Bikes?

[LoriL]

We have an Elite 1 that we just picked up Memorial Day weekend. I would love to bring our bikes on our next trip. Is it a good idea or bad idea to bungee cord them right inside the camper for travel?

[Landrover]

I’m sure that would work fine the hard part will be getting them in the doorway and around the corner maybe a struggle.  It would most likely be a two person operation. If its your only alternative why not,  try it. 

[John E Davies]

Bad. If you try this, take pictures please.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[John and Debbie]

My guess is that if you could bring them inside,  that they would move around too much despite being bungee corded and mar surfaces.   I think the forces exerted on the bikes due to trailer movements would damage the surfaces.   Maybe if they're wrapped in blankets you might stand a chance,  but how do you secure them inside?   Where does the bungee attach in the trailer.   Those same forces might pull the attachment in the trailer away and damage your trailer.   

[Guest]

We have done this a few times, but only mostly only with lighter bikes (my road bike is less than 16 pounds). I have placed a protective heavy blanket on our queen bed and used luggage and a blanket over the bike to hold everything in place. This would be harder with a heavier bike, like an e-bike, but still doable. Just keep your derailleur side up and without any weight on it. I have also secured a bike in the walkway. This is more problematic. Bungee cord will probably damage your bike’s finish and still allow for some movement. When I did this I placed items around the bike to help secure it. But it will most likely still shift around while driving. The heavier the bike the harder all this will be. Of course, rougher roads would have to be factored into all this too. Generally, I agree with John that it is not a good idea. However, I would do it again before I would travel without a bicycle. 
Kirk

[dewdev]

Bringing the bikes into the trailer while towing the Ollie is a bad idea. Damage to the Ollie and/or the bike. Best to use a exterior bike rack on the Ollie or if you have a pickup truck put them in the back with a bike rack in the bed.

[routlaw]

Another vote for bad idea. Early on I considered it with our road bikes but the chances of damage to both bike and Ollie interior were just too great. Think of emergency maneuvers, very rough back country roads or FS roads etc. As someone else pointed out there is nothing to tie the bikes down to unless you permanently mounted Yakima quick release clamps to the floor, but who wants to do that. This is another reason for owning a truck to carry bikes, either that or a heavy duty van with enough towing capability.

[Trainman]

We have ebikes and they go in the bed of the pickup, they do fold, but we still couldn't get then through the camper door anyway.  Personally I'm too picky to put something like that in the trailer, plus scratches would surely showup right quick in the fiberglass. If you tow vehicle does not have room for them then a carrier on the rear of the trailer is probably your best bet. These ebike weight around 60lbs. each so for me the rear rack is out, but I wouldn't carry them there anyway, not as secure as the pickup box.

trainman

[LoriL]

You guys are all GREAT!  Thanks for all the advice!  I am hoping to buy a truck with an open bed soon.  I think I will use my feet this trip as I do not want to do any damage to the brand new Ollie!

[John E Davies]

37 minutes ago, LoriL said:

 I am hoping to buy a truck with an open bed soon. 

Or get a tall canopy for great weather and theft protection, and a bed slide;

https://www.bedslide.com/p-35835-bedslide-stories.html

You can mount your bikes to trays or fork mounts, and slide the tray out for easy access, so you don’t have to crawl inside around other gear like a generator. And you could use a ramp. If your truck isn’t lifted with monster tires it will be a lot easier 😬 

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Steph and Dud B]

You can get crossbars for bike racks that fit over a tonneau cover on the truck. That way you still have the truck bed for other storage. This is our Diamondback cover, but there are others that basically work the same way.

[Ollietime]

Something like this might work for you... Dual Receiver Trailer Hitch Ball.

 

[John E Davies]

2 hours ago, Ollietime said:

Something like this might work for you... Dual Receiver Trailer Hitch Ball.

That is one big advantage of a HD pickup, you can get rid off the Andersen and use one of those....  Just make sure the ball and mount are both rated for at least 7500 pounds and keep the front of the Ollie light (no big generator in a cargo tray). The weight of the bikes and their rack and the ball mount all count toward the tongue weight. What is the max TW rating for that Curt ball mount? 750? Two typical 60 pound ebikes and an ebike rated rack with swing out adapter could use up 200+ pounds of TW (with the batteries removed). For a loaded LE2 (with a typical TW of 650) that is going to be way too much. For example, this swing-out mount weighs 58 pounds by itself, an aluminum Super Duty Double rack weighs 47 pounds. Steel racks are quite a bit heavier.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Guest]

1 hour ago, John E Davies said:

this swing-out mount weighs 58 pounds by itself, an aluminum Super Duty Double rack weighs 47 pounds. Steel racks are quite a bit heavier.

Carrie and I have that RakAttach. It has worked perfectly for us so far. It allows full access to the truck bed quickly and easily. We have used it with both a 2 bike rack and a 4 bike rack on our Ram 3500.

Kirk