Truck bed....tri bike mount for travel????

I have the perfect solution for you. Go to the bike store and get a Thule bike mount thing. Make sense? It's hard to explain, but unbelievably easy to mount and use. They are about 6 inches long and you either screw or clamp them right to your truck bed or siderail(I have one on both. Pop front wheel off and put forks into bike thingy. Tighten bike thingy just like you tighten the wheel. Have I used to much technical jargon? The screw into your truck ones cost about $19.00. I know they cary them at Erik's bike shop.

Edited by mndiver 2007-01-13 9:50 AM

For the tandem, I used one of those bike fork mounts that mndiver spoke of and bolted it to a 2X4 that was cut to slide into the front groove on the sides of the bed of the truck.  Our Chevy pickup has grooves that are made for 2X4's to fit in.  Then I tightly strapped the board down attaching to the cargo hooks in the bed of the truck.  Works beautifully and cost about $20 for the fork mount, the price of the 2X4 and a couple of straps.

thanks all...I might head to Eriks and get something from Home depot/Lowes. I think i know what you both are talking about...do either of you have pictures of these set ups??

REI has them too:  http://www.rei.com/product/11663952.htm

If you're handy with tools and have some basic equipment, you can make your own with a standard quick release, some aluminum angle, fastening hardware etc.  Other than the QR, you could probably find all the materials for a DIY unit at Home Depot, Lowe's etc.  Then again, I have acess to welding machines, CNC machining equipment etc. so I might be a little biased.  For the price of a commercial setup, it's almost not worth building it yourself.

Edited by max 2007-01-13 11:26 AM






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The picture max posted is exactly what it looks like. If you go to Penn cycle or Eriks bike shops web site and looked up bike carriers I'm sure they would pop up.

yakima blockhead

Bolt it to a 2x6 laid across the bed, you can have the bike running lengthwise in the bed.  You may want to be creative with what you attach the mount to in order to secure it in one place.  I had a friend, who's truck had a bedliner with slots to hold 2" pvc, so he attached the mounts to PVC and secured it in the bedliner.  TH\he nice thing with this arangment is that it keeps the entire bike below the roof line and is better for long trips or high winds.  YOu can also remove the mount really easily

 

Bedhead

I have this one.  It clamps to the bed rail (no drilling).  It mounts the bike across the bed, leaving plenty of room for more bikes or other gear.  It's very solid, but does put the front of the bike above the roofline of the truck, so it has the same drawbacks as any car roof rack, but I like it a lot.

 

Both versions are availble with an lock integrated into the skewer.  The nonlocking blockhead runs around $24 and the nonlocking bedhead is $55.  Add another $20 for locking skewers

Edited by vortmax 2007-01-13 12:19 PM

I have the one Max posted the picture of.  I like the fact that it locks.  I mounted it to the bedliner so I didn't have to drill holes in the metal.  Works great.

perfect...thank you all! will be putting it in this coming weekend!

This user's post has been ignored.

A further suggestion on mounting the quick release style shown above: I took a half sheet of plywood, cut it so that it fits tightly in the front of the bed of the truck (i.e., cut notches in it for the wheel wells), and mounted two quick releases on the plywood.  The plywood is held in place by the bed and wheelwells without needing to be fastened down, and the bikes are securely held as well.  When I need the pickup bed for hauling, I just take the plywood out.