Mounting a bike on your rear ladder?

Debating whether to take my road bike on our upcoming trip. Not really enough room in the basement and not really keen on the idea of keeping it in the TOAD. Has anyone had experience with attaching a bike to the rear ladder somehow?

jymbee said:

Debating whether to take my road bike on our upcoming trip. Not really enough room in the basement and not really keen on the idea of keeping it in the TOAD. Has anyone had experience with attaching a bike to the rear ladder somehow?

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Others may say different and they may know more about this subject...
That said;
I would think that the weight of the bike could cause the ladder to vibrate loose.

Roof rack on the toad.

If you look very closely at the construction of the ladder and its mounting hardware, you'll never be tempted to hang things on it. Heck, you'll probably have second thoughts about climbing it.

I have a bike rack that attaches to the hitch receiver on the toad -- they're available up to at least four bikes. I agree with Gizmo that the ladder probably isn't strong enough to take the long term vibrations, etc. with that much added weight and leverage.

I guess it depends on 'Road Bike'  Some road bikes are light as a feather, unlike mountain bikes.  I probably agree with everyone else, ladder being the last option.  BUT, if I ended up hanging on the ladder, I would consider an additional strap from up high to at least spread the weight over a few of the mounting points to the RV.

a little more to my response.  ON the toad,.  How do you carry the bike to a ride?  I assume by you calling it a road bike, you are in the more dedicated ranks of cyclists.  I have a road bike and a mountain bike, and my mountain bike weighs less than the department store road bikes.  I have a Yakima roof rack and what they call a 'front end loader' rack, it is adjustable to wheel size and is very easy to load.  It comes with a built in heaven duty cable lock for security and it also locks to the roof rack. 

Better than hanging from ladder, in the case of multiple bikes, you can just add another rack. 

The hitch mounts are another good option, but putting more items between the car and hooking up is mot my idea of fun trying to get =everything settled.

The hitch mounts are another good option, but putting more items between the car and hooking up is mot my idea of fun trying to get =everything settled.

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The hitch on my toad is on the back end, Bill, so not between the vehicles.

Gizmo100 said:

Others may say different and they may know more about this subject...
That said;
I would think that the weight of the bike could cause the ladder to vibrate loose.

Click to expand...

I carry 2 mountain bikes on a ladder mounted carrier for 3 years now with no issues on the back of my Class C.  I uses several bungees and have a secondary restraint to the ladder

HappyWanderer said:

If you look very closely at the construction of the ladder and its mounting hardware, you'll never be tempted to hang things on it. Heck, you'll probably have second thoughts about climbing it.

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While the ladder appears to be pretty stable and well constructed, given what I've read here and elsewhere I've never considered climbing up on it myself. The few times we needed access to the roof we used an extension ladder over the coach ladder. Better safe...

PancakeBill said:

a little more to my response.  ON the toad,.  How do you carry the bike to a ride?  I assume by you calling it a road bike, you are in the more dedicated ranks of cyclists.  I have a road bike and a mountain bike, and my mountain bike weighs less than the department store road bikes.  I have a Yakima roof rack and what they call a 'front end loader' rack, it is adjustable to wheel size and is very easy to load.  It comes with a built in heaven duty cable lock for security and it also locks to the roof rack. 

Better than hanging from ladder, in the case of multiple bikes, you can just add another rack. 

The hitch mounts are another good option, but putting more items between the car and hooking up is mot my idea of fun trying to get =everything settled.

Click to expand...

This will be our first year traveling with the coach and we'll be towing our van. Up to now I've always carried the bike inside the van-- partially disassembled for easier packing and that's still a possibility although I'm trying to keep as much stuff as possible out of the van. It's a Cannondale street type bike and pretty light weight-- around 20 lbs.

The van doesn't have either a roof rack or receiver hitch now. I looked into the roof rack thing some time ago but the expense was too high given I didn't think we'd get that much use out of it.

I'm surprised there's not an out-of-the-box option-- or at least I haven't seen on-- for mounting a bike and as others have suggested somehow spreading the weight out over the length of the ladder.

All in all it looks like either carrying it inside the van or on a rear receiver with a bike mount might be the best option.

Something this simple as well  https://www.amazon.com/OxGord-2-Bike-Rack-Trunk-Mount/dp/B0744YT36S/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1545150875&sr=8-13&keywords=rear+car+bike+rack

The bike's weight is nothing to worry about. My big concerns are wind loading (60-70 mph) and risk to the motorhome siding from the bike flailing about. I've put my toys in a rooftop pod, at the top of the ladder. The pod drafts right behind the A/C unit.

in one word.

NO.

ladder can just support its self. keep the bike inside while on the rd. and very securely locked up outside, as bikes like to ride away by them selves.