RTwo

Hi,

We're getting a new truck with a short bed to drive cross country trips for camping and mt biking (3 adult sized mt bikes_. I will have a tonneau cover on the truck, so my bike mounting options can't be *in* the bed itself. I wanted to get a sanity check on whether these two solutions would be safe for driving a lot on the highway

1. Install crossbar racks over the bed cover, and then mount 3 upright tray racks (2 bikes facing forward, 1 back). This would be high up so would add a lot of wind resistance I'm sure, but I'm my instinct is that this would be safer than a hitch mount.

2. Install a vertical rack on the hitch (something like north shore NSR-4 which I learned about on this site). Seems like having the weight of the bikes closer to the body of the truck might make them more stable, but I'm not sure! Still reading reviews on these

Thanks for any opinions. BTW in the past we've had a Thule 4 bike hitch (like an Apex in today's model lines) that swayed too much on our old wagon 1.25" hitch, so I've been looking for something that seems more solid/stable. (It could be that those types of hitch racks with a 2" hitch would be a lot more stable)

Kapusta

So if I understand your 1st idea correctly, you will basically have a roof rack setup, but over the bed? Can’t see why that would not work. Bikes will actually be less exposed than a typical roof rack setup due to the upper half of the cab partially shielding them.

In my experience, a 2” receiver hitch with a 2” rack (no adaptors) is more stable from swaying than a 1-1/4”.

I would go with whatever is going to be more convenient during the trip. People talk a lot about how easy it is to take the bikes on and off the racks themselves, but in my experience on road trips, what is more important is how “in-the-way” are they the rest of the time. This is going to be different depending on the particulars of your travels.

In my experience with wagons and SUVs hitch racks are far easier to load and unload, but are more often in the way on road trips when I often want to be getting into the back of the vehicle. But your pickup and cover is a different situation. So I would think about which solution allows better access to the stuff in the bed.

If you do go with your 1st idea, post pics.

My one thought about the vertical rack is that on a pickup without a cap, they are going to be getting hit with a lot of wind, which might negate the stability gains relative to typical horizontal trays. I don’t really know, it is just a thought.

RTwo

Makes sense; cost is not so much an issue but I know that going with the over the truck tonneau would likely cost a couple hundred more dollars. Thanks for the perspective

Thomas15

2" receiver hitch mount. Install when taking the bikes out for a spin, remove without a trace when not riding.

base2 

Küat in a 2 inch hitch is the way to go.
Trucks get terrible mileage, there isn't any sense in having the bikes anywhere that'll affect the aerodynamics. In the wind shadow is best. $10/hr in fuel cost alone to roll down the highway is expensive enough as is. You'd want to remove the rack when not in use unless it's blocked by a canopy.

Other idea: Get a truck that has a useable bed for truck things. Then put the bikes in the bed. They make brackets that screw into the floor of the bed at the cab that the front axle is secured to with a standard quick release skewer. Something like this. A road trip shouldn't need more than a gym bag per person. If camping, on said road trip: A tent, an ice chest, & a Coleman stove with paper plates & forks. All that stuff will fit in the bed between the bikes.

There really isn't any reason to overcomplicate it.

On a related note, because you asked for a sanity check:
Are you sure this prospective truck really meets your needs if a bicycle won't fit in the bed? 4 door sedans of any variety are actually safer for the occupants than any catagory of SUV or truck. Mostly due to the low center of gravity preventing roll over in crashes/collisions, among other factors. They are safer for others as well because the collision with pedestrians & cyclists tend to sweep the legs & deflect the damned upward like a wedge extending the moment of impact favorably, rather than hitting them like a brick wall. They also cost less to obtain, operate, & are more practical in everyday situations like parking lots. Do you really, really need 3800 pounds cargo or 14,000 pounds towing capacity for 60 pounds of groceries?

I offer no judgement. I loved my 7.3 liter turbo diesel extended cab F250 with 8 foot box. So don't get me wrong. I get it. But if the bikes won't fit in the truck, maybe there is more practical vehicles out there that'll fit your needs better.

In good faith,
Base2

coffeesnob

vans are very handy to haul bikes safe, protected from elements, less likely to get stolen.

jpescatore

When I drove a pickup truck, I used both cross bar racks and a trailer hitch (hanging style) rack over the years.

I did not see much gas mileage difference - if you've ever had a lot of leaves in the bed of your pickup truck, you realize the airflow is pretty weird behind the cab of a pickup truck - the leaves in the bed go forward! I also did a lot of kayaking back then - that rack system was very convenient for kayaks and/or bikes. It also worked great for 3 or 4 bikes.

I had a 2" hitch for the hanging style rack, and with would jam a wood shim in that that greatly reduced swaying - even with 4 bikes it was solid and I never had a problem on long trips. The bikes do get banged up in the rack when there are more than 2.

I drive a Subaru Outback now and went with a Kuat hitch rack - if you only needed 2 bikes, I'd go that way. But, going above 2 bikes with the solid platform style hitch racks is pretty expensive and it really sticks out far behind the car.

If I was facing your decision today, and you don't have the need to carry kayaks/canoes/etc, I'd probably go with a good platform style hitch rack like the Kuat - one advantage is you can also use it on other cars if you have trailer hitches on them. I had a hitch put on my wife's car - when she and her girlfriends are going on a ride, I move the hitch rack to her car and the platform style make it easy for them to load/unload.

jaxgtr

I saw a truck with one of the verticle racks driving down the interstate the other day and they did not look like they were having any issues with stability.