E-bike rack for toad

[petefoss]

I've been searching for a way to carry our new e-bikes on the back of our toad (Colorado pickup on dolly). Options are heavy duty bike racks that oh by the way say not for a towed vehicle in the fine print. Or a dual hitch extender on the RV which say not for dolly or trailer towing (only flat). Truck is a 5 foot bed which makes putting the bikes in the bed difficult plus I can't find a bike weight rating on BedHead mounts.

Any body out there have a successful system? I'm probably going to wing it with the Thule EasyFold XT even though it says not for towed vehicles only driven.

Pete

[JamieGeek]

I use this guy (Amazon) on the back of the RV.

Not sure if it will work on the back of a toad or not--so far we haven't brought along both the bike(s) and a toad (if I did my Rad Mini folds up and can go inside the toad, if we bring an Escape we can put both bikes inside).

I used to have a Ranger Splash (the flare side version of the old Rangers) and I made a bike mount for the front of the bed that you take the front wheels off and clamp them to the mount (thus shortening the bikes to fit in the 5 foot bed). Kind of like this rack (Amazon). Looks like this would work for my e-bike as well since the front wheel does have a quick release on it.

[The Gritz Carlton]

Couldn't you install a front tire rack in the bed and just leave the tailgate down, loading the bikes in the bed? Would the extra length of the bed in the down position make it long enough?

[petefoss]

Possibly with a bed extender to the the gate from bouncing.

[Bob Denman]

Why not put a cap over the bed of the truck, and store them in there?
It would give you a little bit of security for them...

[petefoss]

Bed is only 5'. Hard to fit 6 foot long bikes expecially since they have fenders.

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

Why not put a cap over the bed of the truck, and store them in there?
It would give you a little bit of security for them...

[Bob Denman]

How about removing the front wheels?

[ducksface]

Does it give a VALID REASON for not using a bike rack on a tow'd?
I can't think of anything outside of legal ass covering of some inane sort or some odd 'triple' law that might technically seem as if you're towing a third vehicle....
It seems a lot like 'wesayso'.
Seems kinda silly.

I'll say produce a valid argument or hook it to your tow'd hitch mount.

In using the word 'seems' I mean it to mean 'horsecrap'.

[Yaktop]

Many racks are not approved for use on back of towed vehicles if you read the fine print. Supposedly the extra sway and vibrations over time will weaken the receiver welds. Ebikes are heavier also and many racks can’t carry the extra weight.

Although many do.

[Pete'sMH]

Originally Posted by ducksface

Does it give a VALID REASON for not using a bike rack on a tow'd?
I can't think of anything outside of legal ass covering of some inane sort or some odd 'triple' law that might technically seem as if you're towing a third vehicle....
It seems a lot like 'wesayso'.
Seems kinda silly.

I'll say produce a valid argument or hook it to your tow'd hitch mount.

In using the word 'seems' I mean it to mean 'horsecrap'.

One of the major manufacturers (Yakima, I think) has posted videos of how the rack moves when mounted in the back of an RV. It’s pretty scary. I returned mine when I saw it. Just because you haven’t seen it doesn’t mean it isn’t out there

[ducksface]

https://www.amazon.com/Dependable-Di...er+tigh&sr=8-2

Next!

https://yakimasupport.zendesk.com/hc...bile_site=true

And again.


'[we approve of a rack on a flat towed vehicle but] If the towed vehicle is on a trailer or half trailer then it would significantly change the POSSIBLE(meaning untested conjecture) forces on the rack and we would not approve(meaning we must still warrant or we'd say we wouldn't warrant) use of our hitch racks.'

I don't really think we're looking for their 'approval'

Not using a rack on a towed is an extremely weak suggestion. Even a prestigious manufacturer like Yakima couldn't say definitively 'don't do it'.

[Yaktop]

Ebikes are heavy. I just would recommend you look at the fine print for max weight and if any cautions are listed.

Hollywood racks. One of the max weight units -

- Not to be used on any trailer, fifth wheel, or towed vehicle

[rcharrette]

Originally Posted by ducksface

Does it give a VALID REASON for not using a bike rack on a tow'd?
I can't think of anything outside of legal ass covering of some inane sort or some odd 'triple' law that might technically seem as if you're towing a third vehicle....
It seems a lot like 'wesayso'.
Seems kinda silly.

I'll say produce a valid argument or hook it to your tow'd hitch mount.

In using the word 'seems' I mean it to mean 'horsecrap'.

I have some personal experience with this. I had a Kuat rack that I was carrying 4 bikes on. I would regularly swap it between my tow vehicle then onto the back of my travel trailer when moving. What I was told is the rear of your trailer is like the last car of a roller coaster, it really gets jerked around and its a very rough ride! I disregarded the warnings and used it for about a year and put a few thousand miles on the system. Finally one day the pin that you use to fold the rack up and down failed and I was dragging the rack down the highway with 4 bikes attached. Luckily another motorist alerted us and we pulled over. Being the stubborn person I am I bought the newer model Kuat to replace it. The whole system was a bit more beefier (I told myself). Well, within a year the exact same failure, that pin to fold the rack up and down.
E-Bikes are even heavier! My advice if you really wand to use a standard bike rack off the receiver would be to have the pivot welded in place so you can not fold the rack. This eliminated that weak pivot pin. After my second failure I replaced the pin with a 3/4' bolt and it held fine like that for many miles, but I could not fold it when not in use.

[Pete'sMH]

Mine are mopeds which are even heavier than ebikes so I use this. It’s somewhat cumbersome but has proved its worth in its versatility even when not toting the scoots.

[Yaktop]

It’s physics. The longer the vehicle of a towed vehicle be it trailer or toad the vibrations multiply. Over time tiny cracks can appear to eventual failure. The heavier the load / capacity of the rack the more it likely event.

160 lbs of bike parts spewed across the road in front of other drivers might be a problem.

Don’t cheap out and read the limits of whatever it’s engineered to do. Or, not.

[ducksface]

Based on the logic I'm reading I have to imagine owner manuals for all jeeps saying to remove the rear spare tire and the mount before towing the jeep(read this jeep reference to mean every vehicle with a rear mount spare or even an enclosed trailer with stuff against the interior rear wall).
I have also never seen gas cans or jacks or bicycles mounted to those racks.
I'm thinking the jeep racks might be stamped sheet metal mounts and not 2" thick wall sleeved within thick wall mount like a hitch is.
I don't ever remember seeing a jeep being towed without its spare tire hanging off the back. Who removes them due to the physics of it all?
I can't imagine the stresses from that short wheelbase jeep clipping over whoopdies driven in a less than intelligent fashion isn't many times, to hundreds of times, the stress from riding on a towed vehicle travelling down the road on the smooth roads an rv owner usually goes out of their way to find.

I'm thinking if you bought a real rack with real metal instead of some strap mounted to the lip of your trunk lid and a suction cup on your plastic bumper facade, buying a real rack as shown in the picture posted above, you could probably pull a tree down with the pictured rack.

If you're fine print driven, go find a rack that doesn't say something stupid in the fine print.
Yakima specifically and definitely says(in the link I took the time to post as proofs instead letting my end of the discussion being myth and conjecture driven) you can use their hitch mount rack on a flat towed vehicle. They get silly on their attitude regarding a trailered vehicle. I guess their lawyers at least had a modicum of real life experience...which ends just short of a trailered vehicle. So unless the racks which can't be used due to fine print, are, admittedly by their manufacturer, of GREAT inferiority compared to the well known Yakima...there is no blanket excuse of physics and 'whip the tail'.

Logic prevails.
Prevail.

[Bob Denman]

... or you might just damage the vehicle that you've got it all hooked to?
The weak link in the chain will always make it's presence known...

[Yaktop]

Spare tire mount arent hitch receiver mounts with a bike rack but whatever floats your boat. Apples and Oranges.

[petefoss]

I'm leaning towards this Hollywood rack that is allowed on a flat towed vehicle. I don't think the difference between flat and dolly towed is significant. Especially since it comes with the rigid non-tilting version.

https://www.etrailer.com/p-HR1600.html

[Pete'sMH]

I’m not really sure why this is a discussion. Certainly there ARE RV/trailer rated bike racks in a wide range of capacities. Why not just buy one of them and not take a chance.

I have never heard that Jeep recommends removing the tailgate mounted spare before towing. I’ll go check my owners manual but frankly, I don’t think there is such a recommendation. At least not for TJs.