Ladder supporting weight of 2 e-bikes

[Yvonnemarc]

We carry a bike rack with 3 or 4 bikes thru our spare tire carrier on our ACE

[Chance]

Don’t know how much they cost, but this Thule rack may give you some good ideas. Their equipment is usually nice but expensive. This one can carry two e-bikes weighing up to 30 kg (66 pounds) each, or 60 kg total. It can be expanded to 3 or 4 bikes (same total weight though).

Anyway, over the last few years I’ve seen many motorhomes on TV during Tour de France with bike racks mounted directly on rear wall. If you search you should find other brands and designs.

I’ve built quite a few bike racks and when done right, bikes can be mounted fairly close to each other — under 12 inches apart is easy for most bikes. Pictures of bikes you ordered look fairly standard — weight is just very heavy compared to what I’m used to.

https://www.thule.com/en-gb/motorhom...ndard-_-309821

[DocMike]

Any and All,
For the dual hitch listed in entry #5 this thread(copied below), would it work with a Curt Spare Tire mount on top and flat towing a Kia Soul on the lower?

It looks like it might add some distance between the RV and the Toad...might add stress to the system? In my mind I keep seeing the earlier pictures from the past two years where the Reese Hitch gets ripped off the underside of the RV.


To those who are more Technically inclined please advise.


Thanks.


DocMike


Quote:
Originally Posted by Popfla
Using one of these, you could use your hitch-mount bike rack AND still tow your dolly.

It's only rated to 3500 lbs so he'd have to have a mighty light toad.

Here's a 5000 lb rated one that's $24 cheaper:

https://www.amazon.com/HiTow-Receive...QGFC0WQDZGHDP3

[Cwray]

Originally Posted by 16ACE27

It's only rated to 3500 lbs so he'd have to have a mighty light toad.

Here's a 5000 lb rated one that's $24 cheaper:

This solves the problem. I did this exact same thing this year with a split hitch rated for 5,000# and am towing a Honda Odyssey minivan behind a bike hitch that carries -5- bikes on it. Not going to get much bigger of a car on a dolly than that, and you’re not going to find a bike rack carrying bikes farther back from your rig than that either. Haven’t run into any problems towing all that or making too sharp of turns and having the bikes hit the front of the van.

Done deal.

[Richard]

Originally Posted by steve2777

I have a 2018 Thor Siesta 24ST and have just purchased two e-bikes, with a combined weight (batteries removed) of just under 80 lb. I have a Surco 501BR ladder mounted bike rack that holds 2 bikes, which I believe is adequate for the weight, but I've only previously used it on this ladder for a single lighter standard bike.

I've read all the threads with horror stories of ladders being torn loose by the weight of bikes, etc. attached to them during travel. My concern is heightened as I know that the mounting of this ladder is not the best: When brand new, the mounting SCREWS (not bolts) were so stripped that they could be moved with a finger, and the dealer had to remount them when we took delivery (but they're still screws, not bolts with backing plates). I have a hitch mount bike rack that would eliminate the concern, but not only does it add 4 ft to the length of the coach, making parking and maneuvering

much more difficult, but eliminates my towing a dolly. The ladder is presently fine for 165 lb me to access the roof, but I suspect the laws of physics would yield a different answer for 80 lb being flung around on a bumpy road at 65mph.

Has anyone had experience in re-mounting the ladder with through bolts and backing plates? My coach layout has a large storage locker at the lower rear that would allow me to drill straight through and access the back side for plate mounting, and the next row of mounting points could, I believe, be accessed if I removed the cushioned bunk headboards against the back wall of the bedroom. I'm contacting Thor as well, hoping they can assure me that drilling at these spots won't sever something vital. Thanks.

I speak from experience.... it doesn’t just pull out the screws, it destroys the ladder. Don’t even think about it.

[frankgtx]

Originally Posted by ducksface

The bolt through is an an easy thought and easily accomplished mod if you can make access.
You'll likely need some spacers made from the pipe of your choice between the inside and outside walls.

I've done ladders and upper and lower awning Mounts and floor and wall tie downs in a toy hauler. Aluminum diamond plate makes fine backers and is easily cut and bent to contour as needed.


Make sure anyone responding has practical, not IEEE experience before you follow any train of thought/acccomplishment regarding through bolts.

But
I would go farther and have a STEEL ladder built to copy the possibly/probably/almost certainly aluminum tube/decorative grade stainless steel ladder you have.
I wouldn't trust the aluminum/stainless tube to take the jostling.
THIS is where you listen to engineer stuff.
If you can kick it and make it kink, don't use it.
Personally if my new ladder wasn't heavy Guage pipe, I'd pass.

So,
I'm going to say no. My 'no' is not based on the sound logic of through bolts, but on the material generally used on rv ladders.

Expense be damned. You can afford to rv, or you can't.

I do not trust these so called ladders. I weigh close to 200lbs and every time I go up on the roof I ask myself, particularly when I get close to the top, if this is the time when the thing pulls off and sends me to my grave. Probably time to use an extension ladder...

[Bob Denman]

... Or find yourself a twelve year-old; who has no fear of heights.