Bike Rack of Ladder...?

[msleeper]

Hi All,
New member here.....
I Just purchased a "new" 2007 3400 BH
I have a couple of bicycles and thinking of getting a bike rack to mount on the ladder. The sales person said that it would be "no problem" hanging the bikes on the ladder.
I, am interested in hearing others experiences with bikes on the ladder....
Thanks a lot
I am glad too have found this forum
msleeper

 

[DennisZ]

Msleeper
My experience with hanging heavy items from the ladder is not good. I put a couple of folding loungers on my ladder, and the bouncing of the roads caused the ladder to "sag", you could see the horizontal supports on the ladder had lowered in the rear. Now, I only put light items on the ladder such as a couple of smaller chairs or a light weight ladder.

Dennis

 

[jpmorgan37]

I carry an 8 foot step ladder on a chair rack on my ladder. I've done it on three different 5th wheels and never had a problem. I use a bicycle cable lock and I secure it with several tie wraps to keep it from bouncing around. Another thing you might consider is having a hitch put on the fiver and then use one of the regular bicycle carriers that go into the hitch. Bike Carrier I've seen plenty of those set ups.

John

 

[trdeal]

Last year coming home from the beach we saw a bike rack on a ladder with a bike on it fall apart. Not good.

 

[jammaw08]

We purchased a ladder rack but could only get one bike on it. The other one wouldn't fit.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

We carry 2 chairs on our ladder and have them strapped down pretty tight so they don't bounce. I've thought about a bike mount but then I have to put my chairs inside. Right now we bring the 2 bikes inside and lean them against the "couch". They have stayed put and remain clean. We keep the chairs covered too with a big heavyweight bag so they stay clean. I see 2 options for us. One, a receiver hitch on the Bighorn for the bikes or two, a receiver hitch on the front of the truck. Either way, if we don't cover the bikes, they can get pretty grimy from travel. Others have had receiver tubes mounted on the pin.

 

[jammaw08]

I am glad you mentioned that about leaning your chairs on the couch. I wondered if that might work. We purchased a cover for the bikes for when you mount them on the ladder. Since we couldn't use the rack we use the cover while they are parked outside. We got the cover at CW and it covers both of them. I sure would like to get the chairs out of the basement but they are probably too heavy to put on the ladder.

 

[msleeper]

Thanks everyone for you in puts.....
This is the first trailer I've had that I would even consider "hanging bikes" from ladder....as most do not seem very secure.
In the past I've always put them inside which has works well....and I think I will continue to do that, unless I get a recieve installed....
Thanks again all,
Happy Travels....
Mike

 

[caddojay]

I just had a receiver hitch welded to the underside of our 3055. I noticed "Ya'll" are also in Texas. If you're interested in a serious receiver for a tray, or a bike rack, check out Steven Edwards at this link, or 817-326-2473.

 

[Two Hands]

There are many opinions and comments about bike racks in the forum, just run a search. I finally used the ladder mounted rack this weekend for a short outing. It worked just fine for our two mountain bikes. But, again, it was only a short trip, about 35 miles each way, over very smooth roads.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

I am glad you mentioned that about leaning your chairs on the couch. I wondered if that might work. We purchased a cover for the bikes for when you mount them on the ladder. Since we couldn't use the rack we use the cover while they are parked outside. We got the cover at CW and it covers both of them. I sure would like to get the chairs out of the basement but they are probably too heavy to put on the ladder.

Russ & Barb, We actually lean the bikes against the couch. We use a moving blanket between bike1 and the couch then flip it over bike1 in between the bikes. Our chairs are on the ladder. I just priced a hitch for the front of the truck. Only $127 including freight. It's a Curt bolt on. Of course then we'll need a bike rack. They're not cheap either???

 

[cdbMidland]

I just had a receiver hitch welded to the underside of our 3055. I noticed "Ya'll" are also in Texas. If you're interested in a serious receiver for a tray, or a bike rack, check out Steven Edwards at www.bitsorbytes.com, or 817-326-2473.

Sorry, but I see no connection with this link and the subject in the thread.

 

[jpmorgan37]

I just had a receiver hitch welded to the underside of our 3055. I noticed "Ya'll" are also in Texas. If you're interested in a serious receiver for a tray, or a bike rack, check out Steven Edwards at this link, or 817-326-2473.

Check it now, Jim fixed it.

 

[cdbMidland]

Check it now, Jim fixed it.

Thank you. Much better.

 

[jammaw08]

Thanks Ray and Lin. We are going to try leaning the bikes on the couch next time and see how it works.

 

[mrcomer]

Try doing a search on bike racks,hitches or look at this thread for other ideas.

//heartlandowners.org/showthread.php?t=710

 

[kakampers]

We use a two-bike rack which we purchased from camping world. We've put over 2,000 miles on the rig since mounting both bikes...not one problem. One thing we've done in addition, however, is we use heavy duty "rachet" straps to secure not only the rack but also the bikes to the ladder. Didn't quite trust the straps that came with it.

We've always had something attached to the ladder...use to hang an aluminum AND a thirty gallon blue-boy on the back of our TT...never had a problem. Using the "rachet" straps makes all the difference. The roof ladders have always been strong enough to take any applied weight.

 

[azbound]

Big racks

Dido to JP, We hank a ladder to our Ladder via a chair hanger and make sure it is secure and won't bounce. I had a light weight hitch mounted on our BH 3400, rated at 600# and put our bike rack on it. I know it sounds like an investment, but it didn't cost any more than the Spray in Liner in my truck.