Carrying a mountain bike

Square tubing and some ingenuity.

 

Here is my setup. Can haul up to 6 bikes with no hassle.

 

No carrying a bike for me. That handle is actually a seat, try to ride the thing. It is so much more enjoyable! The feeling of freedom!! Love it! Now, how do I transport? Throw it in the travel trailer, stays secure and out of the weather. See you on the trail!

 

DAKINE tailgate pad has worked best for me. Can install/ remove very quick and transports 6 bikes easily while you still have open bed space. Only complaint is bikes aren't secure from would be thieves.

 

Bingo! We have a winner! If you see fit run a coated cable and lock to the hitch safety chain loop for security.

 

I had the same issue with my Kuat NV. I used a sander to grind away some of the wheel tray so that there was clearance when there was weight on the tailgate. Unless you looked really closely, you could not tell that the front and back wheel trays were a little different.

 

I have a couple of Thule bed rack rails. They did the job and stayed in place as I off-roaded next to the highway on my recent road trip I always wanted to see things from up high.

 

I opted to put my fork mounts on my bed cover. I may get a cross bar for the rear so I can keep the bike all the way above the cover for longer trips if I want stuff in the bed covered. For now this will work.

 

Nice setup. I have had a few different configurations. I just installed a Decked system that I will keep in the truck most the year and I will use this mount on the front bed rail and when I go on long trips I will toss the cover and 1ups back on.

 

So you installed a metal/aluminum plate one the bed rail system. That is slick. Sorry had to look at the pictures again. Great idea.

 

Prior to having the bed cover I had a similar setup to this. I bought some 1" aluminum angle iron, and mounted it to the track near the cab, with the fork mounts mounted that so they sat correctly. I liked that set up a lot. I had a hitch rack, but got tired of moving around that all the time when I wasn't transporting bikes. I felt like in the bed was the best option for me. For my bed cover, I mounted these a little back from the cab so I can eventually put a rack on for my kayaks/SUP's. It's been a long work in progress figuring out the right setup!

 

@mky1013 what brand wheels are you running and setup?

 

I like that idea of putting one across the back and staggering the bikes. I have rocky mounts on my front rail that I secure my bikes with, however the rest of the family just get theirs thrown in the bed. Any more photos from further away?

 

Heavy e-bike on cheap Amazon carrier that works very well.

 

Lol I love this. I’ve been running something similar for years on my old Tacoma (and just recently modded it to work on my tundra) but I have to remove the front wheel. I like your setup better.

I’ll try and find some pics

 

I don’t have any good photos but you get the idea. I love carrying this way because it leaves the bed free for camping or dirt bikes or whatever.

 

rigd ultraswing with bike adapter. i like to keep my bed clear for storage and other stuff.