stop and remove it, it's not so bad having it on the rear hitch (plus you can skinny in and out).

David: Geez, next thing you know I'll have the spare back on the rear bumper Another excellent option. And the cover info is good, too. Did I miss what type of hitch you have? I like the looks of the "One Up" tray type, but curious what you have.

BG

PS: grantcln: Clearly you have to get a rear door now with all these methods to choose from