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6 bike racks

ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
2,998
702
SLO
Not to derail this thread any further....but "Ummmm No."

My diesel lost anywhere from 3-5 mpg with a full load of bikes, people, etc. Typically the largest noticeable difference was when I had a hitch rack and bikes on it sideways.

Towing a single jeep grand cherokee (stock height) on an open car hauler dropped me down from 18ish empty to 12-13 mpg loaded going 65 mph. On primarily flat roads. All three of my 5.3 liter silverado's (2001, 2007, 2009) all typically pull down 8-11 mpg towing my previous wranglers on an open car hauler.

Towing 3 lightweight polaris razor's on a 26 ft gooseneck dropped me down to 10 mpg.

2005 duramax vs my brothers 2005 6.0 Liter silverado, both trucks towing 24 ft enclosed trailers with similar weights got exactly 9mpg each, both trucks were stock 4x4 crew cab short bed trucks. This was side by side, back to back caravanning over 800 miles on race weekends again and again.

Diesels lose mileage just like a gas truck would.

With bikes and wind resistance the gas truck is more affected, but in my example we're comparing a 5.3 liter gas engine and a 7.3 liter diesel engine, it would only seem logical that the engine with a lot more displacement and a lot more torque wouldn't be affected as badly.
What motor? We pulled a friends dad's Porsche from central AZ to SF Bay area and got 17MPG the entire way on a Heavily modded 7.3 Powerstroke it got the same empty BTW
 

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
My truck was a 2000 F350 7.3 powerstroke with an intake, 5" turbo back exhaust, mild tune. 305/70 16's. Hand calculated mileage. Crew Cab long bed. Truck had 220k on it when I sold it.

The other example was a duramax and a 6.0 side by side both getting exact same mileage within a few gallons total on a trip from Flint to the badlands in Attica indiana, mixed highway and rural roads. Again, repeated multiple times over the last 3 years.

I guess everyone's experience are different.

These are newer trucks then you and I are talking about, BUT this is consistent with what I saw real world in my superduty as well as my buddies duramax I used as an example, and I am using my half ton as my comparison, but you'll see the diesels and the gas trucks both drop off in mileage about the same (actually the diesel drops a tad more than the gas truck).




 
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ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
2,998
702
SLO
this is how you can tie down 5 bikes. 2 on the sides, and 3 hanging from the tailgate.
THAT is sketch! will a smaller pick up take 4 bikes across the back? My full-size does and I think 6 will work but cover the plate. I am looking at a Tuf Rack for our truck and my wifes Passat we will have to install the 2" receiver onto her car not sure I want to do that yet....
 

ALEXIS_DH

Tirelessly Awesome
Jan 30, 2003
6,147
796
Lima, Peru, Peru
THAT is sketch! will a smaller pick up take 4 bikes across the back? My full-size does and I think 6 will work but cover the plate. I am looking at a Tuf Rack for our truck and my wifes Passat we will have to install the 2" receiver onto her car not sure I want to do that yet....
yup. i have fit 5 on a toyota hilux and a mitsubishi l200, but only over nice roads.

most i´d normally do is 4 (2 on the sides, 2 on the tailgate), since is only room for 4 people plus driver in the cab.

the ones on the sides are SUPER stable. i prefer to tie the handlebar down to the bed floor.
you load up the ratchet straps until the fork is at 50% of travel; then you tie down the rear wheel to the corner. i´d done 80mph on dirt roads and even jumped over bumps, never had an issue.
its actually a much more stable setup than throwing the bikes over the tailgate. you dont get dirt over the fork, and the bikes never touch each other (which is a bit of a problem with 4 bikes on a small pickup).
 
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kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
THAT is sketch! will a smaller pick up take 4 bikes across the back? My full-size does and I think 6 will work but cover the plate. I am looking at a Tuf Rack for our truck and my wifes Passat we will have to install the 2" receiver onto her car not sure I want to do that yet....
My half ton barely fits 4 bikes, partially because I spent god knows how much money on my truck ($30k+) and god knows how much money on my DH bikes ($5K+) the last thing I want to do is be bungey chording bikes all over the place and tossing the other half over my tailgate.....if I really need to haul 6 bikes i'll go back to my long ass yakima bars, my over the bed rack, and 6 yakima king cobras. At that point I'd be splitting my fuel with at least 3 people (2 bikes per person) or a total of 6 people so I wouldn't care as much. If I really needed to i could then add a T2 and put 4 bikes out back on the hitch.

I'm not a fan of the tailgate pads scratching up my truck, nor the downtube on my bike (even with the pad I've seen plenty of severely scuffed up downtubes).

I spend enough money on my **** I want it individually racked.
 
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kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
I will have to measure my load bars to see how wide they are, but i've done 5 bikes, I think with some creative mounting of the racks to the bars I could alternate them enough to fit 6 without handlebars hitting and stuff, might make it easier to remove pedals. 5 fit for certain, never had a chance to try 6.

No reason I couldn't do 9-10 bikes with this set up.




Same set up, new truck. I made the brackets so they would allow me to still use my tonneau cover and put all my gear under it to keep it dry.



Testing fitment, 5 bikes fit pretty easily. My DH bars are 800mm wide, the limiting factor in this set up is handlebars hitting.


Spacing, 5th bike would fit facing forward in the middle. (those 800 MM ape hangers on the orange XC bike were for mock up purposes :rofl:)


Settled upon "everday rack" for when I am only hauling bikes for myself and family and I am paying for all of the fuel and not splitting fuel costs.

Some shorter roof rack bars I had lying around, a few king cobra roof racks, 3 bikes fits very easy, haven't measured the spacing for 4 bikes yet. The wheelbase of the bikes doesn't allow the tailgate to shut on the ultra shortbed crew cab halftons.

 

sbabuser

Turbo Monkey
Dec 22, 2004
1,114
55
Golden, CO
Slightly off topic, but if you can't fit 7 bikes in an old school Tacoma, you're not trying hard enough. ;)



Or 11 bikes on a last gen Tundra. Just think what we coulda done w/ a hitch rack...

 
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Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
Rat Racks no longer makes racks.
I ordered one a month ago and was told last week their powder coater is out of business.
 

dilzy

Monkey
Sep 7, 2008
567
1
Why don't you guys use drop side trays on a regular ute so you can actually fit something? Those style sides are bloody stupid.
 

Tdiddy

Monkey
Apr 8, 2009
222
1
That's what I'm saying. I told him Id take a raw rack and he said they don't work that way.

Super sketchy.
He's the least sketchy guy I know. Not sure if it has been apparent or not, but it's not his full time gig, in the summer (bike season) he takes his two super fast kids around to all the races and training for the races, so really has very little time to spend on his rack hobby. And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be selling incomplete products that could look bad for your name, i.e. who is going to see some rusted out rack and ask where you got the p.o.s..

Anyway, sorry it didn't work out for you, I'm super happy with mine compared to my old north shore rack, and I know everyone in the Calgary area that has them must like them too because they are everywhere.
 

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
He's the least sketchy guy I know. Not sure if it has been apparent or not, but it's not his full time gig, in the summer (bike season) he takes his two super fast kids around to all the races and training for the races, so really has very little time to spend on his rack hobby. And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be selling incomplete products that could look bad for your name, i.e. who is going to see some rusted out rack and ask where you got the p.o.s..

Anyway, sorry it didn't work out for you, I'm super happy with mine compared to my old north shore rack, and I know everyone in the Calgary area that has them must like them too because they are everywhere.
Maybe I used the wrong word. I shouldn't have said sketchy.

He told me my rack was done. I was going to do the 7 hour drive and about a week before I was suppose to pick it up he says the powder coater went out of business. I live in a small town and there are 3 powder coaters here. He lives in Calgary. There have to be other powder coaters.

So if my rack is done, now what.
 
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BmxConvert

Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
715
0
Longview, Washington
I wish we had grabbed pictures of when we got 8 bikes and 8 people in a single cab short bed Ford Ranger. We set the front wheels alternating over the edges of the bed rails and sat each person behind the rear wheel(opposite the wheel hanging off the bedside). We had 3 people in the cab. We couldn't stop moving on the hill because the little 4 cyclinder engine couldn't get us going again if we did.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,573
24,192
media blackout
just remembered... did some shuttles once in the tahoe area w/ some dudes from reno. had the best personal shuttle setup i'd ever seen...

15 passenger econoline

old flat bed trailer modified with a dozen tray racks.

it was absolutely awesome. i had pictures of it once upon a time, but i think they were lost in a hard drive crash
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
Tuf Rack has hit COSTCO really solid pricing on them. Guess thats what happens when you place an order of a few thousand!

http://www.costco.ca//.product.100041513.html
It says "2" bike, but no pic of a 2 bike setup bolted together. And good lord, if you ever wanted to park in a tight spot, you'd be so out of luck.

Gotta say though, I would have tremendous satisfaction at seeing yellow stripes of paint from it grooved into the bumper of a Buick that tried to cut across it. :D
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
Here you go it looks like it comes with the flip up mount. Not sure what type of angle that would give with no bikes in it though...they look pretty thick dont think it will make a 90 degree angle before hitting the vehicle.



http://store.tufrack.com/folding-hitch/
Geez, so it's not an expandable system like Thule/Yakima to go from 2 bikes to 4 by just buying the racks. You'd have to spend another $100 to buy an all new receiver post to go up to 4 bikes, plus each tray.

So if you buy the one from Costco for $450 and want to bump up to 4, that's another $450 in parts you'd have to spend to get to 4 bikes???
 

blindboxx2334

Turbo Monkey
Mar 19, 2013
1,340
101
Wets Coast
And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be selling incomplete products that could look bad for your name, i.e. who is going to see some rusted out rack and ask where you got the p.o.s..
ever heard of this stuff?


it does seem sort of weird to stop making your product because your people that do the finish coating went out of biz, even if hes busy.
 

ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
2,998
702
SLO
Geez, so it's not an expandable system like Thule/Yakima to go from 2 bikes to 4 by just buying the racks. You'd have to spend another $100 to buy an all new receiver post to go up to 4 bikes, plus each tray.

So if you buy the one from Costco for $450 and want to bump up to 4, that's another $450 in parts you'd have to spend to get to 4 bikes???
Yeah you would need another receiver. But they can also hold an MX bike with the MOTO trays. Not sure that's an option with Thule or not? They have to be heavy with 4 trays on em!
 
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DirtEveryDay

Turbo Monkey
Nov 24, 2003
2,692
4
Pacific North Wet
Geez... I haven't been on the Monkey in YEARS! I keep getting dragged back when I find pics of my own stuff online that lead me here! lol! I can thank Bizutch for that at least twice now!
I just wanted to revive this old thread to kinda say that I know exactly what the sport is needing and Im working my ass off to fill that void.. Know that old saying "Takes money to make money"? Well that couldn't hit the bone any harder. I have all these ideas just churning in my brain and cant do **** about it!
Maybe you guys can chime in and tell me what you'd want in a rack and I can build you one to suit.

But here's some things I've done in the past. Most of it is still in use by someone to this day, But always been just hustling the stuff for bike parts... well, it might be time to go legit and see if I have any takers.

Here's my latest.
2, 4, 6 bikes. Working on adjustable wheel trays that will meet my standards, but for now there will be interchangeable wheel trays available. At any one time you can haul a road bike, a 29er, a bmx bike, a mtn bike and a snowboard. Or all snow boards, or all road bikes...you get the point.

That may all be well and good, but MY favorite thing about my racks is that they hold 4 tools on the back side and will have (yet to be decided) approx 36"x24" fold down rack. Im basically sizing it to hold a larger Action Packer, which currently holds both of my little chainsaws, oil and gas, but they also hold helmets, gear, anything else you don't want rolling around in the cab. Two bikes will sit on either side of the rack when its loaded. While its NOT loaded and theres four bikes in place it can sit under the bikes and act as a bumper to protect the bikes from the worlds Brittanys and Lyndseys who just have to be texting while they drive.
The non-swing out rack(and possibly the swing out next time around) is built on top of a hitch extender so you can actually tow with this thing in place(with no bikes on the back I assume, haven't tried yet). Rack never needs to come off.

Since the wheel trays allow for different size bikes, I needed to accommodate those wheel bases as well. So not only does the lower bar move up and down, plus have long wheel trays with adjustable strap points, I made the top adjustable as well... so now all the bikes can be adjusted up or down a foot.
View attachment 114700
 
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DirtEveryDay

Turbo Monkey
Nov 24, 2003
2,692
4
Pacific North Wet
And I feel Tufrack missed the mark on their rack. Why build a rack that you still have to throw a friggin ratchet strap over? I have prob posted this one before, but I threw this together in 40 minutes from scrap I had under my shelf because I was going riding that afternoon and it was going to be muddy so I didn't want it in the truck or on the roof of the wifes car.
http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/5650321/
 

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
After my RatRack fell through, I had a local place make me a rack. I love it and it was HALF the price of a RatRack.



 
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DirtEveryDay

Turbo Monkey
Nov 24, 2003
2,692
4
Pacific North Wet
Very nice! Wish I had some extra cash so I could build an ACTUAL prototype instead of my pieced together test unit! Those rat racks were hoaky.. That looks way better! They make these on a regular basis or just a one off for you?
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
Kntr, that thing carry a 20"? Also, how much is it weighing? Just grabbed a Brand NEW 2013 Yakima HoldUp from craigslist for only $200, cable locks and all and it weights a chunk more than I remember.

These racks like yours and ThrillSeeka's, didn't know if they cause a vehicle (not yours obviously) to squat (like my Xterra or a mid-size pickup).
 

DirtEveryDay

Turbo Monkey
Nov 24, 2003
2,692
4
Pacific North Wet
I can weigh mine for you this weekend Bizutch, but the non swing out one is pretty damn light.
I have soft 3" lift springs in the back of my runner and it surprisingly doesn't squat too bad. Not at all with no bikes..
 

DirtEveryDay

Turbo Monkey
Nov 24, 2003
2,692
4
Pacific North Wet
Haha, who has time!? I didn't even let paint dry. Mine had fingerprints all over it, threw the bikes in and went riding. Hell, two of the welds were still warm. But I need to get an idea of shipping costs, plus some powder cost quotes. But entire 4-bike rack will fit in a 48"x10x10 box, so hopefully won't be too bad to ship.
 

Kntr

Turbo Monkey
Jan 25, 2003
7,526
21
Montana
It cant be that heavy as I can lift it myself. Id say its 70 lbs or less. My buddy makes them for $500-$650 depending on how many bikes such. He has made 3. I absolutely love it. He owns one of the best welding shops around.
 
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