Posts
2012
Joined
11/9/2011
Location
Denver Metro, CO
US
Edited Date/Time
7/5/2021 3:09pm
Hi Guys,
Figured I'd ping the VitalMX brain trust on this simple problem that I am sure many of you have encountered.
A group of 4 guys from work want to ride, we've got 4 bikes and 1 pickup truck that's set up to easily carry 3 bikes.
I just need to carry 1 more bike ... thoughts on best options?
Here's what comes to mind ...
(1) Rent a UHaul trailer for the day (~$30)
(2) Get a bike carrier like this that I could run with the tailgate down:
https://www.discountramps.com/double-motorcycle-carrier/p/AMC-600-2/
(3) Get a quality fold-up motorcycle trailer ... spendy, but amazing?
*** I AM PARTIAL TO OPTION #2, ANY EXPERIENCE WITH THE DOUBLE RAIL CARRIER? ***
Any other ideas, suggestions, other?
Figured I'd ping the VitalMX brain trust on this simple problem that I am sure many of you have encountered.
A group of 4 guys from work want to ride, we've got 4 bikes and 1 pickup truck that's set up to easily carry 3 bikes.
I just need to carry 1 more bike ... thoughts on best options?
Here's what comes to mind ...
(1) Rent a UHaul trailer for the day (~$30)
(2) Get a bike carrier like this that I could run with the tailgate down:
https://www.discountramps.com/double-motorcycle-carrier/p/AMC-600-2/
(3) Get a quality fold-up motorcycle trailer ... spendy, but amazing?
*** I AM PARTIAL TO OPTION #2, ANY EXPERIENCE WITH THE DOUBLE RAIL CARRIER? ***
Any other ideas, suggestions, other?
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1113033745872191/
The Shop
I'm looking into all options w/ an open mind. A combination of your suggestions is likely the hot ticket ---> And I'll start with the UHaul as my go-to and see how frequent a challenge this actually is.
It's a weird situation where I am bringing guys from work riding who are new and the onus largely falls on me to provide everything (bikes, gear, etc.). Not complaining at all, I created the situation on purpose, but I haven't figured all elements out.
I can get 3 bikes in the truck bed comfortably, and I have an AMP bed extender, but I am missing how this ramp helps that. But that's part of the reason I asked the question --- I need schooling here! :-)
The deal is we talk a lot of business when we drive, so I was trying to pull this off with my Tundra dual cab and the team in 1 vehicle.
I ended up just getting a 1 day Uhaul trailer rental to see how 4 bike/4 riders/1 truck works.
My buddy has a pickup with an 8ft bed so the bikes fit with the bed closed.
We slid the hitch carrier onto his truck and put two bikes in the bed and 2 bikes on the carrier. All the gear, tents, fuel cans, coolers, etc with the 2 bikes in the bed and 4 ppl in the truck.
8 foot bed and that hitch carrier was a cool set up to handle 4 ppl and 4 bikes. Was bad ass to be able to have everyone together and save fuel for the long trip.
What dual hitch carrier did you use?
I bought this one. It’s all steel, heavy as hell but is very sturdy and considering you’re hanging two bikes off the rear it’s necessary to me.
It’s adjustable too as far as the spacing for each rack from the vehicle and then from the other bike.
So you can get it as close to the truck without it hitting and keep it tight for leverage reasons.
I added nylon lock nuts to the hitch bracket they supply to keep it from wobbling. I used the nylon nuts as a way to keep the bolts from backing out.
It’s a cool set up if bring many bikes is a normal thing or using an suv.
Pit Row
This looks perfect for (3 bikes in bed + 1 on carrier) OR (2 bikes in bed + 2 on carrier) OR (2 bikes on carrier and a TON of stuff in the bed).
I don't have room for a trailer in my garage and the Home Owner's Association is suuuuper strict about nothing outside your house (no garbage cans or even a dead plant), so it seems to leave this option.
And also on the rear wheel I was using a strap around the wheel and around the rack to stop it from jumping off of the “shelf”. Have evolved to using very stiff bungees wrapped tightly around.
Also save the lightest bikes for the rack and of those two lightest bikes, put the heavier on the front position.
It’s a lot of weight hanging off the truck and makes sense to try to minimize the leverage as much as possible.
https://www.joehauler.com/doublehaulers/doublehaulers.shtml
The best feature of the Joe Hauler is that the bike rails are raised above the trailer hitch height. The rail with the bolt in the end is what goes into the hitch. You can see that this allows the bikes to mounted higher and the low rail of the hauler is also shorter. With the second bike so far out, and having bikes in the bed, the back of a straight mounted hauler will sit low. I had to rescue a broken bike and dragged mine across some boulders and it held up fine. It's heavy and well built. The guy I bought mine from added the 2 metal straps between to rails to hold 5-gallon gas jugs. It also had a nice aluminum ramp that bolted to the front of the hauler.
Another great feature is that it has an integrated cam lock system to keep the hauler tight in the hitch and not move around. There's a bolt at the back the connects to the cam lock, you put the hauler in the hitch, lift it up to take out the slack, tighten the bolt, and the hauler is rock solid. I've even put my 400+ pound street bike on it.
This is the best duel hauler I've owned, only sold it because I got a truck. The downside is the price, it's heavy and can be a handful to mount, and you need a place to store it.
I think this is your best bet to haul 4 bikes. Renting the U-haul is a good solution but can get old having to pick up and drop off(I used to do this to). This is my friend's straight rail duel hauler with 4 bikes. You can see how low it sits in the back. You can mount 3 in the bed and 1 on the hauler or 2 and 2 and still have room for gear bags.
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