Securing bikes

[johnnyv]

Any good idea's for securing bicycles inside 21ne ?

[LRL]

Get two big fluffy blankets (cheap ones). Lay one on the bed, and put one bike on top of the blanket. Layer the second blanket over the bike, and carefully lay the second bike down. I've done this a lot with a single bike, but it should work just fine with two... as long as they're light enough. Mine is a road bike that weighs less than 16 lbs, so your results may vary.

[johnnyv]

We will be sleeping 2 nites on way to Gulf coast. Hoping to stand up in dinette.

[Selkirk]

Personally, I would be very reluctant to stack bicycles horizontally on top of each other....even if separated by a blanket. I think the risk of potential damage is too great. I've done this with two bikes in the bed of a truck prior and regretted it later.

I often travel with both a road and gravel bike. Normally, I remove the front wheels and secure the bikes vertically under the canopy of my truck on either side of the bed. The forks are placed in a quick-release mount that secures them via the axle. These are attached to a piece of plywood that spans the bed of the truck....like the photo below.

If I had to travel with my bikes inside the trailer, I would devise a similar system to store them securely in the vertical position...probably in the dinette area.

Lying one bike horizontally might be okay for a short trip....just make sure it is placed on a very soft surface with the drivetrain side facing up. Never stack anything on the frame and especially the drivetrain. One bike on the bed and one in the dinette area might work.

[johnnyv]

Maybe attach to table posts and tension rod to lower benches.

[C&G in FL]

Am I missing something here? Why not purchase one of the few bike racks approved for use on the back of the trailer, e.g., a 1Up and avoid having to get them in and out of the door. When stopped, they can be locked to the rack quickly. Some cables have built in alarms. If one has an iPhone, Knog makes a motion detector that also interfaces with Apple’s “Find My” app. A rack that fits into the trailer’s receiver doesn’t take up storage space in the trailer and precludes having to remove and reattach wheels and it also precludes having to mount “cleats” to the floor of the trailer or if using plywood inside the trailer, having to store the plywood when not traveling. I also caution against laying a bike down on its drivetrain side or putting another bike over it, no matter how much padding is used.

[johnnyv]

Just want to keep them high and dry while we travel, once we get to our destination, they come out. They are ebikes.

[fudge_brownie]

I use the below method of securing the bikes inside the back of a SUV. With the addition of a second eBike, the first eBike is a tandem that will fit inside the vehicle, we have added a 1Up bike rack. The second eBike will fit for a total of three bikes but because it is a comfort bike the wide handlebars make it very difficult to take in and out. I like the rack, what I like better is it fits on the car, or we use it on the back of the Escape when towing. We were sure to purchase their heavy-duty model which is one of the few approved for the back of a RV.

If you are going to attempt to carry bikes inside the Escape, not my recommendation, you will have to take the pedals off. Leaving them on will guaranteed do some damage, either moving in and out or while traveling. Using skewers mounted on a board and then on the floor would be my method. But be ready for some damage.

Originally Posted by Selkirk

Personally, I would be very reluctant to stack bicycles horizontally on top of each other....even if separated by a blanket. I think the risk of potential damage is too great. I've done this with two bikes in the bed of a truck prior and regretted it later.

I often travel with both a road and gravel bike. Normally, I remove the front wheels and secure the bikes vertically under the canopy of my truck on either side of the bed. The forks are placed in a quick-release mount that secures them via the axle. These are attached to a piece of plywood that spans the bed of the truck....like the photo below.

If I had to travel with my bikes inside the trailer, I would devise a similar system to store them securely in the vertical position...probably in the dinette area.

Lying one bike horizontally might be okay for a short trip....just make sure it is placed on a very soft surface with the drivetrain side facing up. Never stack anything on the frame and especially the drivetrain. One bike on the bed and one in the dinette area might work.

[fudge_brownie]

Originally Posted by johnnyv

Just want to keep them high and dry while we travel, once we get to our destination, they come out. They are ebikes.

They make bike covers that will tear and rip, no matter what you pay. The secret to a bike cover on something off the back is a cargo net over the entire bike cover. I have scraped the premade bike cover and purchase a medium duty poly tarp of the size to cover my single eBike. The bike on rack 28 wide, 44 high, 69 long to that I add a cargo net 6x10 over a stock medium tarp. For safety on the car, I have added a taillight extension as the lights are blocked. In the Escape it is not necessary as I have the upper and lower set of rear lights.

[johnnyv]

Maybe I should have shared that I have traveled with the bikes inside trailer. We are not 1 or 2 day campers, we will travel to Orange Beach AL from SE Iowa, a 2 day trip, take the bikes out and enjoy 6 weeks of the gulf coast.

[LRL]

Didn't realize they were e-bikes. Scratch the on the bed suggestion. Though it still would be safe if done correctly and carefully with lightweight road bikes.

[Mountain_gal]

For those asking about using a bike rack: Adding a heavy duty bike rack and 2 70 pound e-bikes takes you over the hitch limit on the back of the trailer.

My husband has found a clever way to transport our two bikes with minimal holes in the trailer compared to mounting a fork mount stand in the aisle (my first thought). We tow with a Jeep and really don't have room to put the bikes in there, even if they are folded.

The attached pictures show using the platform under the bed to secure a set of cargo straps. The bikes are then loaded and attached with various foam bits to protect the cabinets. It definitely makes access to the bathroom challenging (its good to be nimble) but we have found that loading and unloading takes about 15 minutes, so it is just part of our daily ritual.

In this position, the weight is over the axles and doesn't effect handling

[sofmerc]

Originally Posted by johnnyv

Just want to keep them high and dry while we travel, once we get to our destination, they come out. They are ebikes.

How much do they weigh with battery removed?

Not sure what the 6 week camping window has to do with hauling bikes... Lots of people haul E Bikes on Bike racks.....Just respect the 150 LB weight limit of the receiver

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by Mountain_gal;462354

For those asking about using a bike rack: Adding a heavy duty bike rack and 2 70 pound e-bikes takes you over the hitch limit on the back of the trailer.

Not necessarily. Some folks have added additional frame mounted receivers to spread out and minimize the load on the single receiver. It also eliminates side-to-side rocking.

Also, undermounting the 70# spare tire up forward would easily make two ebikes on the rear a non-issue.

Ron

[sofmerc]

Originally Posted by Ron in BC

Not necessarily. Some folks have added additional frame mounted receivers to spread out and minimize the load on the single receiver. It also eliminates side-to-side rocking.

Also, undermounting the 70# spare tire up forward would easily make two ebikes on the rear a non-issue.

Ron

Not sure how that would work out insurance wise if there was an "Incident".... In the states at least... I wouldn't want to be the test case...

Not sure I'd want to try to explain an E bike battery fire inside the rig either..

[johnnyv]

Two days in camper, 6 weeks locked to bumper.

[johnnyv]

After all this help, who needs a therapist?

[John in Santa Cruz]

Fwiw, we're 3 weeks into a 4 month trip with our 2 relatively light (40-45 lb each) e-bikes on a 1up hitch rack on the back of our E21 classic...they are under a Formosa cover. We have to be careful and travel with everything heavy as far forward as practical to maintain tongue weight. Rode my bike today on the Emerald Coast of Mexico, whadda blasr!.

The rack is holding up great in spite of some really bad roads, endless "topes" etc. we've used this same setup for years now, this is just our longest trip to date... Will be about 8000 miles by the time we get home in May...

Edit: oh, we are travelling 1 or 2 days a week, average of about 200 miles on a travel day. Camping typically 3-5 nights between travel days..

[Ron in BC]

Originally Posted by sofmerc

Not sure I'd want to try to explain an E bike battery fire inside the rig either..

I have 4 ebikes charged and stored in my house. I guess some of us have less concern about this situation than others.

My newest bike is a fat tire ebike and I'm still trying to figure out a way to carry it travelling.

I have a storage box on the rear of the trailer and I don't really want to give it up, too handy. For now I guess we'll keep on taking our folding ebikes behind the seat in the cab. But that fat ebike is just so much fun......

Ron

[Perry Butler]

This may come as a surprise to some of the Florida people, but we don’t see people hauling their e-bikes on ANY rack in the winter in Minnesota. During the non-salt months (May-October) we use a very heavy duty trike rack on the back, with another heavy duty trike cover.

This past fall we carried one trike on the back and Terry’s Tern e-bike behind the drivers seat. We leave the trike at home in the winter and carry two Tern e-bikes in the trucks back seat.

When we owned our Jayco 27’ 5th wheel I mounted two fork grabbers, like Selkirk shows, to the floor in an area where no one steps. I’ve easily traveled with fork grabbers for a couple of decades, but not since we moved to trikes and folding bikes.

Enjoy,

Perry