How many carry bicycles, and how?
May be hard to see from this photo, but I always carry two bikes on a hitch mounted bike rack on my tow vehicle. I had this bike rack on the back of the bus orginaly, but toooo much trouble getting into the engine compartment. This set-up works well for me as I take "Mini-Me" [the name I gave my tow vehicle] on shorter one and two week excursions from wherever I happen to leave the bus.
Steve
I carry a Linear recumbent in my Ford Windstar toad.
Work?/Play safely Jim
Quote from: El Soñador™ on April 29, 2006, 01:06:36 PM
May be hard to see from this photo, but I always carry two bikes on a hitch mounted bike rack on my tow vehicle. ...
Steve
I'm concerned that carrying my bikes externally (especially on the rear of a bus) would get them covered with dirt, grit and oil. Have you found that to be the case?
Quote from: jjrbus on April 29, 2006, 05:57:51 PM
I carry a Linear recumbent in my Ford Windstar toad.
Ah, a fellow recumbent rider !! We are a strange lot indeed. Took us a while to locate a nice toad that could handle two recumbents internally. Have to remove the front wheels, but that is not a huge deal.
We carry 8 bikes (or more) on the back of the bus. It is a double decker unit with 4 locking fixtures on the top unit and a home made unit below that the rest of them are bungeed and strapped. It is carried via the 2 in. receiver.
We did find the bikes were covered in dirt and grime and blended in well with whatever the back of the bus looked like. Consequently we purchased 2 bike bags from Camping World which zip around up to 4 bikes to keep them from the elements and from the temptations of others.
This has worked very well for us for years. The protection bags are a must though they can be a challenge to get around the bikes.
Quote from: Timnvt on April 29, 2006, 06:55:21 PM
We carry 8 bikes (or more) on the back of the bus. It is a double decker unit with 4 locking fixtures on the top unit and a home made unit below that the rest of them are bungeed and strapped. It is carried via the 2 in. receiver.
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Can you still tow with this unit??
They do sell the bike racks with the option of having an available 2 in. receiver at the tail end of the rack. It would extend the receiver about 2 feet or so beyond what the existing hitch. I don't know what the issues might be for trailering where there is a significant amount of tongue weight involved.
For towing 4 down without weight carrying it should be doable but I haven't any idea what the manufacturer's specs would be on that.
I carry 3 on this rack. It could extend for more if needed. It's all removable and I made it out of sqaure tubing.
On the back in cargo rack with an insert that holds the front wheels.
I am going to heed all of your advice and cover them to avoid the DD signature oil sample. ;D