[jjyoung500]

Hello all,
I have a Yakima bike rack and want to take it along with our pop-up (we have what I would call a "standard" pop up). I bought the adapter so I can hook the bike rack in and then my camper below it (no issues so far with that).
Sooooo.....what I need to know is how you get around the problem of the bikes being too close/touching the camper? I need the bottom ball/attachment for the camper to be 16 inches or so further back from where the bike rack goes into the hitch. So far, I haven't seen anything commercial that has this set-up.
The camper has side-by-side rear bumpers, but I wouldn't trust putting a clamp-on receiver on it and expect it to hold a bike rack w/ 4-5 bikes.
Do I need to have something made special? Let me know your thoughts, please

 

[artmart]

Some people with Yakima racks fasten the supports to the roof of the popup and mount the rack and horizontal rails on top. Just remember to remove the bikes prior to raising the roof.

The big problem is ensuring the weight is not exceeded at the tongue. You have the best weight distribution putting them on top of the rig so that only about 10% gets transferred to the tongue. If you put the bikes and racks at the tongue, the tongue gets all the weight of that equipment. Just something to be aware of.

Make sure everything is lashed or strapped tightly to prevent any unnecessary movement. This will prevent damage from stuff being jostled around too much.

 

[jjyoung500]

I think we may be talking about 2 different things here....I have a hitch mount bike rack, so I don't know how that would be mounted to the roof of the pop-up. Or are you saying that anything on the back of the pop-up would be too much? Am I missing something here? Thanks for the initial reply

 

[artmart]

Actually, all of the above.

What I meant is to skip the hitch mount at the tow vehicles bumper and to avoid the rear bumper mount on the popup. Use the receiver bike mount for when you are not towing. Depending on how many bikes you carry this can interfere with the trailer especially during turns.

The most successful solution I've seen is to mount a new rack on the roof of the popup and put your bikes on the roof! This spreads the weight across the roof, keeps the hitch free of anything except the popup trailer's tongue and avoids any extra weight on the rear of the popup bumper. The good news is that this is the best for the bikes, the hitch and the vehicle. The bad news is the cost of buying new stuff.

The ways you are selecting by using it in tandem with the bumper receiver or mounting on the pop up bumper create the greatest of stresses and therefore potential problems.

Try something like this: Yakima Shop Rack Systems Permanent Installation

The landing pads attach permanently to the roof of the popup. Then the control towers mounted in the pads provide some height for the bars. Then pick the bike rack you want for each bike and these attach to the bars. You can purchase locks for the control towers to keep the rack system secure. I have this system and it works great! Plus, it will last forever and it's removable.

 

[jjyoung500]

Thanks for the info....I'll keep trying for something to mount to the hitch.

 

[thekamperman]

Can you install a hitch receiver in the rear of the trailer? :scratchhead:

My truck, for example, has receivers installed in the front and the rear and they allow me to "customize" according to needs.

I can attach my yakima softride sometimes, or the hitch mounted tire carrier, or a cargo platform...

 

[bdean]

I have actually seen hitch extenders -- specifically for this purpose. One of our best family camping friends have a pop-up, and they have the rack that goes on top of the popup. They can accommodate all 5 of their bikes. Loading both the rack and the bikes is a bit of a hassle, but it works well for them.

What is your tow vehicle? If you are using a truck, the RempRack - which we use - is the best (but also very expensive) choice.

 

[artmart]

Here's a link for extensions of 14" or 18" to gain the clearance you want. I expect this satisfies the weight requirements since popups are not heavy and moves the trailer back to gain some clearance for the bicycles in the rack:

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/rv-hitches/receiver-hitch-extensions.htm