Bike Rack

[Leo7]

We recently purchased a Cougar 24SABWE. One of the features is a rear slide out bike rack. I noticed that this rack has a plastic tray with wide recesses that appears to accommodate bike tires. This rack has a single tubular steel post with an eyebolt that stands vertically. So how the heck do we store bikes on this thing so we don't lose them down the highway? Are there any after market add-ons from Thule or Yakima to provide secure attachment? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!

[Festus2]

Our '08 Cougar has that same "bike rack". At first, I thought it was a great idea but after a few trips I gave up trying to fasten them on the rack and ended up putting them inside our 5th wheel.

In order to shorten the length of the overhanging slide out rack, I drilled another set of holes in the supports. While this resulted in less overhang and stress it also shortened the distance between the back of the RV and the "hitching post" so the bikes were really close together and almost touching the rear wall. Padding had to be added to prevent the handlebars from rubbing against it.

In order to secure the bikes, I found I had to use tie downs and bungee cords. This not only took considerable time but really didn't look all that great. As I said earlier, the rack has never carried another bike again.

I think the best idea is to have a receiver hitch welded to the frame which will accept a "real" rack - one from Thule or Yakima. Then get rid of the tire on the bumper and put it in the bed of the truck or mount in underneath the RV.

Good luck with your venture. Check out our forum search feature and type in "bike racks" and you'll get plenty of reading material about what others have done about bikes and bike racks.

[gcracker]

Good luck with yours... i loaded 1 adult bike and 2 kids bikes on mine the first trip andby the time we traveled 200 miles the sipporting brackets were bent. Keystone says we overloaded it and wont do anything to upgrade it. Many other stories like mine. We now use a bolt on rack and dont extend the built in one.

[Ken / Claudia]

If your on the highways as much as I am. Sooner or later you will see spare tires mounted on these bumpers or bikes bouncing like crazy. I think if you pull it out and use it maybe shin it so it cannot wiggle and that may help with some of the bounce. That bar your talking about. I bolted mine into place upright and welded a same size tube across the top 12" long. I than drilled 2 holes near the ends and mounted 2 lights and wired them into the battery with a switch and fuse. Now I have 2 55 watt rotating lights on the rear of the trailer. I could still carry bikes or anything the bumper will hold but, really likely never will. Cost about 40 bucks and 3-4 hours of work. The lights work great.

[Leo7]

Festus2,
Thanks for steering me to the previous discussions on this subject. This slide out bike rack appears to be a great idea on paper, but lacking in engineering and the execution. Based on everything I have read, will carry the bikes in the bed of my truck. So why does Keystone bother promoting a feature that doesn't work? This was one of the brochure items that tipped our decision for the Cougar, rather than the Bullet.

[Ken / Claudia]

Pull the bumper all the way out. Than grab the bumper and pull up than push down. Check out how it slides out and where. Than you will see why I said shim it. If it was not allowed to bounce freely several inch 's it would be better. And it would be better yet if it was stronger. Really the way it comes it is only good for holding a cooler or other items off the ground at a campsite.