Bike Rack and 5th Wheel Question

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Poppys 5th Wheel

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 25, 2010
Posts
165
Location
Carlsbad, Ca
Okay, I know this might sound crazy but I just bought a new 5th wheel and it doesn't have a receiver mounted in the rear like my old one. So, I've been searching this forum and other sites looking for solutions to carrying our bikes. My wife asked me why we can't put our rack on the trucks receiver? I told her there isn't room and the trailer could hit them but the more I think of it I'm not so sure. Anyone doing that?

I also wonder if any 5th wheelers use a bike rack on the roof of the truck? My truck is a crew cab so the roof is almost as long as a regular car so I thought it may work. Any ideas or pictures?

Thanks

Paul & Deb
 
I have a fifth wheel with the same issue of having no receiver on the back of the trailer.  I have put a bike rack in the hitch on my truck with the camper hooked up, and with my particular setup it would not have worked. The trailer would have definitely hit the bikes if I would have tried to pull it like that.  Your situation may be different with a different truck and trailer, but I wouldn't count on it.  After the snow melts up here I am going to weld a receiver onto the back bumper of the trailer.  Hope this helps.... Good luck...
 
Poppys 5th Wheel said:
Okay, I know this might sound crazy but I just bought a new 5th wheel and it doesn't have a receiver mounted in the rear like my old one. So, I've been searching this forum and other sites looking for solutions to carrying our bikes. My wife asked me why we can't put our rack on the trucks receiver? I told her there isn't room and the trailer could hit them but the more I think of it I'm not so sure. Anyone doing that?

I also wonder if any 5th wheelers use a bike rack on the roof of the truck? My truck is a crew cab so the roof is almost as long as a regular car so I thought it may work. Any ideas or pictures?

Thanks

Paul & Deb

I've seen quite a few of these being used in our travels.

https://www.lakelandgear.com/bike-racks/rv-bike-racks/details/383/26/bike-racks/rv-bike-racks/rv-bumper-rack-2.html
 
My fifth wheel came with out a hitch as well. I built my own. They wanted over 200.00 for a universal fit so I went to the junk yard and purchased a 1 1/4 " receiver hitch off of an old mini van for 25.00. total cost of 40.00 including paint. Obviously not a certified hitch for towing but more than adequate for a bike rack. I cut the ends off and added some square stock and plate steel to the ends so it would fit between my frame rails then purchased a nice two bike rack from amazon and it worked great. I can take some pics and post them if you are interested.  Chip
 
Here are the pics of my 40.00 home made hitch.
 

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Irocrcr, instead of attaching that receiver to the back bumper I would attach it to the frame.  It will be much more solid and safe.

Irocrcr said:
I have a fifth wheel with the same issue of having no receiver on the back of the trailer.  I have put a bike rack in the hitch on my truck with the camper hooked up, and with my particular setup it would not have worked. The trailer would have definitely hit the bikes if I would have tried to pull it like that.  Your situation may be different with a different truck and trailer, but I wouldn't count on it.  After the snow melts up here I am going to weld a receiver onto the back bumper of the trailer.  Hope this helps.... Good luck...
 
I went through the same thing and ended up having the dealer mount a receiver. Most of the bumpers I've seen are not sturdy enough for a hitch receiver. He mounted it so the spare could stay on the bumper. The other issue is the way stuff flops around when it's on the rear. I use bungy cords to hold it to one side to stop the sway.
 

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Tvmann, you are right. Mine will be mounted to the frame with some square steel stock that will be welded in between the frame rails.  My fiver only has the cheap little c channel rear bumper which would not be able to support anything.
 
Thanks for the info guys. I think having a receiver welded in to the frame is probably the best bet. I was getting in my truck this morning and couldn't imagine lifting the bikes to take them on and off, especially in a few more years  :( And the whole idea of putting them on the rack between the truck and the trailer just sounds sillier and sillier. The idea of attaching a rack just to the bumper or the kind that hang on the spare tire does not sit well with me. To much shaking going on for that. Even with my bike rack in a heavy receiver on the truck and they rock quite a bit. That's bound to cause some weakness over time.

I wish I could weld! Some nice looking work falconhunter! Thanks again all
 
I am facing the same problem.  I too have looked at a number of options.  The one I think I am leaning toward is a front receiver hitch on the front of my truck.  It solves the bouncing problem and I can keep a better eye on them there.  I don't have to weld anything (since the receiver just bolts on).  Just what is rattling around the old noggin.
 
I was thinking about putting them in front also till I made a trial fit and found something was always in front of the lights plus I didn't want to block any air to the radiator. Also I had a roof mount I used with an Expedition and although it was a good rack, it was a pain to hold a bike that high and guide it into a rack. After a rotator cuff operation that became out of the question.
The method my receiver bolts on is simple and can be removed easily in case the bottom needs opened. Plus it doesn't weigh a lot. I've taken it off to paint it by myself, just 4 bolts.
 
I went a differant way because I have a storage box on the back of my 5W. I mounted a receiver on my 5W pin. Works great and I can keep an eye on the bikes. If you get one of the bike rakes that come forward/down that makes loading the bikes that much easier.
 

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rbell; that looks like the solution which will work best. Do you have the manufacturer's name?

silveradomike; now that's as creative as I've ever seen! And that doesn't get in the way of turning radius or anything? Wow, that's interesting. How about welding to the pin box? No worries about breaking down the strength (I know ZERO about welding)?
 
Silverado, would it be possible to get a few more pics of that setup. That would work perfect on my trailer also.  That was a great idea.  What did you use for the filler piece between the reciever and pin box?
 
I use this http://www.yakima.com/shop/bike/hitch/holdup Rack. It's very easy to load & unload the bikes. The mount for the receiver was made by the guy where I bought my trailer. It's just 2 1" cross bars welded to a 2" tube with the receiver welded to the end. The small round bar is welded on to minimize the flopping of the receiver tube. The Yakima rack is help in by a bolt that goes in place of the pin. That holds the rack tube solid to the side to help with flopping also. Then I use bungee cords to hold it to the ladder side so the bikes ride steady. Those Yakima racks are not cheap, but they work, good stuff.
 
We bought a removable rack that was made to attach to the rear ladder and put our two bikes on it.  Big mistake.  After about a month, I noticed that the ladder was bending away from the fifth wheel.  Then we had no choice but to put the bikes in the storage compartment.  They fit in with the front wheels and the handlebars removed, but that put the kibosh on spur-of-the-moment bike rides when we pulled into a CG.  Looking at having a hitch installed on the back of the fiver, but it's not gonna be cheap. 
 
That is not an actual picture of my setup but just about the same. My son had mine made for me by someone who fabricated is off-road racing truck. It came out excellent and I just bolted it to pin box with six heavy duty bolts as I don't weld myself. The receiver is actually welded to a large sheet of metal and that is what is bolted to the pin. It works great and I can clear my cab with for bikes as I have a long bed and with only two there is room to spare. I will post some pics of my setup within the next couple of days.
 
Here are my bike rack on my 5er. My son had it make for me by the buider of his off road race truck.
 

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That is a great solution to a common problem.The ingenuity of the RV ing community never ceases to amaze me. Hats off to ya Silveradomike! :)
 
Use bike rack for ... not a bike!  :)  Easy mount for our genset, don't use it while driving cause already ripped a bumper off years ago on our TT..... but great for sitting still with the sound board.
 

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