JoeRT04
Cape Cod, MA
Senior Member
Joined: 12/16/2005
View Profile
 Offline
|
Thank you everyone for your responses! I got more than I anticipated. This group is awesome.
The bike rack I have is a 4 bike type. "Swagman."
By setting the bikes away from the rear door (at the 2 outer edge slots), I can open the right rear door. I've decided that the bikes are coming along for the trip for these reasons that were mentioned in replies:
1. Good exercise after a long drive at the end of the day.
2. We do stop in towns along the way to see "real America." Great places to ride the bikes.
3. Save some fuel at certain locations.
4. They are not a hindrance in storage - why not bring them?
We lock the bikes both by padlock on the bike rack and HD cable lock (through the wheels and frame. ) The bikes are beyond the "new & clean" stage so I am not overly concerned about the rust/dirt factor. They are made to be used IMO.
Thanks again for opinions from the "vets" of the group. They are valuable IMO.
2004/05 Roadtrek 190 Versatile
FMCA F380826
|
Handbasket
Asheville, NC
Senior Member
Joined: 01/17/2003
View Profile
|
Since you stop in towns, you'll want to consider the trade-off of extra parking length. Of course, being 'rolling mobile' after parking makes parking further out less of a hassle.
Jim, "Mo' coffee!"
'06 Tiger CX 'C Minus' on a Silverado 2500HD 4x4, 8.1 & Allison ('Loafer's Glory'); '07 Forester 2.5 ( the 'HANDBSKT'); '95 Toyota SR5 V-6 4x4 pickup, ARB locker, Bilsteins, Warn hubs & M8000, etc;
'94 968, M030 swaybars ('DOPPLER')
|
GailS
Indialantic FL
Senior Member
Joined: 03/07/2007
View Profile
Offline
|
It sounds like you made a good decision for yourselves. The forum members gave you lots to think about in making that decision.
Who knows we may see you on the road, driving or pedalling.
Have a great trip and give us a report when you return.
|
bananadanna
Cambridge, MA
Senior Member
Joined: 11/30/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
A rather late reply---but we're on the road with our bikes and just hit the internet cafe.
We have a Reese hitch rack and I had an inexpensive (ok, $25) non-folding bike rack welded to it. Just enough distance to allow both doors to open. That worked nicely but the extended length of the receiver rack was somewhat awkward for parking and steep driveways.
We now have a Yakima swing-away foldup 4-bike carrier. List price about $450. Ouch! But we got it half price at a LLBean outlet so it wasn't awful.
The swing-out feature is a little bit of overhead but is wonderful in camp. The fold down arms are a great help for parking without the bikes. Model is 1031 666B and it allows Sprinter rear doors the full 90 degree latchpoint.
We hem and haw about carrying bikes on long trips. This is the best solution I've seen. Too bad it costs so much.
If you're looking for bike trips while traveling you might try bikely.com. Just type in a city and there will likely be a range of choices. I'm still conditioning my flatlander legs here in Appalachia. The ten miles up the mountain road was tough but the 35 mph hairpin downhills made it all worthwhile.
Dan
02 Freightliner Sprinter 2500 long tall home brew conversion
|
aviddk
SW Oregon
New Member
Joined: 07/05/2008
View Profile
Offline
|
bananadanna wrote:
We now have a Yakima swing-away foldup 4-bike carrier. List price about $450. Ouch! But we got it half price at a LLBean outlet so it wasn't awful.
The swing-out feature is a little bit of overhead but is wonderful in camp. The fold down arms are a great help for parking without the bikes. Model is 1031 666B and it allows Sprinter rear doors the full 90 degree latchpoint.
This is a very timely thread as I am looking for a two bike carrying solution for my Airstream Interstate (Dodge Sprinter) My issues is a continental tire kit which sticks out 12" from the center of the hitch pin. Do you think the Yakima Swing-away would work with this limitation? Today after talking with a very helpful guy at the RackAttack I had come to the conclusion I was going to purchase a Thule T2. The other one that interests me is this Fiamma 200DJ for the back right hand door of a Sprinter. Without someone's first hand experience I am a little leery about it. Especially since there are two versions one for before 06/06 and one for after that date. I don't think this applies to US models because the body style didn't change until '07. BWDIK
Obviously I am in favor of taking bikes. Yosemite is a great place to have bikes, AMEN!
TIA
aviddk
Ashland, OR
aviddk
Ashland, OR
Airstream Interstate '07
|
|
|
AsheGuy
Raleigh, North Carolina
Senior Member
Joined: 11/15/2004
View Profile
|
aviddk wrote:This is a very timely thread as I am looking for a two bike carrying solution for my Airstream Interstate (Dodge Sprinter) My issues is a continental tire kit which sticks out 12" from the center of the hitch pin. Do you think the Yakima Swing-away would work with this limitation? We have a Yakima 4-bike swing-down as opposed to the swing-away and it clears our LTV rear spare mount OK. I can swing it down (and up) with three bikes on it that allows the passenger side rear door to be accessed with no problem. If a bike is on the front holder position, its wheel can rub on the tire carrier cover if not protected.
The Yakima is our second hitch mount bike carrier and the stretch type hold downs work much better than the screw down type we had on our first carrier. I got to really dislike the three screw down bike clamps on our original carrier before getting the Yakima where you just flip off the stretch tie downs.
David & Margaret - 2005 LTV 210B 3S
- Our Blog -
|
aviddk
SW Oregon
New Member
Joined: 07/05/2008
View Profile
Offline
|
AsheGuy wrote:We have a Yakima 4-bike swing-down as opposed to the swing-away and it clears our LTV rear spare mount OK. I can swing it down (and up) with three bikes on it that allows the passenger side rear door to be accessed with no problem. If a bike is on the front holder position, its wheel can rub on the tire carrier cover if not protected.
David,
Thanks for the information. It looks like your LTV has the same kind of continental tire kit our Interstate has. One that isn't snugged up to the rear door. In looking at some photos it appears the LTV may even have a step bumper, does your have that? I have already considered the four bike route with possible inability to use position one. Thanks again, looks like you are having some adventures with your LTV. We have just owned ours for two months. Besides driving it back from Nevada we have only spent five days in it.
avid a.k.a. David
Ashland, OR
|
bananadanna
Cambridge, MA
Senior Member
Joined: 11/30/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
aviddk wrote:AsheGuy wrote:We have a Yakima 4-bike swing-down as opposed to the swing-away and it clears our LTV rear spare mount OK. I can swing it down (and up) with three bikes on it that allows the passenger side rear door to be accessed with no problem. If a bike is on the front holder position, its wheel can rub on the tire carrier cover if not protected.
David,
Thanks for the information. It looks like your LTV has the same kind of continental tire kit our Interstate has. One that isn't snugged up to the rear door. In looking at some photos it appears the LTV may even have a step bumper, does your have that? I have already considered the four bike route with possible inability to use position one. Thanks again, looks like you are having some adventures with your LTV. We have just owned ours for two months. Besides driving it back from Nevada we have only spent five days in it.
avid a.k.a. David
Ashland, OR
And bear in mind that 4-bike carriers are more useful than 3-bike carriers. My wife and I are different sizes and the bikes conflict some next to each other. The deluxe Yak system helps with clever adjustable positioning but you can lose one bike capacity pretty readily if the bikes are not identical.
|
AsheGuy
Raleigh, North Carolina
Senior Member
Joined: 11/15/2004
View Profile
|
aviddk wrote:In looking at some photos it appears the LTV may even have a step bumper, does your have that? Yes, the LTV comes with the step bumper.
|
JoeRT04
Cape Cod, MA
Senior Member
Joined: 12/16/2005
View Profile
Offline
|
diyvanner mentioned a great idea adding a storage box to the bike rack maybe by a welder AiUI.
I am going to put a soft shell waterproof storage back on the rack (in the other twounused slots on the rack) for lighter items that take a lot of room such bike helmets, etc. These things would use up valuable storage room in the RT that I would like to save for other items. The bag will have a plywood sheet on the bottom to keep it sturdy during transit.
I could attach the bag on the rack by bungie cords, etc., I think it might by a simpler solution. It can be removed easily.
|
|
|
