Carrying a mountain bike off road - best solutions?

[Dinglehead]

I'd like to carry a couple of bikes with me off road, but also keep the tonneau cover on to keep dust off of cargo.

It doesnt seem like any hitch mounted options are really meant for off-road use. Whats the best way to do this?

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[DukeCanBuildit]

I'd like to carry a couple of bikes with me off road, but also keep the tonneau cover on to keep dust off of cargo.

It doesnt seem like any hitch mounted options are really meant for off-road use. Whats the best way to do this?

I’ve seen hitch mounts bounce all over the place too many times. There’s a lot of torque going on there.

I’ve also seen roof mounts with both wheels attached to the bikes - scares the heck out of me. Sways like crazy.

I recommend a fork mount system with the rear wheel attached.

These can be mounted on top of some tonneau covers but then you have to worry about access.

The roof is another option for the fork mount system. Or maybe one crossbar on the rear of the cab roof for the forks and one crossbar on the front part of the tonneau where the wheel is fastened? Might work and allow access to the bed.

 

[Dinglehead]

I may just need to throw the front over the tailgate, strap em down, and just deal with the dust

 

[TomC]

I'm looking at a Diamondback bed cover and this is an accessory to mount a bike on the top. Something like this could work, even if you don't have the cover. They also have a thru axle system.

Front Runner Fork Mount Bike Carrier – DiamondBack Covers

 

[OFC Ranger]

"Robust buckle and strap"

"Strong 3CR12 stainless steel"


Much strong! Much robust! I guess they have to make you feel better about that Front Runner markup. But hey you can break that down into $13 a month payments!

I guess that is why I would never get a job as market advertiser.

My description on this product would read "Dude, it has a strap to hold it still and its made of stuff that doesn't break."

 

[Dinglehead]

"Robust buckle and strap"

"Strong 3CR12 stainless steel"


Much strong! Much robust! I guess they have to make you feel better about that Front Runner markup. But hey you can break that down into $13 a month payments!

I guess that is why I would never get a job as market advertiser.

My description on this product would read "Dude, it has a strap to hold it still and its made of stuff that doesn't break."

Its insane what some of these companies charge for this stuff. $135 for a 45 degree bracket and some plastic ratchet straps.

I love that diamondback cover... but Im not buying a new cover. So If I want to keep the bed available, putting them on the roof attached at the fork might be the best option. All I need is a roof rack setup that'll run around $1000 after buying Yakima or Thule's version of that $135 bracket - which is probably priced about the same.

 

[Dinglehead]

I wouldn't dismiss a hitch mounted rack as being too "flimsy" off-hand. I'd have to imagine there are some pretty robust ones out there. Another poster is kind of right, there is a lot of "torque" going on there, but that doesn't mean a stronger better fitting rack doesn't exist to handle that extra off-road abuse. I would at least look into it and see if you can find something.

Ive been searching. It just doesnt seem like there's much. Seems like single bike racks are about all you can find where the manufacturer says "yea take this off-road"

 

[scubasteve278]

Ive used many different bike racks over the years and can rant and rave about quite a few of them. On my '20 Ranger I am using a Yakima Holdup Evo 2. I live in BC and mountain bike close to everyday (not quite, but i did mtb 165 days last year, and had 2 months off due to an injury). Of all the racks ive tried, the Yakima is my favourite for a few reasons.
1) It does not affect your departure angle like a "hangover style" rack does. Ive bottomed a north shore rack out crossing steep cross ditches in my last truck and its an uneasy feeling when you have more money in bikes hanging off the rack then the truck is worth, and you are praying that you didnt damage any wheels.
2) there is no frame or fork contact. nothing beats bike up more then transporting or shuttling them.
3) the locking mechanism for the rack into the hitch works very well and I have zero worry that somebody will walk off with it. The simple cable locks from the rack to the bike are good piece of mind for leaving the bikes on the rack while grabbing a beer after a ride.

If you need something for extreme offroad use, your best bet is to try and track down a used "Tuf Rack", they are as strong as it gets and i know many people who have been using them for over ten years. Unfortunately I believe they are out of business now as I dont imagine they are cheap to build, and they were made in Ontario Canada by a local company so I assume they couldnt get the cost of doing business low enough while maintaining the quality their customers expected.

Here is a photo of my Yakima Holdup Evo2 for reference. You can see that it will slightly affect your departure angle, but there is plenty of clearance for everything but pretty extreme crawling

 

[Dinglehead]

Ive used many different bike racks over the years and can rant and rave about quite a few of them. On my '20 Ranger I am using a Yakima Holdup Evo 2. I live in BC and mountain bike close to everyday (not quite, but i did mtb 165 days last year, and had 2 months off due to an injury). Of all the racks ive tried, the Yakima is my favourite for a few reasons.
1) It does not affect your departure angle like a "hangover style" rack does. Ive bottomed a north shore rack out crossing steep cross ditches in my last truck and its an uneasy feeling when you have more money in bikes hanging off the rack then the truck is worth, and you are praying that you didnt damage any wheels.
2) there is no frame or fork contact. nothing beats bike up more then transporting or shuttling them.
3) the locking mechanism for the rack into the hitch works very well and I have zero worry that somebody will walk off with it. The simple cable locks from the rack to the bike are good piece of mind for leaving the bikes on the rack while grabbing a beer after a ride.

If you need something for extreme offroad use, your best bet is to try and track down a used "Tuf Rack", they are as strong as it gets and i know many people who have been using them for over ten years. Unfortunately I believe they are out of business now as I dont imagine they are cheap to build, and they were made in Ontario Canada by a local company so I assume they couldnt get the cost of doing business low enough while maintaining the quality their customers expected.

Here is a photo of my Yakima Holdup Evo2 for reference. You can see that it will slightly affect your departure angle, but there is plenty of clearance for everything but pretty extreme crawling

You know I’m not doing extreme rock crawling. Just rutty mountain roads and rutty/muddy pastures and such. That rack looks pretty solid. Thanks.

 

[Dinglehead]

Ive used many different bike racks over the years and can rant and rave about quite a few of them. On my '20 Ranger I am using a Yakima Holdup Evo 2. I live in BC and mountain bike close to everyday (not quite, but i did mtb 165 days last year, and had 2 months off due to an injury). Of all the racks ive tried, the Yakima is my favourite for a few reasons.
1) It does not affect your departure angle like a "hangover style" rack does. Ive bottomed a north shore rack out crossing steep cross ditches in my last truck and its an uneasy feeling when you have more money in bikes hanging off the rack then the truck is worth, and you are praying that you didnt damage any wheels.
2) there is no frame or fork contact. nothing beats bike up more then transporting or shuttling them.
3) the locking mechanism for the rack into the hitch works very well and I have zero worry that somebody will walk off with it. The simple cable locks from the rack to the bike are good piece of mind for leaving the bikes on the rack while grabbing a beer after a ride.

If you need something for extreme offroad use, your best bet is to try and track down a used "Tuf Rack", they are as strong as it gets and i know many people who have been using them for over ten years. Unfortunately I believe they are out of business now as I dont imagine they are cheap to build, and they were made in Ontario Canada by a local company so I assume they couldnt get the cost of doing business low enough while maintaining the quality their customers expected.

Here is a photo of my Yakima Holdup Evo2 for reference. You can see that it will slightly affect your departure angle, but there is plenty of clearance for everything but pretty extreme crawling

Your roof rack - that the Yakima clamps that fix to the frame? How do you like those? I've been thinking thats going to be the best route to putting a rack on the roof.

 

[scubasteve278]

Your roof rack - that the Yakima clamps that fix to the frame? How do you like those? I've been thinking thats going to be the best route to putting a rack on the roof.

Yeah thats right, the rack on my cab is a yakima aero cross bar set up that fix to the cab. Overall they are very solid and i have a basket mounted to it. As far as being a roof rack goes, I find my Prinsu topper rack much more useful and multi purpose, but if you are looking at mountain bike trays or any other yakima/thule type accessory then the yakima cross bars are great

 

[Mustang2Ranger]

You could try dirt bike hitch hauler

Or these work to help stabilize the hitch rack:

https://www.amazon.com/MaxxHaul-500...t=&hvlocphy=9031569&hvtargid=pla-693753947949

 

[VoodooRanger]

I can vouch for the Yakima HoldUp bike rack. The hitch bolt that comes with the rack doesn’t hold the rack snug, it holds that sucker tight.

**The only negative I have with the rack is it prevents me from opening the tailgate to the fully open/down position. And the swinging attachments made for bike racks cost more than I paid for the rack itself brand new on amazon.

 

[MTBranger]

I have an RCI Bed Rack with their bike mounts for the side of the rack. Works well with the tent mounted to the top. I didn't want a hitch mount for various reasons, clearance, wobbly in most cases, not wanting someone to rear end me and destroy my bike.

 

[Wasatch]

We do lots and lots of dirt road shuttles and strong bike carrying is a must. I've seen tray racks of all types break or let a bike bounce off off-road.

The best method is the tailgate pad with a bungee strap... But when you're on an extended trip or camping that isn't possible.

My go to is a North Shore Rack:

https://northshoreracks.com/racks/nsr-4-bike/

I've taken it on hundreds of miles of pretty insane trails all through WA, CO, UT, WY. They are built tough and can handle a lot of abuse.

Plus, they hold the bikes upright, which means you don't have as much hanging off the end of your truck. This is especially helpful on rocky trails that have boulder drop offs and steep ruts. 4 bikes on a NSR is way more compact than 4 bikes on a tray style rack.

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