Bicycle Hauling

[dandar]

I have a bed extender. So I fold the bed cover, or take it off for longer trips, extend the bed, rest the bikes against side of the bed and strap them down. I had 5 bikes in the bed last weekend and plenty of room for coolers, tents, chairs etc. If it's just a quick trip with an empty bed, I'd lay them down flat.

 

[theonlyMcG]

I bought this one and it works great for getting quickly installed and uninstalled plus it fits with the RamBox.

Swagman Pick Up Rack

 

[Biga]

I just throw mine in the back of the bed laying flat, never had an issue.

 

[rsmeanie]

I love my Thule hitch rack. Doesn’t matter if I drive my Ram or my Jeep, it fits both.

 

[Midnight1988]

I've been hauling mine atop a RetraxONE XR tonneau with a Yakima setup

View attachment 27253

That’s what I have as well and also a hitch setup

 

[Kidder]

2x6 that goes across the width of the bed with fork mounts screwed into it. I have a wheel holder too. I will post pics later.

 

[crangel]

I like quick and simple. I put my bike in with the rear wheel in driver side corner in the front of the bed (cab side) with the bike coming out at about 45 deg so the "V" of the corner is about mid-tire. Then I take a cargo strap and using a motorcycle tie down loop wrapped around the head tube, I use 2 cam cargo straps to tighten it. Cam straps go from drivers side mid rail if you have the utility rails or bottom tie down near tailgate if not and the other cam strap on the passenger side bottom front near cab. Don't need to tighten very much just snug and it is very stable. Since I have a short bed, I have to turn the handlebars some to be able to close the tailgate. Work great, takes almost no time. I have hauled 3 bikes using a variation of this. Once you get used to doing it it is very quick.

 

[dfrink]

What hitch racks are you all using? Looks like the Thule will work? I have a Rochymounts splitrail and the tailgate hits the rack when it's down, even if I tilt it all the way down at a 45. Sucks because if I want to use the truck bed I need to pull the rack off... URG!

 

[ryanc111]

What hitch racks are you all using? Looks like the Thule will work? I have a Rochymounts splitrail and the tailgate hits the rack when it's down, even if I tilt it all the way down at a 45. Sucks because if I want to use the truck bed I need to pull the rack off... URG!

I use the Yakima Dr. Tray hitch mount rack and I am able to lower my tailgate just fine. When purchasing it had the lowest rise of all of the mounts I looked at (Kuat, Thule, RockyMounts). The downside is you can only extend it to haul three bikes where as the others can haul four but I’ve been able to manage just fine with three.

Dr.Tray 1.25”

Dr.Tray is the ultimate tray rack for your hitch. It can easily handle road, mountain, and fat-tire bikes with up to 4.8” tires. Bike clearance is top notch, with 18” between the trays. To make it even better, the bike tray spacing can be adjusted tool-free while the bikes are loaded, virtually...

www.yakima.com

 

[Rampat]

What hitch racks are you all using? Looks like the Thule will work? I have a Rochymounts splitrail and the tailgate hits the rack when it's down, even if I tilt it all the way down at a 45. Sucks because if I want to use the truck bed I need to pull the rack off... URG!

Just buy a hitch extender. It will push the rack back far enough to clear the tailgate.

 

[BiGJZ74]

What hitch racks are you all using? Looks like the Thule will work? I have a Rochymounts splitrail and the tailgate hits the rack when it's down, even if I tilt it all the way down at a 45. Sucks because if I want to use the truck bed I need to pull the rack off... URG!

1up USA is the best on the market. Expensive but sturdy, fast and easy to use

 

[dailyherold]

Solid thread and suggestions from everyone. I'm in same boat as @Wakesnowb and curious if anyone has found a BUG rail attachment for keeping bikes vertical in bed? Similar to the velo gripper but a rail attachment.

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

I installed a couple u bolts into the bed to lash the rear tires to with a velcro strap and turn the front wheel 90 degrees and lash the front wheel to the BUG rail with another velcro strap run a cable through the front triangles and lock it to the tie down D ring. And away we go. Takes about 5 minutes to load both bikes and strap them down. They fit with enough room to close the tailgate. The black Santa Cruz is a size Large Bronson and my GF's Scott Genius is a small for reference.

 

[Scottg918514]

Hello, I am curious how everyone is hauling their bicycles around with their trucks. There are a few options that I see: 1) removing the front wheel and attaching bike to a frame system 2) hang bikes over a tailgate cover system (such as the tailgate cover made by Dakine) 3) simply lay bikes flat in the bed of truck.

I do not really want to mess around with taking the front wheel off. I was exploring the idea of engineering something with the Bed Utility Group (BUG) rail system. Toying around with the idea of designing a bar that goes a couple inches perpendicular to the rail and clamping the bikes to that somehow so that they stand straight up but gives some clearance from the Lomax Tonneau cover rails I have. and do not want the bike to lean against the Tonneau cover rail and would like to have some sort of bracket system that is easily removable. Anyways just looking for ideas on how everyone else does it with their bikes. Photos would be great! Thanks.

A few images of my old setup on my gen 4 ecodiesel. Bed crossbars with 2 1ups and 2 Whispbars and for 2 more on the back, a Kuat. Much simplified on the new truck, single 1up on the hitch, with 1 add-on, if needed and 2 fork mount Rocky mounts in the bed. My son drives now, so I don’t have the need to carry that many bikes anymore. Most of the time, just me.

 

[Wakesnowb]

View attachment 41043

I installed a couple u bolts into the bed to lash the rear tires to with a velcro strap and turn the front wheel 90 degrees and lash the front wheel to the BUG rail with another velcro strap run a cable through the front triangles and lock it to the tie down D ring. And away we go. Takes about 5 minutes to load both bikes and strap them down. They fit with enough room to close the tailgate. The black Santa Cruz is a size Large Bronson and my GF's Scott Genius is a small for reference.

Sounds like a solid setup. Do you think it would work with the Tonneau Cover rails? Can you please take a couple of pictures of the bolts and straps attached?

 

[roland958]

Here is my setup.

 

[Billet1500 4x4]

Sounds like a solid setup. Do you think it would work with the Tonneau Cover rails? Can you please take a couple of pictures of the bolts and straps attached?

What Kind of tonneau cover? The problem I had with a tonneau cover on my last truck was that I couldn't get the rear wheel to come flush to the bed closest to the cab because it would hit the cover when it was in the open position 27.5 was bad but I can imagine a 29er would be a little bit worse. The rails themselves were never an issue though. I had a revolver x2 that took up about 5 inches of space when it was open.

 

[Wakesnowb]

What Kind of tonneau cover? The problem I had with a tonneau cover on my last truck was that I couldn't get the rear wheel to come flush to the bed closest to the cab because it would hit the cover when it was in the open position 27.5 was bad but I can imagine a 29er would be a little bit worse. The rails themselves were never an issue though. I had a revolver x2 that took up about 5 inches of space when it was open.

I have the Lomax cover that is completely removed when open so there should be no problem with the rear wheels to the cab (no horizontal rail on back bed wall). The rails do however go down the sides of the truck which would push the bikes out a couple inches from the sides of the beds. The rails are pretty sturdy but still only held on by clamps therefore I would like to have the bikes perfectly vertical if possible without leaning against the rails. The bolts would need to extend from the bug rail enough to push the bike out a bit is what I am thinking.

 

[Mike S]

I really like the mount over the bed. Allows for a tonneau cover so I can store gear, etc. in the bed and keep it all dry. This is a Yakima setup and I can have up three bikes mounted at the same time. Middle bike would be mounted in reverse from the two outside bikes. When not hauling bikes, disassemble (five minutes) and store bike mounts and cross bars. You have do some drilling through the bed rails to get this setup, but it was not difficult. Convenient also that all wheels stay on bike for quick loading and unloading.
Yakima - 70" CoreBar for Roof Rack Systems, Large
Yakima - (3) FrontLoader Bike Mounting System
Yakima - (2) Skyline Towers for Roof Rack Systems, 2 Pack
2 of Yakima - Landing Pad 1, Fixed Point Tower Installation for Naked Rooftops (Set of 2)

 

[dailyherold]

I installed a couple u bolts into the bed to lash the rear tires to with a velcro strap and turn the front wheel 90 degrees and lash the front wheel to the BUG rail with another velcro strap run a cable through the front triangles and lock it to the tie down D ring.

I love the simplicity, I'll probably do this as well until I have need for something over-bed or on hitch.