Bike Rack from TrailManor

Originally Posted by Firefly

Hi Factor...

TrailManor sells the "receptacle" that accepts a bike rack. We would have to attach the receptacle part to the TM by drilling holes in the TM frame (underneath) and bolting that part to our TM. Then we would go buy a bike rack that fits into that 2" hitch receptacle. TrailManor does not sell (to my knowledge) a bike rack. Sorry for the confusion.

Tami

I would love to know what bike rack you found that would hold your bikes securely on the trailmanor, that would not exceed the 100 pound weight limit? From what I've found most bike racks weigh at least 35lbs by themselves, and then the bikes are around the same each as well, putting the total weight easily over 100 pounds with only the bike rack and 2 bikes much less 4.

This is a problem we've had with our trailmanor from day 1. Camping is just not the same without our bikes. We have yet to find a solution. Our camper came with the bumper hitch with the 100 lb limit, but we have found no way to stay under that. And we tow with a conversion van so the options of truck beds, and roof mounts etc. also are not an option.

Thanks for any help you can offer! :-)

VibrantClan - I assume you realize you are posting to a thread from 2005? You may not get a response from that group.

There are pass through receivers that put the bike rack between the vehicle and trailer. Don't know much about them other than they exist. Might be worth a look.

Thule and Yakima make good bike racks for mounting a variety of places.
I do agree with u, I like having my bike along and have put it a number of places both inside and outside vehicles depending on a number of factors.
Good luck.

I got the mount installed, and I beleive we were told 140 lbs, which is good for many bike racks and two bikes.

Right now we have the swagman XC bike rack that allows for two bikes and if the bikes are taken off the rack, we can open and get to the back storage area. We might end up with a rack that swings down abd out the way. The thule and yakima say not to do that without removing the bikes first. But this one might work for us. 20 lbs and you can keep the bikes on. Next time we take out the trailer, we will measure against their welldefined specs. http://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Bike-R...e/SR26428.html

We have a swagman, and the only thing I don't like is that it's designed for 1.25" receivers with an adapter for 2". The adapter works fine and everything is real tight, but the narrow 1.25" shank connecting the bike rack to the receiver causes the whole assembly to bounce and sway *way* too much. My bikes were slamming into the back of the trailer (and side-to-side) until I mounted a bracket on the trailer to tie the handle bar to.

Would much prefer a bike rack with a 2" shank for a 2" receiver only. For example, compare the beefy 2" stem of the Kuat NV:
http://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Bike-Racks/Kuat/N101.html
with the same rack's 1.25" version, the Kuat Sherpa:
http://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Bike-Racks/Kuat/S101.html
Fancy expensive all Al racks, I know, but they make for a good comparison.

Our swagman XC comes with a 2 inch receiver. No adapter. But it is cheap.

Originally Posted by Laura FM

Our swagman XC comes with a 2 inch receiver. No adapter. But it is cheap.

Ah good for you. I mentioned this 'cause the new bike rack you were considering was advertised as a combo 1.25" - 2", which usually means the stem/shank is only 1.25".

But looking more closely I see that's not the case. The 1.25" shank is an accessory bolted to the bottom of the main 2" shank. Looks like a good design.

I had once thought of the bike rack but gave up on it when I took a look under the TM (mine is a 96) and saw that there were no shock absorbers to take up the bounce of the tires going into a hole or over something that is raised in the road. Figured there would be too much up and down force where I go so take that into consideration when considering the bike rack on the back of the TM.

Originally Posted by happybeebob

I had once thought of the bike rack but gave up on it when I took a look under the TM (mine is a 96) and saw that there were no shock absorbers to take up the bounce of the tires going into a hole or over something that is raised in the road. Figured there would be too much up and down force where I go so take that into consideration when considering the bike rack on the back of the TM.

Yup, the Trailmanor frame is very light weight. And you really want to keep the bike+rack from bobbing around back there as much as possible. So far though mine seems to be holding up.

Another thing is that hanging weight off the rear end will take weight off the tongue. For most Trailmanor's that's a good thing as their tongue weight can be excessive. In my case it allows me to tow without a WDH as it reduced my tongue weight to 500# (the limits of my receiver). But the bad part is that extra weight is now on your axle. Many Trailmanors are very close to their GAWR, and this can put them over.

Luckily, I'm still under the Elkmont's GAWR by about 180#. Not having to use the WDH, which puts more weight on the trailer axle, helps. In fact, even if I wanted to use a WDH for the sway control, I would now hesitate because of the extra load put on the trailer axle.

Well I actually did not realize this was a thread from 2005, I've read through so many I kinda lost my place. I still have not been able to find a solution. As far as the pass through receiver bike racks I don't think they would be a good solution for us with the weight distribution hitch we have, plus they look like they are cheaply made (at least the ones I've seen) and make me uneasy about depending on that for pulling the camper.

The Hitch on the back on the TM was clearly marked as 100 lb. limit, and I've read on other posts on here that I need to take that seriously, because others did not and lived to regret it.

We have a hitch extender (I think that is what it is called) that the dealer sold us with our TM that was supposed to allow us to place a hitch mounted rack in between the TM and the TV. It looks like the picture in the link below, but these may not be the measurements of mine I will have to check. We attached it when we got home the first time with our TM only to discover the opening at the top that is supposed to hold the bicycle rack comes out right at the handle for the tongue of the TM. Since then we kicked ourselves for not seeing this obvious flaw, and allowing the dealer to sucker us into this addition.

http://www.rvtoyoutlet.com/c-outside...p-RVT1028.html

We want a bike rack that holds a min. of 3 bikes, but we would prefer it to hold 4. We also want something that will work on our TV when we are not towing as well. We also do not want the costly expense of adding an additional hitch to the front of our TV. This leaves us with behind the TM or in between the TV and TM. I have listed the pros and cons etc. I've come up with for these options.

Back of the TM:
Cons
-Hitch weight limit of 100 lbs, and bike racks I've seen exceed this once bikes are attached.
-Have not been able to confirm weather the factory installed hitch is just bolted on or welded to the frame, so we do not know if a mod (adding welds) would increase the weight limit or not.
-Out of sight when towing so it is possible to have problems when towing and not notice until an accident is caused (I've heard chaining them on helps with piece of mind in this area)
-Will change how we store items in the TM for towing, and decreases the amount we can pack in the TM.
- May increase sway (but we do already have a WDH)
- Will need to be removed before setting up and opening TM.
Pros
- Can go in hitch receiver on van when not towing TM
- Does not effect turning radius
- Does not effect the ability to access the rear entry of the TV
- Does not decrease visibility when backing in
- May actually decrease tongue weight of TM instead of adding to it.

In Between TV and TM
Cons
- May effect turning radius
- May decrease visibility when backing in
- If we find a way to attach it to the Hitch it will add to the tongue weight
- If it is attached to the hitch it will need to be removed before setting up and opening TM
- Not sure if it is even possible to attach it to the hitch with or with out the extension or another method.
- Not sure of the effects on tongue weight if we have to use the extension we have or some other extension (not sure what all is available in that area)
- Attaching a strap on style bike rack or hitch style here would limit access to rear of vehicle
- regardless of weather we use a hitch mounted type here or a strap on style we may still need to use some sort of extension hitch to allow enough room for all of the bikes in between the TM and TV, and I'm really not sure how this will effect tongue weight and sway etc.

Pros
- I will be able to see the bikes when towing and identify problems possibly before they become dangerous
- Should not change how I load the TM
- Strap on style may not effect tongue weight.
- Both hitch style and strap on style should be able to be used on TV when not towing as well
- Strap on style can rub on the TV causing paint damage (but with some forethought this might be able to be avoided.
- I already have one type of extension so if needed I might not have to buy another one.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help any way you can. I am to the point of where this bike issue is making me regret my decision to get a TM. If I should be on a different thread then please direct me there. If anyone has any experience or knowledge that would be helpful I would greatly appreciate it. I may try to put this same info in other threads to increase visibility to others who may be able to offer a solution I have already read page after page after page of these threads on bike racks and it appears to be something a ton of people have had issues with, but that few have found solutions that did not require a different TV, or expensive bikes, or only bringing 2 bikes. This camper model sleeps 4 comfortably so I feel like there must be a solution that allows 4 bikes to be carried, and me keep my TV since not having to change your TV is a huge selling point for TM. It's as if that solution is just beyond my reach.