What Do You Do With The Bike Rack At The Campground?
- Thread starter sarmay
- Start date
When we used to put the rack there, we'd just take it off and keep it at the campsite. Or, if we were going somewhere and going to use the bikes we'd put it on the car and go.
We never really worried about leaving it, as we campers are a trustworthy bunch...
We've been using something similar to this and mounting the rack between the car and trailer. It eliminates the need to move bikes to get to the galley, and reduces dramatically the bouncing of the bikes caused by them being so far behind the fulcrum of the ball.
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Thanks. We drive an Outback, so we can't add to the tongue weight by putting the bikes in between the car and camper, but I didn't want to add something that would be a hassle to deal with once we got to the campground. Did you lock up your bikes and rack in some way to prevent someone from just sticking the bikes on their hitch?
hiadventurer
Junior Ranger
We use a Kuat Nuvi on back of 560 with a 2" hitch receiver. Just has a built in lock system, so remove rack and lock bikes up.
No, we've never locked them up, but it would be easy enough to cable the bikes and rack together in a way that wouldn't allow them to be thrown into someone's hitch.
Warren Mary Ellen
Ranger
I am not sure one of the tray racks would work looking at that picture. Went and looked my Thule and it would be close. You may have to play around with different ones to see which would work. Mine has a built lock to the hitch and a built in cable to lock the bikes too. Hopefully you can find some folks with a variety of racks to experiment with to know which one to buy. If weight is an issue, Kuat's are pretty light in weight, but like anything in the cycling world that saves you weight takes it out of your wallet.
We're not cyclists, by any stretch, just want to have our bikes with us on trips so that we can tool around the bike paths and campgrounds without having to rent bikes. We plan to use our galley for cooking. I do like the idea of attaching the rack to the car once we are at the campground.
I found out that there's a Rack Attack brick and mortar store near Chicago now and will take a ride to see a few different mfgs. racks in one place. Worth the trip I think.
I got a Wilco Hitch swing off ebay. It is expensive but I feel it has been worth it for me. It has been especially handy when stopping at rest area for lunch. Always had to unload bike to access galley. It was a real pain. Now just pull a pin and swing it out of the way.
Does the swing-away hitch get in the way of your side tables? Do you take it off when you get to the campsite?
I do not use the side table for the fridge. I keep the fridge in the back of the van. I could not lift the fridge from the camper to the table without emptying it and them repacking it after moving it. It got so hot in the galley while traveling that the fridge would shut down anyway. It was useless to me in the galley. I had an always on outlet put in the van and I freeze up some of those nut jars from Costco and put two of them in the fridge. This way if the battery in the van gets low and the fridge shuts down the jars of ice keep it cool till I come back and start the van. I have the table extension for the other table and it works great. I never have to take the hitch off and I never have to unload the bike unless I'm going to use it.
Oh sorry, the answer to the question is the swing away hitch will interfere with the fridge table. It has no effect on the dining table.
gregangsten
Junior Ranger
We have an Outback and I recently got a double receiver hitch to use for a bike rack. I drove it from L.A. to Yosemite and it works pretty well, though with 2 bikes on there it gets a little cramped.
Do you have the 3.6 or the 2.5i? We have a 2.5i right now, but when the 14 yo is ready for a car in a couple of years, we may upgrade our TV to the 3.6 if it makes that much difference.
Do you have a 550 or a 560? How does your subie do with the tongue weight? We would prefer a 560, and I know we're limited to 200 lbs for tongue weight.
gregangsten
Junior Ranger
I sold our 2012 2.5 and got a new 2018 3.6. We tow a 550 with it. I mentioned elsewhere here that I found it much better for towing in mountains and it's also quieter, smoother and just nicer to drive with or without the trailer. We just took a 2500 mile trip doing from 70, to 80 through NV, UT and CO and got 28 mpg.
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We'll be getting a newer 3.6, when our daughter is ready to drive, so the the 2.5i will be our tow vehicle for the next two years. Our 2.5i was a gift from my friend's dying father, so it has a lot of sentimental value, and we promised to take it on many family camping trips. It also has a big ding in the bumper from when he jack-knifed his boat trailer. We rather like that it came already beat up. Takes a lot of the pressure off of us, and certainly makes a good "pre-dented" starter car for a new driver.
If you got 28 mpg while towing your 550 70-80 mph in the mountains, that's fantastic if true. We don't get that with Kris's 2013 2.5 Outback without towing anything (it doesn't even have a hitch on it). We have averaged 26 on road trips with it packed full inside, but nothing outside (no car top carrier, bike rack, trailer etc.).
gregangsten
Junior Ranger
No. I'm sorry I should have said that I got 28 on that recent trip without the trailer. That was mostly driving across the deserts of California, Utah and Nevada but it did include a loop through Colorado from the four corners to Denver, Steamboat Springs and home, so there was mountain driving in there too.
