trunk mounted bike carry racks

bobc186

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Jun 8, 2021
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i’ve been researching, a trunk mounted carry rack for my ebike that i am in the process of building....which is my first build.....i haven’t weighed the bike yet,but i’m assuming somewhere, around 45ish pounds......anyway, i drive a 4 door sedan and would like to know, what my fellow e bikers  are using....pictures would be awesome..thanks for looking...
 
1up is a gold standard for bike carriers. I'm not sure they make trunk mount though. They are usually hitch or roof mount. I'd try to talk you out of trunk mount as they are the least secure/stable.

https://www.1up-usa.com
 
Also not a fan of trunk or hatch mount. I have carried plenty of multiple heavy bikes on my Allen brand 3 bike hitch mount carrier. Thickwall steel channel, overspec'd fasteners. Biggest/heaviest was a 65-70 lb. Radpower Radwagon longtail utility e-bike. No problem at all.
 
You need a hitch on the car, for a hitch mount rack. The swagman hitch rack is very affordable, yet damn surprising strong.

Its pretty easy to install one yourself, once you order the correct one for your model and year of car. The hitch will come with a neat tool that makes it easy to put the bolt in the frame of your car, and then you just need the wrench to tighten up the bolt.

A very light, less expensive 1 1/4 inch hitch will do just fine, and no wiring unless you actually want to tow a light bike trailer.

https://www.etrailer.com/fitguide.htm
 
I have a 'hollywood racks' 2 bike hitch rack that was about 50 bucks off craigslist. It's a little ugly but works great. Only downside is it's a little clunky to fold down if you need to access the hatch, but that's a reasonable tradeoff to get 90% of the functionality of a high end rack at 10% of the price.

I'd recommend a hitch rack that holds the wheels (rather than hanging the frame) as they're compatible with virtually any bike and very stable (no swaying). Note: a hitch rack does prevent the parking sensors from working, even without bikes loaded.

gS9D5cd.jpg
 
While I have a very heavy duty 2” hitch mounted bike carrier I have also gone many years using trunk or in my case hatch mount carriers. Both of my bikes are in the 60 to 70 lbs range. I have never had a problem. The important point to remember it weight or load ratings of the carrier. Most carries are rated for 2 to 4 35lb. bikes. You can even find a 4 bike trunk mounted carrier. So if your only going to carry 1 45lb. to 70lb. ebike I don’t see how caring 1 - 70lb. bike versing 2 - 35 lb. bike on one of these racks is an issue. In fact to the carrier one ebike mounted close in to the car is actually easier then 2 lighter bike with the second bike mounted further out on the rack.
 
For me, it was all about the hitch rack being lower. But my bikes were heavier, and how high I had to lift it mattered a lot. With the wheel carried type rack, I could put the front wheel in the slot, then bring up the back wheel. I only had to lift half of the 80 pound bike at a time.

And I did not have a trunk, I did not at all like the idea of mounting a rack to the back glass of hatchbacks.
 
This won't help at all, but I have a small 1991 truck, and I drilled four holes into the skin of the tailgate, and inserted four threaded steel rivet-nuts.

Using those, I bolted a wood 2x6 across it. Then I made a wooden pop-on/pop-off bike holder.
 
spinningmagnets said:
This won't help at all, but I have a small 1991 truck, and I drilled four holes into the skin of the tailgate, and inserted four threaded steel rivet-nuts.

Using those, I bolted a wood 2x6 across it. Then I made a wooden pop-on/pop-off bike holder.

Nice!
 
spinningmagnets said:
This won't help at all, but I have a small 1991 truck, and I drilled four holes into the skin of the tailgate, and inserted four threaded steel rivet-nuts.

Using those, I bolted a wood 2x6 across it. Then I made a wooden pop-on/pop-off bike holder.

Old truck. All good, but not something most people want for a car. I assume by truck you mean pickup or what we call a ute. Not really a truck at all. Those are very nearly perfect if they are not crammed full of trade boxes or have canopy. Mount can be as simple as a $15 QR fork mount on the front of the tray and a tie down to prevent the back wheel from jumping around or over the side. Definitely want the tie down, because most QR mounts are fixed with no range of free motion. Something like a 1up rack is really fancy for a tray. Fork mount often works when the tray is too short to mount the bike on its wheels. Either is how the hipsters (only have a ute because they think it is cool) do it in this part of the world.

Trunk mount is second worse place to put a bike behind roof mount. Think driving into a garage... destroy the bike and take the roof off the car. It happens a lot. Home insurance for the bike(s) and major repair on the car insurance. The trunk lid is a very weak place to hang 20-30kg... or more. Only do that if the car has no value.

Hitch, even a light weight is more than secure enough. So you have to buy a trailer hitch... The worst type of rack are those that clamp the top tube. I've seen those damage steel frames. Everything from tearing off a cable guide to bending and crushing the tube. Use those if the bike has no value. Best is bike secured by the wheels. 1up and similar racks are best.

I have a van. Racks bolted to a steel frame and it slides in and out. No fuss and away from prying eyes if I have to park somewhere.
 
Most people just lay a mat over their tailgate that overhangs and they put their bicycles with the front wheels sideways on the outside of the tailgate. https://bikerumor.com/2011/09/16/thule-debuts-aeroblade-roof-bars-curved-suspended-hitch-rack-dh-tailgate-mat/

Others have gone with quick release, but you need someway of holding down the rear wheel too. But maybe not judging by the Thule video https://youtu.be/7Uyh1Oce-jo?t=211
https://www.etrailer.com/Truck-Bed-Bike-Racks/Thule/TH821.html
https://www.amazon.com/MBP-Alloy-Release-9x100mm-Storage/dp/B07MDXZGMB
Roof racks have the same qr mount but they also lock down the rear wheel.

[youtube]pc6Lh52JTbo[/youtube]
 
1Up and Hollywood racks are both very popular for heavy ebikes. But the prices can be a real shock to the wallet. I have heard stories of trunk mount racks bending the sheet metal of a trunk thanks to the weight of the bike versus the bouncing down the road. You decide how much to be concerned about that.

For less than $200: If you only need to carry one bike, and you are willing to spend 5 minutes loading/unloading, consider a motorcycle rack. Typically they have a 400 lb load capacity, they are easy to manipulate onto the car (hitch) and the 5 minutes comes from the need to use straps to ratchet the bike down onto them. This pic comes from before I converted this bike to electric. But you get the idea. Also it illustrates how truly big you can go on one of these things.

They come with a ramp so you can just roll the bike up and on. If you have a strap already hooked to one side you just throw it over and cinch it. From there the bike is stable, you put on a couple more and then hit the road.

img_20200624_171553.jpg


Looks like these stupid things are now in the $350+ range all of a sudden. Yay COVID supply chain problems. These steel ones are a little cheaper at $127, have an added 100 lbs of capacity which you don't need, and as a bonus they weigh about 50 lbs (vs. 38 for the alloy). Too bad you weren't shopping for one of these about a month ago...

https://amzn.to/3y8YvnB
 
Some of those hitch mount racks are pricy. Thule, and such. And just adding the hitch to a car is at least a hundred bucks. But worth it.

The swagman one I bought is quite affordable, but more than some trunk mounts.

That motorcycle rack has one great advantage, it uses a ramp to load up. For a huge cargo bike, priceless.
 
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