Bike rack on the back of a Boler

[David Thomson]

I am wanting to put our bike rack on the back of our boler and already own one that slides into a 2" receiver. I know the bumper can't handle it, but has anybody put a 2"receiver mounted to the rear frame like on a car, and if so how does it work?

I am not a fan of carrying the bikes on top of vehicles, and don't want the hastle of them in the trailer. I do know this changes the weight distrubution, but I figure packing and other tounge weight should offset this.

Thanks, your help is always appreciated.

Dave

[Alf S.]

Hi: Somewhere on this site I saw a Bike rack that went into the receiver on the Tow Veh. then the stinger goes into it so the bikes are between the T.V. and the Trailer...Maybe some one has a link out there!!!Sorry can't be more help Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Donna D.]

FiberglassRV has a power search engine. I just searched for +tongue +bike +rack and came up with this:

Search for tongue bike rack

Sure somewhere in these topics David, you'll find exactly the info you seek

[Bob Cupp]

I have been contemplating adding a bike rake on the back of my 13' Love Bug. I know that the rear bumper is not rigid enough to take the twisting of a bike rake so I was going to fabricate an additional support similar to a reciever hitch.

I would add a cross brace about 2 feet in front of the bumper then weld my reciever tube under the bumper and under the cross brace. This would eliminate the twisting of the bumper.

I am not overly worried about the weight of my bikes being supported vertically by the bumper, just the twisting of the bumper. I have basket that goes into the reciever for carrying objects that I don't want in my van, such as a gas can and chain saw. If I keep the load light, I may use that on the back of the trailer also. (My wife hates the smell of gasoline.) I plan on a max weight of 50 pounds on the back hitch and can eliminate hitch weight problems by changing my interior loading.

[Vic&Kathy]

Here ya go. Our '72 Trail-Mite has a fairly substantial bumper. For a reciever I welded on a section of square tubing long enough to attach at the bumper and at the first cross-member. It's solid.

The rack weighs about 50 pounds. With a couple of bikes on it you're looking at 90 or more pounds sticking out the back about two feet. The weight and the leverage definitely affect the ride. On our first trip with the rack our lil blue wonder was doing the hula. Redistributing the load toward the tongue fixed that in a jiffy.

No problems with this set-up, but I'm very careful when backing up. Crunching one of my high-end bikes would be a real trip ruiner (is that a word?). The bike on the rack in this photo for instance, is worth nearly three times what we paid for our Trail Mite!

Vic

[jim munson]

Check out my rack at web.mac.com/oksure
Has been used for three years- no prolemas.
Attached to stock bumper. Made from bedrail scrap.

[David Thomson]

Some pretty good ideas so far.

I like Bob's idea of welding approx 2' in on the trailer and the receiver tube between, a little up and down movement possibly at the bumper but that should be minimal.

Vic, Kathy, and Jim where do you put your spare tire now?

Jim, I like the theory of yours but if I could take the rack off the back of the trailer and slide it onto the van when going out for the day it would suit my needs better. Four bikes in the back of a minivan is not pretty.

Alf, have read about some issues of the bikes between the tow vehicle and the trailer causing turning radius issues and potential damage to the bike unless you extend the A-frame forward and that seems like a little too much work right now.

Keep the ideas coming, I appreciate the ideas.

Dave

[jim munson]

Some pretty good ideas so far.

I like Bob's idea of welding approx 2' in on the trailer and the receiver tube between, a little up and down movement possibly at the bumper but that should be minimal.

Vic, Kathy, and Jim where do you put your spare tire now?

Jim, I like the theory of yours but if I could take the rack off the back of the trailer and slide it onto the van when going out for the day it would suit my needs better. Four bikes in the back of a minivan is not pretty.

Alf, have read about some issues of the bikes between the tow vehicle and the trailer causing turning radius issues and potential damage to the bike unless you extend the A-frame forward and that seems like a little too much work right now.

Keep the ideas coming, I appreciate the ideas.

Dave

The bike comes off the rack easily-one axle bolt and pull the pin at the crossbar.
The trailer spare is bolted to a square tube cross bar I welded under the table area under the trailer.
I carry the bike in the pickup when away.

[Vic&Kathy]

"Vic, Kathy, and Jim where do you put your spare tire now?"

The bike rack doesn't interfere with the existing mount that our bumper already had. The front tire of a bike on the rack just touches the spare tire...not an issue at all. We'd had a flat the day before the photo in my original post was taken, so the dead spare was still in the bed of the Tacoma. Look closely and you can see the spare tire mounting bracket just to the right of my Cannondale's front wheel.

Vic

[Donna D.]

If you're a welder, perhaps webguy's solution would work for you:
Bike Racks

Check out Mike's pics