Can't find ladder rack for Bigfoot

[Igo96047]

The ladder rails on my Bigfoot are about 1.5" in diameter. Looked online for a bike rack that would fit but the only one I can find is the hanger kind. Anyone know of a bolt on that will fit my ladder?

Thanks
Steve

[Donna D.]

Ahhhh no. Can't help you. Neither of my all-molded-towables have an exterior ladder available from the manufacturer. But then again, neither has an inner framework either.


Good luck and best of luck on your search.

[Carol H]

You might want to check with Bigfoot to see if they recommend a bike rack attached to the ladder. It may not be designed to hold the weight. Might need to look at a rear receiver on the trailer for a bike rack or one mounted over the propane tanks.

[Chester Taje]

Look at putting a hitch receiver on the back of unit.

[k corbin]

Take a look at this bike rack detail image of a Surco RV-501BR bike rack that shows how it is held to the ladder. That rack is made to fit a 1" diameter tube ladder but if you removed that clamp piece that you see against the backside of the ladder tube and replaced it with one to go around your 1.5" diameter tube you could then use it.

A little bit of an adaptive engineering adventure but not an impossible DIY project with some parts from the hardware store. What makes the adaptation possible is those clamp halves are screwed together but only the back piece has a full radius. The slight radius on the front half of that clamp can be increased in diameter with a little bit of filing or sanding time.

Keywords for the clamp fittings ..."pipe saddle clamp"

[bigfootlefty]

Originally Posted by Carol H

You might want to check with Bigfoot to see if they recommend a bike rack attached to the ladder. It may not be designed to hold the weight. Might need to look at a rear receiver on the trailer for a bike rack or one mounted over the propane tanks.

If the ladder is designed to hold the weight of a fully grown adult, then a rack and a bike or two will doubtfully exceed manufacturer's limits unless either are made of cast iron. That being said, a receiver mounted rack would be a more secure option.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by bigfootlefty

If the ladder is designed to hold the weight of a fully grown adult, then a rack and a bike or two will doubtfully exceed manufacturer's limits unless either are made of cast iron. That being said, a receiver mounted rack would be a more secure option.

Depends a lot on what rack (some are way heavier than others) and what bikes. For example fully loaded Mountain bikes are NOT light and may weigh 4 x that of a much lighter road bike.

There is also a lot of additional stress put on the ladder while the trailer is bouncing down the road with bikes on it that is not there when the trailer is parked and someone is climbing up on it.


Just saying

[bigfootlefty]

Originally Posted by Carol H

Depends a lot on what rack (some are way heavier than others) and what bikes. For example fully loaded Mountain bikes are NOT light and may weigh 4 x that of a much lighter road bike.

There is also a lot of additional stress put on the ladder while the trailer is bouncing down the road with bikes on it that is not there when the trailer is parked and someone is climbing up on it.


Just saying

Not disagreeing with you- bikes do vary significantly on weight. My "fully loaded" full suspension mountain bike is 35 lbs. It's all about common sense. A steel framed cruiser is quite a bit more. (mine is a Cannondale, and much lighter than a vintage Schwinn, for example). That rack shown is aluminum, which would add negligible weight. So, if the OP is planning on using that rack and a single bike around 20ish lbs, then go for it. If you are gonna hang a couple of steel framed beachcombers with bags, you might wanna look at the hitch option.

[k corbin]

The person who posted the question about the bike rack has not returned to the forum since a couple of hours after they posted. I guess they got the answer they were looking for.